The Skype Phone

In response to my previous blog entry, my devoted husband allegedly (he wont admit it) sent an email out to a mass group of friends and family encouraging people to call me. I just realized this when I opened my Skype account and found 16 loving voicemail messages.

Unfortunately, here’s the deal with the Skype phone. There is a way that the phone number you have can ring into my apartment. I know very little about physics, but what I do know is that the electricity current in China is like 1000x stronger than we have in the USA and if you plug your US electronics into the wall, they will fry. I learned this only after 1) my hairdryer wouldn’t turn on anymore 2) Our CO2 detector stopped working and 3) a power strip had a mini-explosion on my first night (T+3 hours landed in Shanghai) and I had a blackout in my apartment. (Hi, front desk, yes, this is 2A, I arrived 30 seconds ago … yes, the sweaty American girl with the big bags … I blew out every fuse in my apartment… Um, my fuse box blew out…um electricity…? Let’s see: No light – all black – please fix.)

I learned from these experiences that besides being a slow learner, you cannot just plug anything into the wall with a simple adapter. You need a converter. Now, this may seem like a simple task but upon shopping for converters in China, I realized that the following is not a recipe for success:

- Not speaking Chinese
- Not knowing squat about electricity
- Not wanting to break anything else

Decision: I better wait for Aaron to arrive to make our apartment high-tech. (aka plug in our electronics)

What were we talking about? Oh yes, Skype. OK. So, we have a Skype phone that will actually ring in the apartment (once hooked up) when you dial the number you have. As of now, however, when you call, it rings into my computer. If my computer is on and the program is open, I can get the call. But, usually, the little time that I am home at night that I’m not sleeping, my computer is off.

MAIN MESSAGE: Do not stop calling. I love getting your voicemails! But, we have to wait a couple more weeks (hopefully just 3) until Aaron arrives, gets us all electrified, and then we can SKYPE IT UP!

"How ARE you?"

So far, my blog entries have been about my experiences in and observations of China. I really appreciate you keeping up with my journey! I quite enjoy all of your responses and comments. In follow-up, many of you have said, “How are you?” And I sincerely get where that question is coming from because, while I talk about what I’m doing and what I’m observing, I haven’t really commented on how I am actually doing. So, if you are interested…. Here I go.

I am doing OK. And I mean OK not in the sense of, yes, I’m OK, no problem. I mean OK in the sense of not fantastic but not horrible. Purely a description of feeling average. Some days are literally just that, average. And other times are a mixture of extreme highs and extreme lows, clearly averaging out to feeling just OK.

Being uprooted from my home, my job, my friends, my family, and everything that I know and feel comfortable with, has left me with a feeling of isolation. My first few days were good. I was excited and I felt like I was on a vacation, an adventure. But after the first week, it hit me (and hit me hard) that I wasn’t here for vacation. I wasn’t here for a few days. I was here. Really here. In China. By myself. Nothing is familiar and nothing comes easy.

Have you ever moved to a new job? It’s hard, right? You don’t know the office politics. You don’t know where anything is. And, you don’t know what you are doing.

Have you ever moved to a new city or your first day in college? You don’t know anybody. You don't know your way around. And, it doesn't feel like home.

Have you ever traveled to a foreign country? You don’t speak with language (and cant read the signs). You look different, so people stare at you. And, the culture is so different (yep, people are still farting and burping).

Have you ever left your family and friends behind and gone somewhere just by yourself? Nobody to explore with. Nobody to share the experience with. And, nobody to have dinner with (eating at a restaurant alone, over and over, gets old).

Now, imagine going through all of those experiences all at once. Really think about it: New job... New city... Foreign country... By myself...

That's a lot of change.

The job keeps me quite busy, which, while totally draining and all-consuming, distracts me. My apartment complex has a beautiful exercise facility so by the time I get home from work, and then home from the gym, its 9 or 10 pm. Most of the day already gone and not much time left to feel the isolation. So, the weekdays have been OK.

But, it’s the weekends (I’ve had 2 so far) when my emotions catch up with me. Its the weekends when I have the time and mental space to really think about how I am feeling. I want to point out that it is not for lack of plans or lack of being with other people. I actually feel quite lucky to have quickly met people to spend my weekend with. And, even though these new friends are so kind, being with new friends is just not the same as being with your old friends and family. There is still a piece of me that feels alone.

