Working Abroad

This spam popped up while I was probably trying to blog, but I found it unusual. It reads "Do you want to miss your chance to Live and Work in the USA?" And the only button provided is "Yes." Then I thought to myself, have I gone too far in this Asia thing and global mindset and do I ever see myself working back in the USA?

Well, the spam didn't give me the option to click "No I don't want to miss my chance to live and work in the USA"... so I'm exploring the feeling of how 2 more years in Hong Kong or Shanghai might feel. It's currently not the future I'm facing but that is because after UNC I leave that blog unwritten. But I'm just keeping my mind open... funny spam though.

Probably the only one who reads spam pop-ups,
Catherine

Rough Day

So after I lost my keys the other day from a hole in my bag, I decided
to retrace my steps and find the earring I had aslo lost walking to
the MTR and look for my keys as well, in this process I managed to
lose my student ID, which I had just loaded with money for aircon,
retracing my steps again for my card and my earring I managed to drop
1 hkd coin sounds like nothing but then when if you show up to united
college there is nothing to eat for 15, so try out new asia canteen
and the only thing below 16 (the price of most of the menu) is a
"slated beet and egg" sandwich, liking beets I thought hey it cant be
that bad... but alas the translation meant to say "salted beef & egg
sandwich" so I took my salted beef and egg sandwich and walked home...
on my walk home, the egg fell out of my sandwich into the road, and
then was run over by a bus.

Today has been one of those glorious days that makes me think, "At
least I was not the egg under the bus."

Made in China 2

Vacuum Sealed Drumstick?

Tofu on a stick?

Teddy Bear Out to Dry?

Mao in the Window of a Fast Food Stop?


- Catherine

Animals of China

A chicken in a bag on the subway.

A Chow Chow with a bandana.


An adorable kitty named Chloe.


A pensive kitty named Chloe.



Missing Coco,
Catherine

Doing Better Business in China

5 Important Tips of Doing Business in China
1. Never undreestimate the importance of existing connections. Chinese want to do business with people they trust. But there is no real trust unless a person is in their circle
2. Never pressure your Chinese partner for a decision. Not to speed up the decision process, slow down.
3. Respect Face.
4. A great deal of business in China is conducted over dinner. However, business dinners or lunches can also indicate a general warming of a relationship, and in this case, their role should not be over-stated.
5. The Chinese generally like to give small and inexpensive gifts.

Practicing steps 1 - 5,
Catherine

Made in China

Only in Asia will you find a Water Flow Sound Sensor next to the toilet to encourage your performance. But 25 seconds!

I've heard of people being kicked to the curb, but this was a bit to literal. Bed on the street next to ovenmits taped to motorcycle handles for warmth.

Asian's are all about Wedding Photo Shoots, this location was the park for an apartment building.

Gold people promoting Doublemint Gum. I guess they have these in Barcelona and NYC and really anywhere where monochrome people really make a sales difference.


- Catherine

Doing Business in China

Tips from our Marketing Class

Three Weapons:
1. Policy
- Always move ahead of the policy, see the domestic market
- If you don't follow the policy of the government, then you can move into trouble.
- Government policy affects Corporate Strategy

2. Corporate Strategy
- Move into the domestic markets in order to gain traction

3. Relationship (Guan Xi)
- Overseas companies have heavy emphasis on Guan Xi, so that you can be more mobile in China.
- In the 80s and early 90s, relationships helped you enter markets.
- Now, since opening the WTO in 2002, the Chinese government has to be fair to companies. The relationship helps you understand detail about the policy but it's not the only thing now.
- If you don't know how to play the relationship card, then it will get you in trouble.

In the old day when you invest in China you bring money, technician and technique, but from now on if you invest in China I advice you to bring along with you a lawyer, an accountant and an economist

- Mr. Zhu Rong Ji, Former Prime Minister of China

Central Government Policy = Company Law, Tax Ordinance, Economic Law, Foreign Affair
Local Government Policy = Tax Incentive, Investment Incentive

Case 1: The implementation of New Labor Ordinance
Case 2: the Change of Policy Towards the Sub-Contracting Factory in Southern China
Case 3: The Real Estate Policy

Corporate Strategy:
- Type of Investment
- Localization
- Location of market
- Consumer Behaviors
- Competition
- Pricing

Reasons why Shanghai is so important to China:
1. End of the Yangzte River
2. The buildings on the Bund have been there for over 100 years
3. Shainghainese is the most of all the Chinese that are willing to spend

Case 1: Gucci Watches vs. Swatch
Case 2: Movie Business (theater)
- If you want to have a Hollywood movie in the China market, you can only have about 25 foreign movies a year. If the production houses want to share the movie, they have to JV (joint venture) with a local production house. Relationship important.
Case 3: Ernst & Young (CPA firm)
Case 4: Zara, H&M, Next
- Purchasing power of the market, inventory turn over 7 days.

