Executive Economics

I am still wondering if this sign wants me to look out first and then knock my head second!
Well I am now involved in my second course in Shanghai, it is Executive Economics. Everyone who knows me can tell you that my graphing skills are on par with an elephant on PCP, so this might be a challenge. It doesn't seem so bad, and I have it for only three more days. 

This weekend I have been signed up for singles night featuring only people with either their MBA's or MBA students. I am hoping no one realizes that I am a hack, or it could be embarrassing. This could be fun as I have never gone to a singles night before in my life, let alone one in Chinese. I have learned a lot of good sayings that will either get me a second date, or a slap in the face. So it won't be any different from back home.

I am really getting tired of living in residence, I miss having a kitchen, and a tub, but it will do until I go home in July. I finally picked up my entire suit and jacket from Indochino, and it is fantastic. I really recommend this company for online suits http://indochino.com  . They are a first class organization all the way. As soon as I have photos of my new gear, I will post them here.

All in all it has been a good first 6 weeks here in Shanghai, I just need you guys to give me some suggestions of what I should do, I won't promise I will do them, but they are at least half adventurous it will be considered, and you could be immortalized in my blog forever.

Until Jupiter aligns with Mars,

Derek

Suzhou

Last week a large group of students (both foreign and Chinese) went on a day trip to the city of Suzhou. It is about two hours west of Shanghai, so I had to be up and ready to go at 6 am. I did not know that time existed over here as well. After I threw back two cups of Nescafe coffee (tastes like dirt), I trudged out into the pouring rain to go on this journey. After all the people were rounded up we headed out to Suzhou. This trip was planned by Fred and Tom, and they did a very good job. 

Tours in China are lead by a professional tour guide, and ours was all about business, she must have known everything about everywhere we went because she did not stop speaking for 11 hours. The only problem was that she only spoke in Chinese, so the international students tuned her out pretty quickly. Suzhou is famous for its gardens, and for the fact that it is about 60% water. It had stopped raining, but it was still pretty cool, so it made sense to keep moving. The gardens were really neat, but the rocks were very slippery, and I almost bailed on more than one occasion. That would have been epic, if I was able to break my other ankle while here.

Soon we went to a silk factory, which was amazing to see, but it was also a little bit creepy to watch cocoons getting unravelled, so they could make fabric. But the process was really neat.

I walked through the gift shop promising myself I would not buy anything,  and who knew I actually have will power.

The next stop was lunch which could be a whole post on its own. Lets just say tour guides probably get a cut from the restaurants that they take you to. We ended up eating Mc Donald's in a temple, which probably wasn't the PC thing to do but we were so hungry.

The next night the whole crew went out to some pretty Club Love, and let me state that this bar had the worst service of any club I have ever been to in the world. We waited for over an hour for drinks, and when we got them they were so watered down, mormons wouldn't have even gotten a buzz.

The next night the boys all decide it was time to go KTVing (karaoke). We decide it would be smart to drink a bottle of vodka beforehand as we would only buy one bottle there. Well we drank better than we sang, but I still think that the frenchman has a duty to sing Celine Dion. 

That is all that is really new here, I am off to listen to a CFA speak about the financial crisis, and how it is effecting this part of the world so that should be quite interesting, and after that we might go grab a burger at the Blue Frog.

Keep on Rockin........

Derek

Final Exam

Well I write my first final here tomorrow morning, and I guess I am ready. I studied on two separate days so that is about double my norm. I have found Starbucks to be the international studying locale as I have seemed to study in them all over the place in my life. I know the Economist has a Big Mac Index


, but there should be a Starbucks index as my Caramel Machiato is more expensive here than it is back home. I was hoping for $1 Lattes, but I guess that was just a pipe dream.  The treats in the photo are not from Starbucks, but I just wanted to show something that is delicous. I have no idea what they are made of, but the "chocolate" one tastes kida like chocolate, so it isn't so bad.

I am studying and living at Shanghia University, at the Yanchang campus. It is well located, only about 5 stops away from People's Square which is basically the centre of the city. Riding the subway here is super cheap, but sometimes you are sardined into a car which must have 5 times too many people on it. It is almost scary.

My MBA program here is called a GLMBA which stands for Global Local MBA. It has been so interesting to hear different views, and it has really opened my eyes to the fact that there are successful business practices that do not start in either Europe or North America.

I am really starting to miss certain things from back home, little things, weird things. I miss Mythbusters the most for some reason. I do not know why as I have seen every epsiode like a 100 times, but I miss watching geeks almost killing themselves on a weekly basis. There is no Chinese version of it yet that I can find. But when it starts I will let everyone know where to find it.

Well I should get back to the book, as I need more prep. Have a good one!

D-Rex

One Course Finished

Well I have completed my first course here, and it wasn't too bad. It was in HRM, or human resource management. I have taken courses similar to this on before, but this had a completely different view as it was from a Chinese perspective. It was amazing to see how views can be so different from other cultures. Many of the Chinese students did not feel HR was important to a company, but the more I thought about it with my friends we could understand their view. In a country with 1.6 billion people, if someone isn't working out in your company it should not be difficult to find someone to replace them. This is very different from what I was taught over the last few years when the Canadian economy was booming. But now who knows, maybe replacing people back home will become more common. 

Yesterday I took m crew ( Two Swedes: Henrik and Chirs, and to Frenchies: Thierno and Vanessa) to see a friends company. A buddy who  I did my undergrad with has started a company called Indochino (indochino.com) for creating custom tailored suits over the internet. Let me tell you we were all floored by the quality and professionalism of the operation. Kyle was gracious enough to give us a tour of his operation and then took us to one of the largest fabric markets in Shanghai. It is mind blowing the scope and scale of this place. All the men decided that we really needed to place orders because his stuff is amazing quality and very affordable. So in a few days all of us will be ready for the pages of GQ.

In Shanghai you can pay for subway, bus, and taxi all by the same card. But it has come to our attention you have to keep an eye on your card as sometimes it can "accidently" be exchanged for a different one. Therefor most people have some sticker or identifiable mark on their card to prevent this from happening. A friend gave me a little plastic sleeve for to hold my card so I could always identify it, the only problem is it a "Hello Kitty" case. It kinda hurts my manhood, but it has been raining hard for the last week, so the merchants who sell the skull stickers have not been out in front of the station. Soon I will have the toughest pass in all of Shanghai, but for now I will live with "Hello Kitty" in my pocket.

Well I should get going as I am of to visit some non touristy parts of Shanghai today, as I want to see the real city. Take care and try some new food today, it is not as scary as you may think!

Cheers,

Derek

What is happening this week

Well classes have started, and so far everything is going well. Earlier this year I was thinking of doing another masters somewhere in the world, but now I think it is time for me to begin working so I can finally buy that Porsche 911 that I deserve (hehe). But Shanghai is a city of two worlds, either very affordable, or too expensive. My friends and I have discovered many night clubs where you can drink all night for less than $20 Cdn, but other place want $20 for 1 crappy beer. So we have decided that quantity is more important than quality. The Chinese people for the most part are very friendly and helpful, but I am still always concerned I am not being given the lowest price on many of my purchases. 

I still have not been run over on the street yet, but that is based mostly on my lightning quick reflexes, as well as my fear of crossing the street. The block I live on is very nice I have found. I will soon be the greatest chopstick artist in the world, but I am still just an apprentice, this means I am still allowed to drop my food on my lap at least four times a meal, any more and the master gets very angry.

Soon I think I will hop on a train and visit other areas of China, as I am looking forward to trying new foods, and I promised my nephews some interesting photos of me trying "unique" food. 

To all my peeps back home, take it easy, wait am I to old to have peeps? Kids are still using peeps are they not? I hope I do not need to learn new lingo for when I get back home as mandarin is proving to be difficult enough.

Laters,

Derek

Two Weeks

Well I left Canada two weeks ago, and I am slowly starting to understand this place. There are certain things I have learned very quickly:

1. Never watch the road while in a Taxi, it will just send you to an early grave.
2. When crossing the road, say a few prayers first, as pedestrians are basically just obstacles for cars to barely miss.
3. When walking on the sidewalk, look back every ten steps as there is probably an electric scooter about to run you down.
4. When buying anything, the first price you are told is the "funny price" you should be able to negotiate it down quite a bit.
5. The Chinese are all very friendly.
6. Only eat in restaurants that have pictures of the food, or an english menu, otherwise you might get a unique surprise on your plate.
7. Always go to the bathroom before you go out.
8. Always carry kleenex.

Those are my first observations, and I am sure there many more that I will add, but so far I love Shanghai, and I would stay if someone offered me a decent job. So if you have any contacts let em know. Peace Out and word to your motha!

Moved In

Well I have finally moved into my residence, and it isn't so bad. Well that is besides it is a fifth floor walkup, and my leaky shower. I have been spending my days exploring Shanghai with my two new friends from Sweden, Henrik and Chris. It is amazing the strange looks we always get, we haven't figured it out yet as there are about 300,000 expats in this city. am learning to barter, as most prices are artificially inflated. I have heard if you pay more than one third of their original price you are being taken for. I have ridden the subway here in Shanghai probably more than I have ridden the C-Train in Calgary in my entire life. Maybe I will be more open to it when I get back home. I am learning to eat with chopsticks better, and learning what I do, and do not like when it comes to local cuisine. Just for anyone who may come here, the stinky tofu that smell like rotten feet, tastes almost the same as it smells. Other food is awesome though, and very inexpensive. I am aout to go see if they can get my shower fixed this morning so I wish you all a good day!