And so it’s the weekends when my mind catches up to my heart and I feel the loneliness and isolation. I think also, the fact that it has been pouring rain the past two weekends, also contributes to how I am feeling. It’s hard to go out and explore a new city in the rain. (Right now it is Friday evening, 70 degrees and sunny, so I’m hoping this weekend brings sun – both outside and within me).

So overall, I’m doing OK. It has been hard. I know someday (hopefully soon), I will look back and be so appreciative to have had this experience. However, I have to say that right now, I am looking forward to Aaron getting here. It will be nice to have one of my people (my top person!) here with me to share this experience with. To explore with. To talk to. To figure this place out with. And, most importantly, to sit quietly together with and just know that I have someone to lean on if I need to lean.

Its The Little Things...

I've recently celebrated my 1 week anniversary in China (celebrate = work late, go home alone and reheat frozen dimsum). There are obviously the major differences between China and the US, like language and culture. But, I've been keeping an eye out for those little differences as I find these just as, if not more, interesting.

Here is a list of 10 things that are different in China... in no particular order.

1. Elevators: Rather than pushing up or down before getting on an elevator and pushing the floor number when you enter, China has a different system. As you approach the bank of elevators, there is a keypad. You enter into the keypad the floor you want to go to, and then, a letter flashes on the screen. Each elevator is labeled with a letter and you proceed to respective elevator. When you enter the elevator that the key pad instructed you to go to, the elevator will stop on the floor you entered. There are no buttons in the actual elevator. So, there is no changing your mind. As well, no little kids pushing every button forcing you to stop on every floor.
2. DVDs: While you cannot watch most American TV shows on TV, most every American TV show is available on DVD. And, each DVD is $1 or less. So, for example, you can buy an entire season of Greys Anatomy or American Idol for $3 or $4. Dad - You can buy the entire series of Seinfeld for about $30 (I'm talking EVERY season!).
3. Cars: Nobody stops for you. You know (unless someone is a real jerk) in the US, people let you cross, especially if you've already started moving across a street. Well, in China, nobody stops. Nobody. Even if you are in the middle of a crosswalk in the middle of a street, and you have the right of way and someone wants to make a right on red. Watch out, because they will keep moving.
4. Bodily Noises: Besides being in the privacy of my home with my husband or brother, I'm used to people being private (or stealth) about bodily noises. In China, it doesn't seem to be rude to burp or fart in public. I'm talking at restaurants, in the workplace, everywhere. There are noises-a-flying! I try not to laugh. Or be grossed out.
5. Volume: People are loud. And its normal. At work. On the phone. Talking on the street. To me it seems like yelling, but to them, its normal talking. You'd think I'd fit in well, given my issues with volume control. But here, believe it or not, I'm quiet.
6. Meals: At all of the authentic Chinese restaurants I have been to so far, I have not been given a napkin. And, when you ask for one, you get a tissue (I'm talking like a piece of Kleenex -- not so absorbent when you are slurping noodles with chopsticks! Aside: My Tide-to-Go pen has been quite handy). And, there is no drink served with the meal. Once in a while, maybe tea, but no water, no soda, no juice. Nothing. Even when you ask, most places have a slim selection. I'm so thirsty!

A few points at work...
7. Time: At 8:59 AM, the office is empty. Quiet. At 9 AM, people file in. And same at the end of the day. 5:29 PM, busy busy busy, type type type, talk talk talk (loudly, see point 5). 5:30 PM. Everybody stands up, packs up, and leaves. Mind you, Matthew, Lena and I arrive way before 9 AM, and yes, way, way after 5:30....
8. Miniature: We received our office supplies earlier this week. Everything is small. Seriously. Like travel sized. I have a small stapler, a small tape dispenser, small notebooks, a small whole punch. I have the perfect desk... for Joshua and Eden! I feel like I'm playing "house," or "office" for that matter. Funny thing is, the paper is actually big. Its size A4. I hear that only the US uses 8 1/2" x 11".
9. Clean: There are women who clean the office all day, everyday. They are constantly wiping down counters, watering plants, cleaning the windows, and emptying the trash. I actually have to be careful what I throw away. The other day, I went back to my trashcan to pull something out that I had thrown away earlier and it was gone. Literally, like an hour later, gone.
And finally...
10. Nice: Not that this is necessarily a difference from the US, but something I have noticed. So far, everyone I have met has been SO nice. I met a few young women who work at GE in China. All of them so kind, and so willing to help me get settled in the city. They each gave me their phone numbers... The other day, I was walking with 2 of my colleagues around the office, trying to find a place for lunch. We spotted a young Chinese woman who we heard speaking English. When we asked her to point us in the right direction for a little lunch, she ended up walking us about 5-10 minutes out of her way to take us to a good lunch place that served vegetarian food (one of the women I was with, Riddhi from India, does not eat meat). And even today, I stopped into a Vietnamese restaurant to eat some lunch. The waitress didn't speak English and I only know how to say, "This pen is blue" in Chinese. The manager, whose English was perfect, came over and helped me order. She stayed at chatted with me for about 15 minutes while I waited for my food. She was so kind and so helpful. Its actually quite refreshing to meet so many people who are so willing to help and befriend someone new.