Relationship: Guan Xi
- Building up good business relationships, trust, time&money spent on business
- Makes all the difference in ensuring that business will be successful, minimizes rusks, frustrations, disappointments

"How to Build Guan Xi"
- First, it is not only based on money. Based on heart.
- Being dependable and reliable
- Guan Xi with high rank official is important but never use it wrongly"


I know it was a bit dry of a presentation...Catherine

Reunited At Last!

It's an interesting friend dynamic when you find yourself reunited after 8 months apart after having once spent so much time together (tutoring, Dr. Unks, Geisha Class, workout buddies, sorority sistas, dinner club founders, summer school scholars, too much time together). It's also interesting when your reunion takes place in China.

When one asks me how I became enthusiastic about Asia, I have to admit - a lot has to do with Krisanna. So the Story Goes, it was one of my first weeks in college and as a junior then, Krisanna knew who I was through Chi O rush and saw me at a SEAS interest meeting. Seeking me out from the crowd, she bounded over to me super excited that I was interested in the Southeast Asian Summer Program - due to rush, she knew my name, my sister, my school, my features, my flaws, everything. I did not know who in the world she was...except that she LOVED Asia. Her infectious excitement about Asia quickly was transfered as I learned more about SEAS. Due to our mutual friend Angelo Coclanis, Krisanna and I hung out together in Singapore in the summer of 2008 and met En-Ming Ong, Angelo's Choate tennis partner and began our network of Asian pals through UNC.

Returning to UNC, Krisanna encouraged me to get involved in SEAIA - the Southeast Asia Interest Association of Carolina. From then, I became Secretary to her Presidency and we raised almost $1,700 for an orphanage in Mae Sot, Thailand through our annual SEAIA Benefit Dinner. Staying connected and jazzed about travel and asia, we took similar courses having both done the SEAS track and also took a great course on Geisha's. I realize I'm writing too much about a random thing but it may help put into perspective how deep this friendship is and how paths cross across the world. Anyways, Krisanna and I became great friends, chefs, geishas, fast pace walkers, you name it! So it was a real treat to see her in her element, speaking fluent Mandarin in Shanghai! Her birthday party was a great evening and the rest of the weekend a true joy (we were lucky with the weather too)!

2 Dutchmen, a couple sorority girls, and a Singaporean go for Teppanyaki... sounds like a joke.

Birthday girl enjoyed my feather gift.

This pic goes to Angelo Coclanis. Thanks for being the mutual friend!
2nd time Reunion with Ming in Asia so far, going for reunion #3 this weekend in Hong Kong (he has a school field trip ahah).

Never thought it would happen, a Shanghai Reunion - what next! Guilin for Easter!


Nice to have a touch of familiarity, Catherine

Shanghai: Pre-Expo-loitation!

I snuck away to Shanghai this weekend to visit Krisanna, my dear friend. Although I was upset that the Expo had not begun and I would probably have to (want to) make another trip up there for the Expo, I did not realize how much the Expo was changing the city. With the Expo becoming the focus of China's financial city, several things are taking place. Constant construction. HaiBao overload. and De-china-ing of the streets. The construction of the various world pavilions as pictured below will be amazing once finished. And the dental propaganda character Hai Bao is actually the mascot for the Expo as he resembles the Chinese character, which means people. But the most shocking was the de-China-ing that was going on. Red light districts were dismantled, the fake DVD market had to put its American films in the secret backroom for the Expo and several shady businesses were non-existent due to the pressures of the Expo. I found it special that I visited Shanghai before the World Expo (true only 40 days before) but still, the Expo will change Shanghai forever. The migration numbers are absurd for the amount of Chinese that will travel to Shanghai and even the Little Mermaid is coming across the sea.

China's Pavilion

Thailand's Pavilion

Hai Bao the mascot, well his backside.


- Catherine

Maturity at it's finest

So this blog post may come down just out of sheer randomness, but if you want to get a little peek into my life when the business ideas are put to rest and the foodie label is retired, then these might explain a little about myself. Warning: I'm still 20 and silly sometimes. Krisanna and I couldn't help but get the best angles on our straws with "Open Happiness," the direct Chinese translation of Coca Cola.

I mean, it was a gorgeous day, who couldn't have a little fun with the ole' camera and Coca-Cola.

The Pearl! We attempted to do an X and O but failed miserably. I think China's mastered the reflective material industry.


Proud to be a goofball when the time is appropriate, Catherine

Barbie GIrl: Full Circle from Denmark's Aqua to Shanghai's Flagship Store

This was strictly market research for my marketing project on Mattel's diva, Barbie Roberts.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't just for research.

The Barbie store in Shanghai has 6 floors of plastic, spas, shopping, cafes, and accessories! More than anyone should ever be exposed to in one day.

I'll admit it, I'm no Barbie. Madge even is smirky at how odd I look as a blonde.

Krisanna's face looks minature. Well, we were subsequently kicked out of this display because it was for 12 year olds or younger.

Calvert, why did we just get the generic Barbies, when Sumatra-Indonesian Barbie existed! Okay, I'll admit the Olympics Barbies were top drawer.


Dreaming of life in plastic, Catherine

Gnarly Dude

One of the unexpected attributes of Shanghai was the tree selection. Between the buildings and the maneating taxis (they stop for no body, our cab hit a woman) back to the point, between the buildings and the streets are these fantastic gnarly trees. Krisanna says that the leaves make them really beautiful but since it snowed almost a week before our arrival, the trees just look bare.

The Hyatt on the Bund in the background also known as the bottle cap building I believe

But really, did anyone know that Shanghai had these?! I didn't. I was fascinated by them -hence so many pictures. But really added to the charm and unusualness of Shanghai.


- Catherine

AM Adventurers: Australia Dairy Co.

Nothing like a little adventure for breakfast! Jessica and I (my foodie friend) have heard so much about Australia Dairy Co. - we ignored it at first, the name was not enticing. But review after review, we heard that ADC was the place to be. Known for its fluffy scrambled eggs, ADC has 2-3 full time egg cookers that are responsible for their signature egg sandwich. Hong Kong egg sandwiches consist of eggs and what should be fluffy white bread. Simple, but local. So off we went, 8am to Jordan Station to find the Australia Dairy Co. before our 10:30am Chinese Marketing class. Talk about ambitious!

The pace of this place is insane - eat and go is the style and food arrives within seconds.

Their famous Egg White Custard; a comforting consistency matched with enough sweetness and protein to really fill you up. I recommend splitting this order next time.

Fluffy. Nuf said.

The simple mix of eggs, salt, bread, and hunger made for a protein packed breakfast. And due to our perfect timing, we had enough time to enjoy breakfast, read our case for Marketing and arrive to class with 5 minutes to settle down and recover from our food coma. 5 stars!

- Catherine

Make it the 6th P: Phood

Beginning my love of Hong Kong, I'm returning to my passion of flavor. So within the 6th P: Phood, there are the 4 S's: Survey, Savor, Surroundings, Strangers. In order to grasp food culture fully, I have to do my research; I have to be enveloped by the flavor; I have to observe the ambience/lack of ambience; and the new requirement: I must befriend one stranger - this bit taken from the fantastic connections we made outside of Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum (Bank of America in Tokyo with Mariko!).

This Kaya container resembles the fantastic jam based on eggs, coconut and sugar that symbolizes the fantastic experiences of both Singapore (SEAS 2008) and Malaysia - with David! But this is only the beginning. *note this picture is from my desk - are those Monopoly cards in the background?

- Catherine

Delicious Yet Dirty: Dai Pai Dong

Not what I was expecting, but that's still a smile!
Octopus tentacles - hardest thing to chopstick.

First frog leg of the night!

Clean Plate Club.

Free Congee at Tai Yuen - Just what Jessica and I were craving! Seriously, we were dying for some congee - rice soup with chicken parts.

Frog Legs, Anyone?? Imagine a chicken that did small reps for their workouts - little morsels of tight muscle, no extra taste beyond chicken. Delicious but boney.

Octopus Mouth. Not even sure what this is really but that's the name. Perfect Chinese replacement for bar peanuts, chili flavor with calamari chew and pop.

Fried tofu. Melts in your mouth too creamy to be healthy but a nice break from the peculiar dishes.

Fried noodles. Too oily for my taste but delicious and quite the norm.

- Catherine