With my first week behind me, I've learned a lot about the Chinese workplace and a lot about the pro's and con's of working on the club floor.
As far as training goes, they expect you to ask. Training isn't as formal as anywhere I've worked. I'm being trained by people on the frontline up to the supervisor level in increments of "don't do that, do this." Usually, I do the "wrong thing" for a while until someone who knows all the English vocabulary to tell me what the right thing is comes along.
I've quickly learned who has the best English and who could use some work. I don't mind communicating with those who need help, but, just like we are in a foreign language, they often rely on those that are stronger. They will get frustrated as soon as they come across a word they don't know. I can usually fill in the blank for them, but, even so, they fetch the stronger speaker at the first sign of error. And often, the stronger speaker didn't know the word either, they just have the confidence to mess up and stumble through.
Let that be a life lesson in language, just be confident and you will learn faster.
I've also realized that they are pretty relaxed with using cell phones in the work place and even sitting down in the lobby area until a guest arrives and then proceeding to politely rise and use body language, as if to say, "Oh, yeah, I've been sitting here waiting on you to step off the elevator." Well, played.
While I can't help, but feel they talk about me a lot, they are generally very nice and the girls touch me a lot. Not inappropriately, but more so that some of my closer friends do. They tend to touch or casually hug from behind a lot. Which is weird when I usually don't know what they are saying, but I can often guess what the conversation is about depending on the situation.
Regardless, it feels nice to be semi-included.
The club floor is rather, well, boring. This week I came in at 2:45, just after the start of High Tea which ends at 4:30, and left at 11:15 (the club floor closes at 11). Between 2:45 and 5 it is very slow. Few people come for tea and those that do speak little to no English, rendering me useless.
I don't mind because dinner is served in the staff canteen starting at 4:30, so that shaves off 30 minutes of boredom pretty quickly. Plus, since most of them speak Chinese I really just help to clean up the food.
Which is heavenly.
It's nearly all western food. Finger sandwiches (ham and provolone on fresh white bread), baked goods (mini blueberry and pumpernickel cupcakes as well as amazing brownies, eclairs, super moist banana nut bread, cookies abound), and we also have access to all the juice we want that is in the fridge (featuring grape, mango, pineapple, orange, and apple, YES!).
And that is reason #1 I love working the club. I don't care how boring it is most of the time as long as I get a taste of the west to offset my mostly steamed-rice diet from the staff canteen. Since the girls up there know that I can't stomach much of the food, they often save plates for me if I happen to be away when they break down tea or the dinner. Supa' sweet.
And reason #2?
But between about 5 and 9 to 9:30, that's when it really comes alive up there. Royal ambassadors as well as platinum ambassadors and paying guests are allowed access to the club level. Generally, these are VERY frequent travelers and often speak great English and want to know where I'm from and what it is like there and love to tell stories of their trips to the states. They also love asking how I like it here ("it's different, feels a lot like home with the heat and humidity!").
Apple also happens to have a plant nearby. And the Apple employees get an awesome rate plus access to the lounge. You can always spot an Apple employee by there casual dress, general sense of secrecy about what they are in town for, and, of course, the Mac. Since they're here on business, they are often working up in the club. They rarely speaking to other Mac users, because they assumes that A) They are just Mac users or B) Working for Apple and cannot discuss what they are working on anyway. It's all about the secrets with these people, but, little do they know how easily we can spot them.
Of course, I'm just as guilty as they seek out the only white girl in the room to see what she is doing here. The conversation is generally:
Mac User: "Hey, I gotta ask, American?"
Me: "How'd you guess? How is Cupertino?"
Mac User: Laughs before replying "How'd you guess?"
And from there at least a 15 minute conversation on what we are doing there as well as a few tips of things to make sure I see and do before I leave. They generally say it is nice to have another westerner around and since they frequently make the trip, it will be nice to have a familiar face. I've floored most of them when I say the boyfriend works for Apple, too and I got the chance to enjoy some amazing pizza from Cafe Mac before I left the states. Generally, they reply with, come see me in December when you get home and we can all go get amazing pizza.
Score.
I don't have the most intellectually stimulating job in the world, but I've met lots of great people and had lots of amazing food all the while listening to some of my favorite bands from the west coast over our sound system - trust me it makes a huge difference when you get to walk around singing along to the Cold War Kids and the Givers at work.
At this point, I don't think I will be looking to make China a long-term gig, but I don't regret taking the job for sure.
Nothing could have ever made me more diverse or even more thankful.
After walking half a mile just to take a shuttle to walk 3/4 of a mile to take the subway to walk 2 miles to the grocery store and then only being able to buy what I could carry home after walking another mile to hail a 25 RMB taxi back to the shuttle just to walk the half mile again, I will never take driving to the grocery store for granted again.
Nor will I take for granted drinkable tap water. At home, I always drink from the tap. I don't buy bottle water unless it's an emergency. And you shouldn't either. We have amazing water at home. Why are we buying it up like idiots in bottles? We are well on our way to needing face masks to face the day just like the people who can't stand to breath in the smog, here.
For water I can drink, I have to go to the first floor and fill up a huge jug and haul it back up to the 15th floor and wait. In order to drink the water it has to go through this crazy filtration system on site that involves boiling it, so after spending 15 minutes to get what takes you 15 seconds, I still can't drink it for probably at least another half an hour (and the jug doesn't fit in the fridge) before it is a temperature that I can pour into my smaller bottles without melting them and then pop in the fridge.
Even then, it still doesn't taste that great. Thank god for my filtered camel back, but even that doesn't eliminate all of it.
While I am thankful that I don't live in any of the extremely unsanitary and generally horrendous-smelling neighborhoods I passed today and thankful that I have a good job, in the air conditioning, I can't help, but miss those little luxuries.
And, if anything, I hope you can be a little more grateful for them.
Much love.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Guan Qian Street and North Pagoda
The storm clouds took a leave of absence on Sunday afternoon, allowing me to live my little box in the high rise sky. As much as I love being a hermit, left to eat, sleep, and read as I like, I was getting a little bored with the whole routine. Frankly, it was just making me more homesick.
So we hopped on the subway and headed for old town.
Suzhou is one of those smart cities that doesn't building over its historic culture, it builds around it. Literally.
Old town is the center of the city, the downtown. It is essentially a big square surrounded by the famous canals and plays host to most of the cities attractions: gardens, pagodas, and parks.
They have a modernized shopping district called Guan Qian, which was more crowded that I remember Times Square being.
Seriously.
It's full of mostly clothing stores that feature what we started calling, "clappers." These people stand at the entrance and clap.
I know my terminology is simply, but, hey, I studied business, not etymology.
So this is all they do, all day. They stand and clap continuously. It's rather obnoxious, but I realized I quickly blocked them out like the rest of the passerby's which made me wonder even more why they bother clapping in the first place. They look miserable doing it, too. I should have taken a picture, frick.
If they aren't clapping then they have a microphone, which is worse. Many of my American friends talk about how annoying it is to even listen to someone speak Chinese. I agree to a point.
It's that kind of annoying where you are in the elevator with someone talking loudly on the phone. Yes, they're disrupting the peace (in this case, a very choppy and tone oriented language isn't always music to our ears), but more importantly, you don't know what the hell they're talking about.
Also, they're continuously sales pitching, which, of course, is irritating for those of us having access to the Spam folder or fast forwarding through commercials or simply completely ignoring billboards and such.
I'm not much for shopping, mostly because everything I buy I have to carry back to the states and not much is worth adding to my haul, and prefer to spend my money on experiences and food, which is really an experience in and of itself.
So we opted to go to McDonald's. Yes!
When I got homesick in Paris, McDonald's was not even a 5 minute walk away. Here, there's nothing nearby my house, so I was dying for one of my favorite tastes of home.
Don't judge me.
The restaurant was crazy busy. And if you're wondering how an American with little Chinese orders McDonald's, it's as easy as being illiterate.
Seriously.
In the states you may have noticed those decals on the entry doors and drive-thru windows that note that the restaurant has picture and braille menus available. Of course, one can't help but wonder why you would offer braille menus in a drive-thru or say you have picture menus for those who can't read on a sign, that you have to read, but oh well.
So, they have them here, too. As soon as the cashier saw us approach, he reached behind the counter and, voila, point and grunt for food.
My cheeseburger and fries were awesome, but I also got this pineapple/mango float thing that was pretty good, too. The only difference is the Chinese don't seem to like dill pickles at all. Everytime I've encountered pickles here they have been sweet, subtle difference, but still strange.
As we ate on the second story of a building, above a much nicer chinese restaurant, we watched all the people below and couldn't understand why we were getting stared at when it seemed everyone dressed like a frankenstein of different American subcultures, blending all different kinds of colors, materials, and patterns: none in a sense that anyone would wear in North America or Europe.
I recently read a story in Time Magazine (I've got a lot of down time at work) that spoke of Apple's presence in China and I guess it spread some light on why they dress like that, or at least why I could be lead to believe that they do.
Did you know that an iPhone is 20% of the average American's monthly income while it is 260% of the average Chinese's monthly income.
That means they have to work 3 months just to buy a phone. Don't misunderstand me, there are much more than iPhones out there for selection, but nearly everyone has an iPhone here.
Within 5 minutes of leaving it in a one-stall bathroom, my phone was stolen the other night by a guest. When my coworkers told me the smallest one sells for $800, I understood why, even in such a high class hotel, it was gone instantly.
Most of them don't even buy more than an 8 GB phone, they don't use the space. I've noticed most only have 2 pages worth of apps and next to no music on them.
Its about the status. The status of having a piece of American quality life. The status of having American clothes even if you jumble them together and they look ridiculous.
But that also plays into individuality. With a population of 5.71 million people just in this second-tier city alone, its easy to get lost in the crowd. Think about how a lot of people dress "weirder" in larger cities. They want to stand out more and generally there's more diversity anyway. The iPhone plays well to this aspiration with all its customizable features and the awesome camera it has. Plus they've got some pretty awesome cases here for them. There is even a case that you can put on an iPod touch to make it work like a phone. Obviously not an Apple product, but a Chinese one.
Moving on.
Downstairs, McDonald's also operates a drink/ice cream stand as well that does not serve cooked items. I thought the restaurant was busy, but the line was at least 25 people deep for ice cream. The ice cream was pretty awesome, though, so I get it. At the other end of the street, though, maybe half a mile, they had another one, with a line just as long!
The Chinese, like Americans, are beginning to trend in the drink and smoothie department, so there are a plethora of smoothie, and bubble tea stands all around.
Sidenote: KFC is also crazy popular and, as the first chain to enter China, they are everywhere. I'm not a fan of KFC at home, though, so my apologies, but I probably won't be trying it.
From there, we wondered around until we stumbled upon Beita or North Pagoda.
North Pagoda is in the center of a little monk community that is still very active - in fact it has the longest history in Suzhou. After paying 25 RMB, we said "Hi" to Buddha and made our way up the 9 stories to the top of it via very tiny staircases.
Factoring in the heat, humidity, and my general disinclination towards stairs, I was worn out by the time we got there, but, it was well worth it.
It is a city ordinance that no building in Old Town may build any higher than the pagoda, ensuring the view as well as the town feel of the city.
We made our mark like so many before us and headed down to the gorgeous gardens and also to hear the monks chant, which was like nothing I had ever heard in my life.
I took a video on my phone since they don't allow cameras or recording and it was probably that bad karma that got my phone stolen as I now no longer have it.
Frick.
That also means that I don't have a picture of my second squatty potty experience. This "toilet" was a 3 foot pit that was about 6 inches wide that ran along the wall. There were stalls, so I chose one at the end of the wall so I didn't have to see anyone's excretions flowing down. The idea is to squat so you are over the pit, after I was finished I realized I probably should have put my feet on both side of the pit for security, but of course I just balanced from the one side and didn't think anything of it until the pipe against the wall erupted into a roar as it blasted water down the pit. I nearly fell in mid-poo, but caught myself against the opposing wall.
Who knew taking a poo would be such a big scene?
I deserved a reward for my courage and efforts, so I bought the nearest pop sicle which also happened to probably be the best I've had in my life. The blueberry flavor was AMAZING.
Exhausted, we collapsed on the subway and headed home. Our work week was starting the next day and we need to be well-rested.
Much love.
So we hopped on the subway and headed for old town.
Suzhou is one of those smart cities that doesn't building over its historic culture, it builds around it. Literally.
Old town is the center of the city, the downtown. It is essentially a big square surrounded by the famous canals and plays host to most of the cities attractions: gardens, pagodas, and parks.
They have a modernized shopping district called Guan Qian, which was more crowded that I remember Times Square being.
Seriously.
It's full of mostly clothing stores that feature what we started calling, "clappers." These people stand at the entrance and clap.
I know my terminology is simply, but, hey, I studied business, not etymology.
So this is all they do, all day. They stand and clap continuously. It's rather obnoxious, but I realized I quickly blocked them out like the rest of the passerby's which made me wonder even more why they bother clapping in the first place. They look miserable doing it, too. I should have taken a picture, frick.
If they aren't clapping then they have a microphone, which is worse. Many of my American friends talk about how annoying it is to even listen to someone speak Chinese. I agree to a point.
It's that kind of annoying where you are in the elevator with someone talking loudly on the phone. Yes, they're disrupting the peace (in this case, a very choppy and tone oriented language isn't always music to our ears), but more importantly, you don't know what the hell they're talking about.
Also, they're continuously sales pitching, which, of course, is irritating for those of us having access to the Spam folder or fast forwarding through commercials or simply completely ignoring billboards and such.
I'm not much for shopping, mostly because everything I buy I have to carry back to the states and not much is worth adding to my haul, and prefer to spend my money on experiences and food, which is really an experience in and of itself.
So we opted to go to McDonald's. Yes!
When I got homesick in Paris, McDonald's was not even a 5 minute walk away. Here, there's nothing nearby my house, so I was dying for one of my favorite tastes of home.
Don't judge me.
The restaurant was crazy busy. And if you're wondering how an American with little Chinese orders McDonald's, it's as easy as being illiterate.
Seriously.
In the states you may have noticed those decals on the entry doors and drive-thru windows that note that the restaurant has picture and braille menus available. Of course, one can't help but wonder why you would offer braille menus in a drive-thru or say you have picture menus for those who can't read on a sign, that you have to read, but oh well.
So, they have them here, too. As soon as the cashier saw us approach, he reached behind the counter and, voila, point and grunt for food.
My cheeseburger and fries were awesome, but I also got this pineapple/mango float thing that was pretty good, too. The only difference is the Chinese don't seem to like dill pickles at all. Everytime I've encountered pickles here they have been sweet, subtle difference, but still strange.
As we ate on the second story of a building, above a much nicer chinese restaurant, we watched all the people below and couldn't understand why we were getting stared at when it seemed everyone dressed like a frankenstein of different American subcultures, blending all different kinds of colors, materials, and patterns: none in a sense that anyone would wear in North America or Europe.
I recently read a story in Time Magazine (I've got a lot of down time at work) that spoke of Apple's presence in China and I guess it spread some light on why they dress like that, or at least why I could be lead to believe that they do.
Did you know that an iPhone is 20% of the average American's monthly income while it is 260% of the average Chinese's monthly income.
That means they have to work 3 months just to buy a phone. Don't misunderstand me, there are much more than iPhones out there for selection, but nearly everyone has an iPhone here.
Within 5 minutes of leaving it in a one-stall bathroom, my phone was stolen the other night by a guest. When my coworkers told me the smallest one sells for $800, I understood why, even in such a high class hotel, it was gone instantly.
Most of them don't even buy more than an 8 GB phone, they don't use the space. I've noticed most only have 2 pages worth of apps and next to no music on them.
Its about the status. The status of having a piece of American quality life. The status of having American clothes even if you jumble them together and they look ridiculous.
But that also plays into individuality. With a population of 5.71 million people just in this second-tier city alone, its easy to get lost in the crowd. Think about how a lot of people dress "weirder" in larger cities. They want to stand out more and generally there's more diversity anyway. The iPhone plays well to this aspiration with all its customizable features and the awesome camera it has. Plus they've got some pretty awesome cases here for them. There is even a case that you can put on an iPod touch to make it work like a phone. Obviously not an Apple product, but a Chinese one.
Moving on.
Downstairs, McDonald's also operates a drink/ice cream stand as well that does not serve cooked items. I thought the restaurant was busy, but the line was at least 25 people deep for ice cream. The ice cream was pretty awesome, though, so I get it. At the other end of the street, though, maybe half a mile, they had another one, with a line just as long!
The Chinese, like Americans, are beginning to trend in the drink and smoothie department, so there are a plethora of smoothie, and bubble tea stands all around.
Sidenote: KFC is also crazy popular and, as the first chain to enter China, they are everywhere. I'm not a fan of KFC at home, though, so my apologies, but I probably won't be trying it.
From there, we wondered around until we stumbled upon Beita or North Pagoda.
North Pagoda is in the center of a little monk community that is still very active - in fact it has the longest history in Suzhou. After paying 25 RMB, we said "Hi" to Buddha and made our way up the 9 stories to the top of it via very tiny staircases.
Factoring in the heat, humidity, and my general disinclination towards stairs, I was worn out by the time we got there, but, it was well worth it.
It is a city ordinance that no building in Old Town may build any higher than the pagoda, ensuring the view as well as the town feel of the city.
We made our mark like so many before us and headed down to the gorgeous gardens and also to hear the monks chant, which was like nothing I had ever heard in my life.
I took a video on my phone since they don't allow cameras or recording and it was probably that bad karma that got my phone stolen as I now no longer have it.
Frick.
That also means that I don't have a picture of my second squatty potty experience. This "toilet" was a 3 foot pit that was about 6 inches wide that ran along the wall. There were stalls, so I chose one at the end of the wall so I didn't have to see anyone's excretions flowing down. The idea is to squat so you are over the pit, after I was finished I realized I probably should have put my feet on both side of the pit for security, but of course I just balanced from the one side and didn't think anything of it until the pipe against the wall erupted into a roar as it blasted water down the pit. I nearly fell in mid-poo, but caught myself against the opposing wall.
Who knew taking a poo would be such a big scene?
I deserved a reward for my courage and efforts, so I bought the nearest pop sicle which also happened to probably be the best I've had in my life. The blueberry flavor was AMAZING.
Much love.
Dragon Boats!
I spent my public holiday doing what everyone does on public holidays: chores and general laziness.
The laundry machine is, well, a little Chinese demon as far as I'm concerned. I deciphered my way to figure out which buttons control what and finally threw in my dirty clothes and Purex sheet.
Side promo: The best advice I ever received when moving to Florida and subsequently to Paris and back to Florida again were the Purex sheets. They're awesome if you have to carry your laundry anywhere. Instead of a jug of detergent, a jug of softener, and a box of dryer sheets all you have is the box. The dryer sheets have a coat of waxy detergent and a stripe of fabric softener. I can only find them at Wal-Mart, so for those of you that detest Wal-Mart, sorry. Great gift idea for future dorm residents.
Within 15 minutes there's quite the commotion coming from my bathroom (The washer is in the bathroom as the draining pipe simply lays on the shower floor, I guess that makes for cheaper construction costs, who cares, I don't have to carry laundry anywhere or put a bra on to do it). I open the door and the thing is jumping all over the place as if it's Chinese New Year.
So I shut the door and turned my music up.
Ignorance is the best policy sometimes.
Laundry was a full day ordeal.
The dryer is in the kitchen (sorry, I have no idea on why it's where I cook food, well, I don't cook anyway, who cares?). And it is super energy efficient, which essentially makes it a clothes tumbler that blows air.
As in, it doesn't really get that hot.
Which means drying takes all day. At least 2 sessions. A 1 session is 235 minutes. I will save you the math, that's 4 hours.
That also means I may actually have to start using the iron since I hate folding clothes and often use the dryer as an iron.
Oh the woes of international living.
Well, at least I finished Rejuvenile. It was a cool read about adults not really growing up and abandoning their play lives. The trends in how we're moving out later, getting married later or not at all, having babies later or not at all.
Essentially, the story of my life.
Well, some of it. Really just the last 3 sections. The previous ones are about toy collectors and basically hoarders. I just like being immature, it's too expensive to collect things I don't play with.
A great rainy day reading, playing on the internet, and people watching. I watched 3 games of basketball go by and really wished I was at home in Memphis to go to a Grizzlies game and then hit up Cheesecake Corner afterwards.
The night ended with Spaghetti. Grace orders and buys food through the kitchen and, being the food and beverage intern, she makes awesome meals.
All in all, a great room mate for the girl that has no kitchen domestic skills unless it involves dessert - there's no oven here so I'm virtually useless.
She cooks, I clean.
It's a win-win.
We made it an early night, she had work and I had an early morning run before the Asians got up to stare.
Well, for whatever reason, they get up really early on Saturdays.
They stared and a few tried to say something. I wondered if I had something in my teeth and quickly checked my clothes for weird stains or a missing arm or something that would justify their looks.
Nothing.
Well, on with it.
I ran down the street and away from the complex. Just as I was turning my corner back around to the main entrance, I hit for my Powersong and, irony of all ironies, "Do Something" by Britney Spears came on.
Can I have someone translate this and play it on a loud speaker as I run back through the stares, please?
I couldn't help but use what little breath I had to laugh at it.
Even though I was off, I still had to catch the 8:20 bus to the hotel.
The Dragon Boat Races were being held on Jin Ji lake, the lake the hotel sits on, at 9. Alex and I were wondering if they were actually happening as we came upon the lake and only saw one boat. As we moved past the tree line I saw a mass of Chinese packed in around the lack as rowers carefully stepped on to the docks and into their Dragon boats.
I regretted not bringing my bigger camera lens that zooms like a boss, but here are a few okay pictures I got.
They were all pretty much the same. The rowers get in and are on beat by the front drummer and the boat was directed by the back person with the tiller.
This is a very important job to guide the boat in the straight line that the course is. It doesn't seem difficult, but apparently it is.
In the first race, two boat bumped and as they came off each other, the offending boat toppled over, sending all the participants in the water.
It was hilarious. The entire crowd bursted into laughter.
 |
| Toppled boat on the left |
 |
| Bringing in the swimmies |
 |
| And bringing back their boat |
I should also mention to you that this particular boat had the highest number of lah-wei's (foreigners), as in white people.
May I also add that the winning boat was the only boat that had Africans on it. And they were at least half of the boat.
Yep.
I couldn't help but wonder how these people got signed up for this.
Four or five more races transpired, each just as exciting as the previous, but no more spills into the water, so none were as exciting as the first.
You may not wonder what the pump-up music was for an event like this, but you should.
I will give you a few lines to try and think to yourself what it could possibly be.
Try not to cheat.
Go on.
Really think about it.
You're cheating aren't you?
Star Wars.
Yep.
The theme song for Star Wars was blasting over huge speakers to pump up people competing in one of the oldest races in the world.
Oh, and Pirates of the Caribbean, too.
I laughed every time it came on.
Feeling quite American now, we decided to go American for lunch at Burger King. A burger, fries, and a Coke have never tasted so good in all my life.
Since it had been raining all morning, we were tired of being drenched, so we headed to the bus to have some quality indoor time at home as I still had to run the dryer and catch up on some Breaking Bad.
We have at least a 60% chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms for the next 10 days. Since all the attractions in Suzhou are gardens and streets, it puts a bit of a damper on our activities.
Suffice it to say, I may just be getting a lot more reading in than I intended for the next month's worth of the rainy season.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The end of Week 1
I set my alarm for 5, even though I knew I would be up by 4:30.
And I was.
How predictable.
I wanted to go running. I needed the endorphins. Paired with this blog and the occasional American indulgence, I need it for sanity's sake.
Asians don't run. I should really stop generalizing all Asians together. Maybe tomorrow.
When I was in Paris and went out to run, I quickly realized that the French don't really run either. Well, the girls anyway. There were lots of guys at the park, but the only women wearing exercise clothes were power-walking. And they for sure didn't do it alone. Always with another girl or a guy. So, of course, I stood out.
Although, they did stare less obviously in Paris than here.
For whatever reason, despite the sun being up at 4:30, my fellow complex inhabitants do not get up before nearly 6:30 and they all conglomerate into little cliques until the wee hours of the morning - I swear it looks just like high school out there, so I walk faster to get by.
Being up and out the door before 5:30 severely reduced the stares as there was virtually no one outside. Still, it took everything in me to muster up the self-confidence to walk out the door.
I realized what I was doing and was embarrassed. At home, I clearly have no problem being different. Why here? Why was I acting so silly and lacking so much self-esteem? My friends and family would be so disappointed.
I think we recognize race more than we admit and subconsciously relate to it more than we would be comfortable with. I saw another white person the other day and couldn't help but to stare for the brief moments before they passed out of my line of vision.
I caught myself and proceeded with an internal verbal lashing of how awful I probably made that person feel since I hated it when people stared at me so much.
But still, were they just as thankful to see me as I was to see them?
I know it sounds ridiculous and petty, but it really gave me a sense of comfort and pushed away some of the loneliness. I know that sitting there, in the states, or where ever you are, you are probably surrounding by fellow citizens of mostly your own race and generally people you relate to on a lot of levels and it is easy to say I'm being dramatic, but I assure you, everyone's sane until they're thrown into the isolation chamber.
I like it more and more each day here. And I find more and more ways that I relate to people everyday.
During my run, I felt like I was at home as I ran in the morning air along the tree-lined sidewalks. Generally it was a really gorgeous and amazing time and I don't think it will be as hard to muster up the confidence to go again.
With endorphins in my system, I was more patient than usual as we spent most of the day sitting and studying alone before our test yesterday. Check it out:
Yeah, fridge-worthy. Alex and I made a bet on who would get a higher score on the test.
Guess who gets to enjoy a free bueno bar and a soda soon!
I even tried food in the staff kitchen that I liked yesterday that wasn't solely steamed rice.
Do I know what it was?
Nope.
Do I really want to know?
Absolutely not.
It made me realize how hard, but sometimes easy it is to mix culture together. I have an apple and a banana every day, as they serve those with lunch and dinner. They are doing more fruit now since they realized it was something that we the interns actually can stomach.
Everyone has been gracious and asked how we like the food, as they are just as concerned that we can eat the meals as we are.
And as I shared a laugh with someone who didn't speak English as we peeled out apples (you can't really wash them off since it's polluted water so you have to peel the skin), he much faster than I who incompetently operated the peeled as if I were writing with my left hand, I realized that was one of my favorite things about humanity: sharing a laugh with someone who doesn't speak your language.
Even though I could never know what he thinks about politics or everyday life, for a moment, we were on the same page.
Even though the other residents stare, I still find comfort in all the American-like clothes they so love to don: overalls and t-shirts with English run amock.
They like our cars, our brands, our food, Apple, and Disney.
These are things that cross cultural boundaries, here. Somehow Disney appeals to most of humanity. I remembered back to experiencing Disneyland Paris where the attractions were a perfect mesh of English and French without ruining the show. One character, say Mickey, would speak English, and Minnie, would respond in French, but in a way that you knew what she was responded to.
So it was less like a Spanish repeat of safety rules after English ones in the states and more so like listening to someone talking on the phone, but knowing what the other person is saying based on what they're saying. This was really nice since I understood both languages and didn't have to listen to a repeat for the whole parade, show, ride, etc.
Here I am, trying to mesh with I know with what they relate with and I feel like I'm actually making progress.
There's also the comfort in not being completely hated as an American like some parts of the world see us.
Moving on from my rant.
I got my intern plan yesterday, so here's the breakdown of the next 6 months.
Week 1: General - Orientation, introduction and familiarization with Front Office
Weeks 2 - 18: Club InterContinental - Breakfast Setup, Afternoon Tea Setup, Cocktail Setup & Service Sequence, Shift Checklists & Guest Preferences, F&B covers forecasting, Guest relations
Weeks 19 & 20: Instant Service Center - Introduction to Guest services areas and functions, Communication Tools, VIP handling & guest relations Guidelines, Vingcard and safe operations
Weeks 21 & 22: Concierge - Transportation, Newspapers, Luggage Storage and lobby greeting
Weeks 23 - 31: GOR - Lobby greeting & rooming, VIP level chick-in and repeat amenities preparations
I just finished week 1 and I start at Club InterContinental after this sweet 3 day weekend (I'm off today through Sunday thanks to a public holiday for the Dragon Boat races tomorrow). Club InterContinental is accessible with an extra charge on top of the rate and is located on the 27th floor. I really love it for its library, view, and the awesome food they serve. Its sort of like a private concierge service as well, so I'm excited to have more personal interactions with people.
The instant service center is basically their in house operator office and from my previous experiences in those positions, its going to be crazy.
Concierge is just that, concierge and transportation arrangements.
GOR is like a high-level guest service rep that walks the lobby and handles VIP's, kind of like a 5 star Wal-Mart greeter for the stars. Nothing too crazy most of the time, but often carries quite the load.
I've got laundry to do and weekend plans to make, including seeing the dragon boats, so much love!
And I was.
How predictable.
I wanted to go running. I needed the endorphins. Paired with this blog and the occasional American indulgence, I need it for sanity's sake.
Asians don't run. I should really stop generalizing all Asians together. Maybe tomorrow.
When I was in Paris and went out to run, I quickly realized that the French don't really run either. Well, the girls anyway. There were lots of guys at the park, but the only women wearing exercise clothes were power-walking. And they for sure didn't do it alone. Always with another girl or a guy. So, of course, I stood out.
Although, they did stare less obviously in Paris than here.
For whatever reason, despite the sun being up at 4:30, my fellow complex inhabitants do not get up before nearly 6:30 and they all conglomerate into little cliques until the wee hours of the morning - I swear it looks just like high school out there, so I walk faster to get by.
Being up and out the door before 5:30 severely reduced the stares as there was virtually no one outside. Still, it took everything in me to muster up the self-confidence to walk out the door.
I realized what I was doing and was embarrassed. At home, I clearly have no problem being different. Why here? Why was I acting so silly and lacking so much self-esteem? My friends and family would be so disappointed.
I think we recognize race more than we admit and subconsciously relate to it more than we would be comfortable with. I saw another white person the other day and couldn't help but to stare for the brief moments before they passed out of my line of vision.
I caught myself and proceeded with an internal verbal lashing of how awful I probably made that person feel since I hated it when people stared at me so much.
But still, were they just as thankful to see me as I was to see them?
I know it sounds ridiculous and petty, but it really gave me a sense of comfort and pushed away some of the loneliness. I know that sitting there, in the states, or where ever you are, you are probably surrounding by fellow citizens of mostly your own race and generally people you relate to on a lot of levels and it is easy to say I'm being dramatic, but I assure you, everyone's sane until they're thrown into the isolation chamber.
I like it more and more each day here. And I find more and more ways that I relate to people everyday.
During my run, I felt like I was at home as I ran in the morning air along the tree-lined sidewalks. Generally it was a really gorgeous and amazing time and I don't think it will be as hard to muster up the confidence to go again.
With endorphins in my system, I was more patient than usual as we spent most of the day sitting and studying alone before our test yesterday. Check it out:
Yeah, fridge-worthy. Alex and I made a bet on who would get a higher score on the test.
Guess who gets to enjoy a free bueno bar and a soda soon!
I even tried food in the staff kitchen that I liked yesterday that wasn't solely steamed rice.
Do I know what it was?
Nope.
Do I really want to know?
Absolutely not.
It made me realize how hard, but sometimes easy it is to mix culture together. I have an apple and a banana every day, as they serve those with lunch and dinner. They are doing more fruit now since they realized it was something that we the interns actually can stomach.
Everyone has been gracious and asked how we like the food, as they are just as concerned that we can eat the meals as we are.
And as I shared a laugh with someone who didn't speak English as we peeled out apples (you can't really wash them off since it's polluted water so you have to peel the skin), he much faster than I who incompetently operated the peeled as if I were writing with my left hand, I realized that was one of my favorite things about humanity: sharing a laugh with someone who doesn't speak your language.
Even though I could never know what he thinks about politics or everyday life, for a moment, we were on the same page.
Even though the other residents stare, I still find comfort in all the American-like clothes they so love to don: overalls and t-shirts with English run amock.
They like our cars, our brands, our food, Apple, and Disney.
 |
| I know you probably can't read it but there is an iApple night at the bar on Tuesday's here at the hotel. You get a free apple martini or apple snack when you show your Apple product, all in honor of Steve Jobs. Awesome, right? |
These are things that cross cultural boundaries, here. Somehow Disney appeals to most of humanity. I remembered back to experiencing Disneyland Paris where the attractions were a perfect mesh of English and French without ruining the show. One character, say Mickey, would speak English, and Minnie, would respond in French, but in a way that you knew what she was responded to.
So it was less like a Spanish repeat of safety rules after English ones in the states and more so like listening to someone talking on the phone, but knowing what the other person is saying based on what they're saying. This was really nice since I understood both languages and didn't have to listen to a repeat for the whole parade, show, ride, etc.
Here I am, trying to mesh with I know with what they relate with and I feel like I'm actually making progress.
There's also the comfort in not being completely hated as an American like some parts of the world see us.
Moving on from my rant.
I got my intern plan yesterday, so here's the breakdown of the next 6 months.
Week 1: General - Orientation, introduction and familiarization with Front Office
Weeks 2 - 18: Club InterContinental - Breakfast Setup, Afternoon Tea Setup, Cocktail Setup & Service Sequence, Shift Checklists & Guest Preferences, F&B covers forecasting, Guest relations
Weeks 19 & 20: Instant Service Center - Introduction to Guest services areas and functions, Communication Tools, VIP handling & guest relations Guidelines, Vingcard and safe operations
Weeks 21 & 22: Concierge - Transportation, Newspapers, Luggage Storage and lobby greeting
Weeks 23 - 31: GOR - Lobby greeting & rooming, VIP level chick-in and repeat amenities preparations
I just finished week 1 and I start at Club InterContinental after this sweet 3 day weekend (I'm off today through Sunday thanks to a public holiday for the Dragon Boat races tomorrow). Club InterContinental is accessible with an extra charge on top of the rate and is located on the 27th floor. I really love it for its library, view, and the awesome food they serve. Its sort of like a private concierge service as well, so I'm excited to have more personal interactions with people.
The instant service center is basically their in house operator office and from my previous experiences in those positions, its going to be crazy.
Concierge is just that, concierge and transportation arrangements.
GOR is like a high-level guest service rep that walks the lobby and handles VIP's, kind of like a 5 star Wal-Mart greeter for the stars. Nothing too crazy most of the time, but often carries quite the load.
I've got laundry to do and weekend plans to make, including seeing the dragon boats, so much love!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Training Day 1 & 2
I was excited to be done with orientation as I got ready with less stares than the previous day and headed up to the front office where we joined in on the 10:30 meeting after another tour of the hotel.
They conducted the meeting in English for us, so we could be involved and, since they learned I was from America (not Canada as they previously assumed because of my layover in Vancouver before Shanghai), I've been the English consultant from everything to phrases in e-mails to interpreting meshed lettering of a hand-written form.
It's nice to have a sense of purpose.
I think our trainer is, well, new to training. She doesn't really know what to do and I can't help but see a pattern of people who simply pay their dues and are good at frontline skills that are promoted. The girl has no problem-solving or broad-thinking skills. I imagine she is a great front desk agent, but not really much more. And her superiors don't seem to mind despite her running to them for the answers to basic questions.
We spent most of the day left to ourselves to read over the novels she printed out for us to read on our own. As I quickly lost focused, I realized they clearly don't mind their employees being on their phones - the meeting was interrupted at least 5 times in 20 minutes as no one seemed to care to put their phones on silent and every single one of them proceeded to answer while their peers where talking.
Since no one really paid us much mind, Alex and I sat on Facebook on my phone, growing braver and braver between yesterday and today. This afternoon we didn't even bother to put it away when the manager came walking through the office.
No one cared.
Hmm.
Well, this is new.
The only other highlight was using my trainer for her basic language skills to get a larger skirt from housekeeping. In the midst of their poking and prodding at my skirt to check sizes on the ones I tried on, I felt like a science project of sorts. They made a motion that looked like hips and the trainer squeaked out a broken "tight, here?"
Yes. Tight there.
Big American hips...I smiled awkwardly trying not to feel as if I was being gawked at for my enormity.
When I returned with one that fit, she smiled and said, "Yes, better, that skirt is fatter."
Gulp.
Hold back tears, Madison. She meant larger size. She didn't mean it like that...
Oh, God, someone get my pint of Ben and Jerry's Half-Baked already. I just need to eat my emotions for a while.
Not to worry, I remained calm on the outside as I laughed awkwardly and said, "Yes, the fatter skirt is better for the fat American."
At least I'm only finding the steamed rice edible for dinner. I'll fit that skirt before it's over. I'll show you, uniform ladies.
The day ended much better as Alex, Grace, and I ventured around the hotel at night. Suzhou is much prettier at night. You can't see the pollution, so you forget that you're working on a cancer score card and look at all the gorgeous lights that abound the sky and scenery (so much for saving energy).
I also found a Bueno Bar, which definitely helped me cope with my fat complex from earlier, especially since I haven't seen them since Paris.
The night ended late after staying up with Grace and chatting about her new role in the pastry kitchen.
Drool.
Today was essentially the same day.
Left alone with papers to memorize and Facebook to roam through until lunch, and finally, 5:30 when we were off.
Except I found something better than a bueno bar after.
I found Fresh Market.
In the stack of papers we have to memorize, about 4 pages are on city information: closest hospital, closest worldlink medical care, closest post office, closest bar (other than ours), closest shopping district, recommended attractions, and, the closest market and pharmacy - all for a city I've never been to and in a language I don't even understand in English characters.
I'm a little peturb that they didn't take us around to actually show us these places, but, regardless, the last 2 helped on my continuing quest for some items I needed.
Fresh Market had nearly everything except bread.
I'm talking cake mix, icing, hot chocolate mix, fruits of all kinds (no strawberries), cold milk (most of it, like in Europe is served in room temperature boxes that you have to boil or something), cheeses, candies, American cereals, EVERYTHING.
Well, except tampons.
I'm on a quest to find them. I'm not in desperate need, I'm just really in disbelief that you can't find them.
With such a finding practically adjacent to the hotel, I'm definitely feeling at home now.
I've got a place that has my food, which as a major emotional eater is a big deal.
I've discovered the beauty of Suzhou isn't necessarily consumed by smog.
And a language barrier isn't so bad afterall, it gives me purpose and a laugh for mis-matched vocabulary or every time I say my name and listen to them struggle to pronounce it absolutely correctly. We go back and forth so many times evolving "Mah-soon" to settling on "Mad-ee-son" that I feel like Eve in Wall-E.
And the concierge even gave me a really nice map with lots of spots to hit before we leave. Alex and I spent most of our day choosing what we would see this weekend - trying to cram as much in as soon as possible so we're more useful to guests and also spends future weekends after we get paid in Shanghai.
Well, I'm off!
Much love.
They conducted the meeting in English for us, so we could be involved and, since they learned I was from America (not Canada as they previously assumed because of my layover in Vancouver before Shanghai), I've been the English consultant from everything to phrases in e-mails to interpreting meshed lettering of a hand-written form.
It's nice to have a sense of purpose.
I think our trainer is, well, new to training. She doesn't really know what to do and I can't help but see a pattern of people who simply pay their dues and are good at frontline skills that are promoted. The girl has no problem-solving or broad-thinking skills. I imagine she is a great front desk agent, but not really much more. And her superiors don't seem to mind despite her running to them for the answers to basic questions.
We spent most of the day left to ourselves to read over the novels she printed out for us to read on our own. As I quickly lost focused, I realized they clearly don't mind their employees being on their phones - the meeting was interrupted at least 5 times in 20 minutes as no one seemed to care to put their phones on silent and every single one of them proceeded to answer while their peers where talking.
Since no one really paid us much mind, Alex and I sat on Facebook on my phone, growing braver and braver between yesterday and today. This afternoon we didn't even bother to put it away when the manager came walking through the office.
No one cared.
Hmm.
Well, this is new.
The only other highlight was using my trainer for her basic language skills to get a larger skirt from housekeeping. In the midst of their poking and prodding at my skirt to check sizes on the ones I tried on, I felt like a science project of sorts. They made a motion that looked like hips and the trainer squeaked out a broken "tight, here?"
Yes. Tight there.
Big American hips...I smiled awkwardly trying not to feel as if I was being gawked at for my enormity.
When I returned with one that fit, she smiled and said, "Yes, better, that skirt is fatter."
Gulp.
Hold back tears, Madison. She meant larger size. She didn't mean it like that...
Oh, God, someone get my pint of Ben and Jerry's Half-Baked already. I just need to eat my emotions for a while.
Not to worry, I remained calm on the outside as I laughed awkwardly and said, "Yes, the fatter skirt is better for the fat American."
At least I'm only finding the steamed rice edible for dinner. I'll fit that skirt before it's over. I'll show you, uniform ladies.
The day ended much better as Alex, Grace, and I ventured around the hotel at night. Suzhou is much prettier at night. You can't see the pollution, so you forget that you're working on a cancer score card and look at all the gorgeous lights that abound the sky and scenery (so much for saving energy).
I also found a Bueno Bar, which definitely helped me cope with my fat complex from earlier, especially since I haven't seen them since Paris.
The night ended late after staying up with Grace and chatting about her new role in the pastry kitchen.
Drool.
Today was essentially the same day.
Left alone with papers to memorize and Facebook to roam through until lunch, and finally, 5:30 when we were off.
Except I found something better than a bueno bar after.
I found Fresh Market.
In the stack of papers we have to memorize, about 4 pages are on city information: closest hospital, closest worldlink medical care, closest post office, closest bar (other than ours), closest shopping district, recommended attractions, and, the closest market and pharmacy - all for a city I've never been to and in a language I don't even understand in English characters.
I'm a little peturb that they didn't take us around to actually show us these places, but, regardless, the last 2 helped on my continuing quest for some items I needed.
Fresh Market had nearly everything except bread.
I'm talking cake mix, icing, hot chocolate mix, fruits of all kinds (no strawberries), cold milk (most of it, like in Europe is served in room temperature boxes that you have to boil or something), cheeses, candies, American cereals, EVERYTHING.
Well, except tampons.
I'm on a quest to find them. I'm not in desperate need, I'm just really in disbelief that you can't find them.
With such a finding practically adjacent to the hotel, I'm definitely feeling at home now.
I've got a place that has my food, which as a major emotional eater is a big deal.
I've discovered the beauty of Suzhou isn't necessarily consumed by smog.
And a language barrier isn't so bad afterall, it gives me purpose and a laugh for mis-matched vocabulary or every time I say my name and listen to them struggle to pronounce it absolutely correctly. We go back and forth so many times evolving "Mah-soon" to settling on "Mad-ee-son" that I feel like Eve in Wall-E.
And the concierge even gave me a really nice map with lots of spots to hit before we leave. Alex and I spent most of our day choosing what we would see this weekend - trying to cram as much in as soon as possible so we're more useful to guests and also spends future weekends after we get paid in Shanghai.
Well, I'm off!
Much love.
Orientation
So I woke with my friend, the sun, at 4:30 am on Monday and watched it begin its daily climbed as I enjoyed wheat toast with strawberry jam.
Grade A day.
I made it to the bus on time and read some of "Rejuvenile" by Christopher Nixon, trying to ignore all the red lights that the driver was running along the way.
The day before Grace had warned me that everyone cleanses their bodies in the group showers in the locker room to keep their utility bills below our allocated 100 Yuan per month. Group showers don't bother me, I've been in a gym before. Its the "I'm going to run around naked no matter my age or the comfort of those around me" that was worth the warning. Although, they all took the time to steal glances as I changed into my uniform.
Foreigner, yes.
Alien, no.
I've got the same parts as you, now move it along before I start charging.
Unfortunately I don't know how to say ANY of that in Chinese, so it stayed in my head as I wished for another sarcastic English speaker.
Well, let's make it a good day.
I got my skirt on and realized it was a little, well, short.
And tight.
When I tried on my uniform they handed me a generic size, say a large, and asked me to try the jacket/shirt thing on. It was too big so I asked for a smaller size and was given a smaller set along with panty hose (damn it) and black heels.
Yes, Madison Sites now wears heels to work.
Oh, and finally a bow barrett with a little crocheted bag on it to hold the bun I'm required to put my hair in.
Panty hose, heels, and now a bun? And I've already allowed someone to put a Q-tip up my but for a health inspection?
I don't get paid enough.
I asked if I had to wear my hair in a bun if it was physically too short to put into one.
Nope.
I checked last night and a hair cut is 58 Yuan. $9.21, not bad.
What do you think? Should I chop it off?
Since I didn't have a translator nearby, I couldn't ask for a bigger skirt so that would have to wait.
We headed to the training room, ready for a full day of IHG propaganda.
It was a pretty boring day for me. Coming from the Kemmons Wilson School under the University of Memphis, I already knew about the history of IHG and so I day dreamed about all the foods I wanted in December.
Don't judge me.
Charles Zhou, the training director, was actually the inspiration for creating the "Heart of the House," a new company-wide initiative to get employees more involved and also to spruce up the back of house, which is generally ugly and very similar to a hospital corridor.
Shudder.
He is really passionate about IHG and especially Intercontinental. He was super-impressed that I "come from Kemmon Wilshun home and go to his shool" (hopefully you can understand the phonetic spelling). He loves that the hotel has management trainees and when he told us why, he explained a growing problem in the workforce of China.
As you're probably aware, China has a one-child policy. Everyone is only allowed one offspring. This is an attempt to curb their seriously over-populated country, that still has a rising population due to the increase in longevity.
This has created 2 unintended side-effects that I've discovered.
As you're probably also aware, many Chinese women will abort their child as soon as they find out it's a girl. Essentially, you only get one shot and you want that one to carry on your name. It's very medieval times-esque.
So you've got these shady side-street abortions going on with such great medical tools like a hangar. Yeah, a hangar. As you can imagine, this poses a serious health risk that often leads to death. Abortion isn't a DIY kind of deal - speaking of, has anyone seen Revolutionary Road? It's a good watch. At least I liked it, a lot of people don't. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The second issue is often found in the states. In fact, my high school (a private one) was practically a breeding ground for the epidemic.
Spoiled brat syndrome.
Real life problems, folks.
So you've got one kid that grows up as an only child, well, a whole generation of them. Since they're the only child and only grandchild, they are doted upon by 3 sets of people - both grandparents and mom and dad. Since this child is also their only expense, they have loads more money to spend on them, too.
They grow up and are still spoiled and sucking the proverbial tit, but they can't shame their family by being unemployed. So what do they do?
They get an office job.
The ones where they can paint their nails, sit on the phone, and read the paper all day doing virtually nothing. In fact, most women just want to be a secretary, holding papers for the big boss to sign.
That's a dream job?
How unfulfilling.
In essence, China now desperately lacks a talented work force. Which means there's tons of room for those of us in the states who actually work to come and work and move up quickly.
Moving on.
As an after-lunch break, Charles took us on a tour of the hotel. Check it out.
These are pictures of Club Continental, their executive club. It is an extra 350 Yuan plus 15% of the rate on Sunday-Thursday and 400 Yuan plus 15% of the rate on Friday and Saturday night ($55 and $63 respectively). A good rate considering what it includes. Free internet, 2 hours of meeting room time, 20 free prints, private check-in and check-out, plus private concierge services. They also serve complimentary meals: breakfast (6:30-10:30am), tea (2:30-4:30pm), and happy hour (6:30-8:30pm). I personally love the library and feel like that book, "The Shack" is following me through my life. No, I haven't read it, yet.
Here's a look at some of the rooms. They're super nice and have a lamp outside of each room that has the room number printed on it. All the toilets are those mega techy ones with a remote bar and automatically open the lid when you walk in the bathroom. Every view is panoramic with a Yamaha surround sound system in the room and an input bar to plug in your computer or phone to the TV. And every room comes with two complimentary gas masks. Apparently it is a law to keep them in the rooms in the event of a fire or emergency as there would be no way to distribute them to all the guests in the midst of an emergency. Sort of like keeping life jackets in your room on a cruise ship. Makes sense to me and sort of makes me wish we had those safety standards in the states, too.
The spa is pretty awesome too and even makes me, quite the un-girly girl, want to spend a day spending someone else's money in there. I need a sugar daddy, pronto. The pool is an awesome infinity pool that aligns to look as if it merges with Jin Ji lake. They even have 2 chess rooms and 6 Mah Jong rooms. I'm putting that on my China list, play real, not on the computer, Mah Jong.
Overall, awesome tour that made me wonder why I keep working in places I will never be able to afford.
Frick.
We finished with enough time to eat dinner and catch ourselves on the "New Faces" board before the next shuttle home.
It was a really great day that made me really excited to be here and especially be at an Intercontinental.
Grade A day.
I made it to the bus on time and read some of "Rejuvenile" by Christopher Nixon, trying to ignore all the red lights that the driver was running along the way.
The day before Grace had warned me that everyone cleanses their bodies in the group showers in the locker room to keep their utility bills below our allocated 100 Yuan per month. Group showers don't bother me, I've been in a gym before. Its the "I'm going to run around naked no matter my age or the comfort of those around me" that was worth the warning. Although, they all took the time to steal glances as I changed into my uniform.
Foreigner, yes.
Alien, no.
I've got the same parts as you, now move it along before I start charging.
Unfortunately I don't know how to say ANY of that in Chinese, so it stayed in my head as I wished for another sarcastic English speaker.
Well, let's make it a good day.
I got my skirt on and realized it was a little, well, short.
And tight.
When I tried on my uniform they handed me a generic size, say a large, and asked me to try the jacket/shirt thing on. It was too big so I asked for a smaller size and was given a smaller set along with panty hose (damn it) and black heels.
Yes, Madison Sites now wears heels to work.
Oh, and finally a bow barrett with a little crocheted bag on it to hold the bun I'm required to put my hair in.
Panty hose, heels, and now a bun? And I've already allowed someone to put a Q-tip up my but for a health inspection?
I don't get paid enough.
I asked if I had to wear my hair in a bun if it was physically too short to put into one.
Nope.
I checked last night and a hair cut is 58 Yuan. $9.21, not bad.
What do you think? Should I chop it off?
Since I didn't have a translator nearby, I couldn't ask for a bigger skirt so that would have to wait.
We headed to the training room, ready for a full day of IHG propaganda.
It was a pretty boring day for me. Coming from the Kemmons Wilson School under the University of Memphis, I already knew about the history of IHG and so I day dreamed about all the foods I wanted in December.
Don't judge me.
Charles Zhou, the training director, was actually the inspiration for creating the "Heart of the House," a new company-wide initiative to get employees more involved and also to spruce up the back of house, which is generally ugly and very similar to a hospital corridor.
Shudder.
He is really passionate about IHG and especially Intercontinental. He was super-impressed that I "come from Kemmon Wilshun home and go to his shool" (hopefully you can understand the phonetic spelling). He loves that the hotel has management trainees and when he told us why, he explained a growing problem in the workforce of China.
As you're probably aware, China has a one-child policy. Everyone is only allowed one offspring. This is an attempt to curb their seriously over-populated country, that still has a rising population due to the increase in longevity.
This has created 2 unintended side-effects that I've discovered.
As you're probably also aware, many Chinese women will abort their child as soon as they find out it's a girl. Essentially, you only get one shot and you want that one to carry on your name. It's very medieval times-esque.
So you've got these shady side-street abortions going on with such great medical tools like a hangar. Yeah, a hangar. As you can imagine, this poses a serious health risk that often leads to death. Abortion isn't a DIY kind of deal - speaking of, has anyone seen Revolutionary Road? It's a good watch. At least I liked it, a lot of people don't. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The second issue is often found in the states. In fact, my high school (a private one) was practically a breeding ground for the epidemic.
Spoiled brat syndrome.
Real life problems, folks.
So you've got one kid that grows up as an only child, well, a whole generation of them. Since they're the only child and only grandchild, they are doted upon by 3 sets of people - both grandparents and mom and dad. Since this child is also their only expense, they have loads more money to spend on them, too.
They grow up and are still spoiled and sucking the proverbial tit, but they can't shame their family by being unemployed. So what do they do?
They get an office job.
The ones where they can paint their nails, sit on the phone, and read the paper all day doing virtually nothing. In fact, most women just want to be a secretary, holding papers for the big boss to sign.
That's a dream job?
How unfulfilling.
In essence, China now desperately lacks a talented work force. Which means there's tons of room for those of us in the states who actually work to come and work and move up quickly.
Moving on.
As an after-lunch break, Charles took us on a tour of the hotel. Check it out.
These are pictures of Club Continental, their executive club. It is an extra 350 Yuan plus 15% of the rate on Sunday-Thursday and 400 Yuan plus 15% of the rate on Friday and Saturday night ($55 and $63 respectively). A good rate considering what it includes. Free internet, 2 hours of meeting room time, 20 free prints, private check-in and check-out, plus private concierge services. They also serve complimentary meals: breakfast (6:30-10:30am), tea (2:30-4:30pm), and happy hour (6:30-8:30pm). I personally love the library and feel like that book, "The Shack" is following me through my life. No, I haven't read it, yet.
Here's a look at some of the rooms. They're super nice and have a lamp outside of each room that has the room number printed on it. All the toilets are those mega techy ones with a remote bar and automatically open the lid when you walk in the bathroom. Every view is panoramic with a Yamaha surround sound system in the room and an input bar to plug in your computer or phone to the TV. And every room comes with two complimentary gas masks. Apparently it is a law to keep them in the rooms in the event of a fire or emergency as there would be no way to distribute them to all the guests in the midst of an emergency. Sort of like keeping life jackets in your room on a cruise ship. Makes sense to me and sort of makes me wish we had those safety standards in the states, too.
The spa is pretty awesome too and even makes me, quite the un-girly girl, want to spend a day spending someone else's money in there. I need a sugar daddy, pronto. The pool is an awesome infinity pool that aligns to look as if it merges with Jin Ji lake. They even have 2 chess rooms and 6 Mah Jong rooms. I'm putting that on my China list, play real, not on the computer, Mah Jong.
Overall, awesome tour that made me wonder why I keep working in places I will never be able to afford. Frick.
We finished with enough time to eat dinner and catch ourselves on the "New Faces" board before the next shuttle home.
It was a really great day that made me really excited to be here and especially be at an Intercontinental.
I still can't believe I went from a concession stand worker to China in 6 years.
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