Body Check

To work in China, you need to get a workers Visa. To get a workers Visa, you need to have a physical check. From my experience this morning, I now see how communism works.

We were taken to the International Healthcare Center, a facility run by the Chinese government, for, what they call, a body check. We were told that we could not eat before the appointment. Upon entering, you provided a copy of your passport, your original passport, and 3 pictures of yourself (specific pose and size required). You filled out forms about yourself, your job in China, and your medical history; and, you were given a number. Oh yes. You pay $100. We sat in a waiting room full of expats. There were people from all over the world in this room, all ages. Also, families there with little children. The room was crowded, standing room only and everybody watched a screen and waiting for your number to show.

When your number appeared on the screen, you went into a little room with 2 ladies, each at opposite sides of a table, each on computers, typing very quickly. They took your picture, asked you to sign a bunch of documents, and said some stuff in Chinese that I didn't understand. They sent you to the next room. In the next room, you get weighed, measured, and then given a robe (which was designed for a 6 ft tall, 200 lb man). You had to take everything off above the waist and put the robe on over your pants. You are sent to the next room. Here, an aggressive woman says, "sit." I sit. She says, "give me your left arm." I give her my right (I'm a little slow...). She said, "No! Left!" and grabs my left arm, puts it on a pillow, and aggressively starts rubbing it with iodine. Next thing I know, she's drawing my blood. I felt like I was in an episode of Lost and I was a scientific experiment. When she finishes she says, "You done. Next room." From there, I go to the following rooms: Chest X-Ray, Eye Exam, EKG, Ultrasound of my belly, and finally a body check. You have to realize that this is a short hallway full of rooms on the left and right with chairs aligned on either side of the hall. Dozens of people are filing in and out of each room, one after the other... every seat in the hallway is taken by someone waiting to go into the next room. All of us crazy enough to agree to work in China. In the body check, she takes my blood pressure, and then asks me to lay down on the table. She aggressively opens my huge robe (which was wrapped around me twice so the aggressive unwrapping became an entanglement of my arms, the robe, and her hands), and as I lay there exposed on the table, she pokes and prods my body, listens to my heart, and then asks, " You have operation?" I say no because I didnt want to get into any of my medical history if I dont have to. She says, "No? Why scar?" Oh crap. She can see the scar on my neck from my parathyroid surgery. Oh yea, I said, surgery when I baby (I find that using broken English helps them understand me better). And boy did that open a can of worms. For the next 15 minutes, I tried explaining to a women who doesnt speak English what a parathyroidectomy was. I used English, I tried sign language, I tried finding it for her on the internet... and then, I ended up finding a Chinese-English dictionary, looked it up for her, and she read the translation. She was not letting me leave that office until she knew what kind of surgery I had.

And an hour later, and $100 lighter, we put our clothes back on and head back to the office. Another long day at work ahead.

Overall, I found this process quite invasive, aggressive, and a little unsettling. I am not used to this kind of entitlement taken to my body.

As I was leaving, I heard what I think was a Swedish man arguing with the blood-drawing lady. He was saying that he did not want his blood drawn. That he is healthy and that they have no right to take his blood. He said that he did not know that this was part of the process to work in China. Obviously the people who work at the center were inflexible. I then heard him on the phone with what I think was his supervisor at work. He was very unhappy with the process.

As I left, I thought, wow, how far am I really willing to go to work in China? how much of myself am I will to give over....? At what point is it too much...?

I also thought, long live democracy, privacy, and HIPAA!

J&J China, First Days in the Office

I've had 2 days in the office. So far, I havent been home before 10 PM.

My first day in the office was actually spent at the J&J Consumer Site about an hour outside of Shanghai. This site is the manufacturing plant for J&J BandAids in China and Japan, as well as the commercial, R&D, and other functions for their consumer products. They have an entire area designated for focus group testing ... basically women sitting around putting different creams on their faces to try out the Neutrogenia products, for example. It was very interesting to see...

