The Working Life

Today was as much like a normal workday as it could be on the other side of the world. Our Chinese driver picked us up at our hotel and drove us the 40 minutes or so to the office. We held our training session with some of the most eager students I've ever worked with. Mostly a room of 30-year-olds, many with university degrees, all of whom paid close attention to everything we said. This is typically not the reaction we get from American colleagues, particularly this age group. In fact, at one point we said we'd take a break for 15 minutes and not one person got up and left the room - they just continued working. Be afraid, Americans, be very afraid. The Chinese are coming and they're ready to take your jobs.

Last night at dinner, the manager of the Shanghai office told us that only about 5% of the workers for our company actually own a car. Most take public transportation/walk to work, but many ride bikes or scooters. Some even take taxis to work - which surprised us, although that's not as expensive as it sounds. We took a cab last night for about a 15 minute ride and it cost only about $3US. Then again, two cups of coffee this morning cost us about $20US. Hard to know why things are valued this way.

Took a few pictures along the way that illustrate the way Chinese typically commute:





Caught this guy on the commute home:



Had a free night so took a walk up the street from the hotel to the mall:





And a fountain along the way: