Talking with Strangers

I am sorry it has been me so long since my last post; the days go by too quick! In addition to all the time I spend going to my classes and doing my Chinese homework, I now have an internship which eats another 10 hours of my week;14 when you factor in transportation. 

So far, it has been a great experience. I am interning at a Chinese company called VanceInfo which specializes in IT Outsourcing for companies such as Microsoft and Lenovo. They are definitely growing fast and opening up offices around the world. The department I work for is the HR and Training division. So far my duties have consisted of holding phone interviews to test applicants English, creating PowerPoint presentations for the new training program the company wants to develop, and grading English writing samples. 

My first day was a bit overwhelming as my boss and coworkers only really spoke to me in Chinese. They have been using more English since then, but interning here is definitely going to be a test of how much Chinese I know.  They are much more comfortable if they can use Chinese so I try my best to follow along. So far they seem to like my efforts though! I even went out to lunch with a few of them last week. Once again, it was a crash course in Chinese. I felt like I was being thrown into the deep end without fully knowing how to swim. 

While thinking back to the highlights of the past few weeks, I began to notice that quite a few of them began with talking to strangers. In China it is so easy to start talking with the other people that you encounter. Being a foreigner certainly helps since many people are quite curious and ready to ask you where you are from and see if you can speak Chinese. 

Last Friday my Chinese class took a field trip to a nearby park which is a popular hangout place for the older generation of Chinese. Our task was to interview different people and find out how often they came to the park, why they came, and ask them a little about their lifestyle. While a bit intimidating, my classmates and I definitely had a lot of fun. It turned out that pretty much everyone said they come to exercise, chat with friends, and enjoy the atmosphere on a daily basis. I really wish parks were this energetic in America. When you walk through it in the mornings you can really understand why these people love coming here every day. 

Talking with strangers also incidentally led to my first ride on a Moped; quite the experience! Every Monday a Western Sports Bar has a special on burgers and fries so needless to say most of the group was planning to go. I was coming from my internship and decided to try and meet them at the restaurant. 

The only problem was that I only had the address and when I got out of the subway I had no clue where to go. I saw two people with jackets that said “Traffic Assistance” so I decided they would be a good place to start to ask for directions. Once they figured out where I was trying to go, the guy gestured to his Moped and said “Don’t worry, I’ll take you”. Before I even knew what was happening, I found myself flying down one of the main streets in Shanghai, weaving in between lanes, cars, and bikes. Well you may think this sounds somewhat scary, it was actually quite exciting! While I would never want to be the one driving, riding with someone who knows what to do seems to be the way to go. I don’t think I will be repeating this experience anytime soon, but I am definitely glad I it happened!

Much more has happened, but its getting late and I need to finish up some more homework. I'll be sure to write later this week about my weekend trip to Xitang and the story behind how I how I obtained a private Chinese Brush Painting teacher. Once again, this involves meeting a stranger and striking up a conversation. 

Zaijian, 

Rachel