Also, it was so fascinating to see so many common elements that tie J&J together. Things that exist in our J&J US culture and that also are integrated into the China J&J culture. We are people who live 1/2way around the world from each other, who speak different languages and have a different national culture, yet so many common work/career elements link us together. Things like the Our J&J Credo, our care for the customers and patients, and our belief in and work towards our products. And, while our offices are located in such drastically different cities, the look and feel is very similar. In the office, I felt comfortable. It was familiar. I felt like I belonged (a feeling that has been rare so far in China).

Today, my second day, was at our J&J Medical offices in the center of downtown Shanghai. These offices are where I will go most everyday. They are located just a 10 minute walk from my apartment, which is a nice change from my hour commute back in NJ. Today I was reunited with Matthew and Lena, my fellow HRLDPers (HR Leadership Development Program). All of us have a constant look as a "deer in headlights" as we try to tackle the monster project that lies before us. We each manage a large component of the China Talent Council, and are trying to hit the aggressive goals that have been set.

And, today, I continued my work with my teammates, Riddhi, from Bombay, and Reneeta, from Malaysia. The 3 of us, along with my manager, Roshan (also from Malaysia), make up a team that will execute on several Talent Management initiatives across the Asia region. I manage the China Talent Management Organization, and will also assist the team in their other initiatives. I really enjoyed my time with this team. Riddhi and Reneeta are young women who are also doing rotations in Global Talent Management. It was so cool to meet colleagues who are so similar to me, yet from totally different countries. We had a lot in common in so many ways, yet in other ways, no.

And so now, it is 10:30 PM and I am exhausted from my first 2 long days.

Tomorrow I have to get a health check from the government in order to get my workers Visa.

For now, goodnight...

Please come visit... just not through Beijing!

I arrived in Shanghai last night... overall, the trip was easy (eating, sleeping, and watching movies in biz class isnt so bad!). However, I would recommend to anyone coming to visit (yes! please come visit!), that you do not connect through Beijing.

Beijing is in China. Obviously. So when an international flight lands there, you have to go through Customs and Immigration. OK, I've done that in Houston and Newark, you just pick up your bags and then drop them off at the drop spot 50 yards away, not so bad. Oh, also, the airline said that I needed at least 2 hours to make my connection and that I only had 1:30 so it was going to be tight... (they told me this the day before I left, not when I was booking the ticket.)

So, I land in Beijing. No problem. I walk about 15 minutes (I believe this was at least a mile, if not something close to that) to get to immigration. The airport is like 110 degrees. I wait in line, passport clears, now, (I'm slightly jogging at this point worried about the connection), I make my way to pick up my suitcases. The Beijing airport has a great service, these nice little Chinese men who help you with your luggage. So, I get one of these little guys to help me and we wait and wait and wait for my luggage ... finally it comes out. 2 huge and heavy suitcases. He quickly grabs the bags and we run, literally run, for about 500 years to get to the shuttle bus that I need to take to my other terminal. Imagine me, coming off of a 14 hour flight, chasing this little Chinese guy who is pushing my bags in a cart, through the Beijing airport and down this road to catch a bus! I'm sure it was a site. I get on the bus, huge bags in tote. Bus was crowded. And there I am, this American girl with my huge suitcases, which, at every turn of the bus, keep falling over into people.

We ride a good 15 minutes to the Domestic Terminal. At this point I have 45 minutes to make my flight.

I get to terminal. Go to check in for my flight. Long line. I wait. I wait. I wait. Oh, miss, your bags are too heavy for China Air. Please take them over to this other counter miles away and pay $50 to be able to check them. So, I go, I wait, I wait, I wait ... OK, paid. Now, I go all the way back over to the original counter, show the receipt, check in, get ticket. Whew, I think, I'm on my way.

Not so fast..... Gate. Far away. Security line. Long. And slow. I think the people who work security are the same talent pool they hire CVS Pharmacy workers. Finally, I ask to cut the line. They let me. 25 minutes left. But I'm not home free yet.

I get to the gate. But, you have to take a bus (10 minute ride) from the gate to the actual airplane. At least at this point I'm rid of my heavy bags! Someone screams out in Chinese ... I can only imagine they are saying, "Sweaty American girl needs a ride to the airplane... bring back the bus!"

And they do.
Ah. Bus. Plane. Relax..... I made it.

(Landed in Shanghai 2 hours later ... took over 2 hours to get from airport to apartment. Shanghai traffic.)

What a journey.
But I made it.