Day 1 of "working"....

First day of work today.... It was a long ride to the office but they sent a driver to pick us up. So no driving while I'm here! It's not as bad as Dublin though in my mind... nothing is worse than driving in Dublin. The town of Shenzhen is about 5 million people they say. I can believe it. It's an extremely populous and very new city in China. I was told it just started about 20 years ago and I can tell how newer everything is here for structures and layout of the city. Just amazing how fast it can be built into this huge city. It's much larger than Minneapolis. I would compare it to Chicago or even bigger in size from what I've seen so far.

I hope that picture turns out. If not, GO HERE. There is also a cool Travel guide HERE as well that is interesting. Oh and Wikipedia has a good section on Shenzhen. Almost everyone so far speaks English and is very willing to do so (unlike my trip to France). A lot of that is probably due to the Technical companies setting up here everywhere (similar to Dublin in the 90s).

So we're walking through some of the cuisine areas last night and there's a huge boat that has some nice restaurant areas that we're going to hit while I'm here. Well there was of course a McDonalds, a KFC.... then I saw a Pizza Hut... then a Papa Johns (wasn't expecting that).... then the worst thing EVER: A #)$(@*#$@ Starbucks. I fly halfway around the world to see a Starbucks. What the heck?!?!?!

Lunch on Wed was pretty good. There's a Cafeteria on the Free Trade Zone (more on that in a second) that served up some real hot fried rice that was awesome. My stomach was upset for a bit afterwards but that won't scare me off. Hopefully more hot food is in my future.

Ok - so here's what I know about the Free Trade Zone. First off - Wikipedia defines it in a less than positive manor. But basically the Chinese government established Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone in 1978 to compete with Hong Kong. Big Companies like IBM, Motorolla, Dell, etc would get tax breaks in order to bring business to that area. Hong Kong was already doing this (thus why so many of our toys growing up said "Made in Hong Kong" instead of most that now say"Made in China". I know they have called this style of doing business as "sweat shops" but when you see the opportunities it provides a country that is over populated and needs the employment, I personally change my tune. It's a great thing because the workers are paid well for their work compared to other jobs around the area. They don't make what a person in the US does in a similar job, but that's the economic differences that regulate that, not the individual company. So what is produced here in the Free Trade Zone is shipped first to Hong Kong, then to anywhere in the world. There is a separate plant here in Shenzhen that is not in the FTZ that produces the products for mainland China. It is taxed differently. It's a great investment for IBM and the other companies that are here. It's a wonderful economic opportunity for China. It's a cost saving opportunity for IBM and other companies that are here. Just depends on how you look at it.

There's info on the Wikipedia that is incorrect, but I'm in no place to correct them. Sorry, inside joke that I'll explain to you in person if you remember to ask me. It's rather humorous:)

The Chinese are so polite. Tony is pretty funny though. He's been here 6 months and it's funny how he assumes nobody speaks English if they are in a non-professional position. The highlight of my trip so far have been the cab rides with Tony who speaks enough Chinese to get where we want to go (straight, left, right, etc.) and when they don't go where he wants, he starts swearing at them in English and they have no idea what he's saying. Guess you have to be there. Does it make it funnier if I tell you that Tony is Lebanese with an accent when he speaks English? Tony is one of the most intelligent people I've ever worked with and very well diversified. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English (pretty much). Now he's working on Chinese and has spent a couple of years working on projects with Japanese so has some experience there as well.

Enough reading for you for now. It's about time to go home for the day and some of you will be getting up soon to go to work. My major accomplishment today was spelling "BigShow" in Chinese lettering:

That and the wonderful Hazel stayed up late to keep me company when I returned from lunch. Isn't she amazing? Trying to figure out what to get her from China but I don't think she'd find a PSP for $50 nearly as cool as I would so that's out. I'll find something though!

Take care - all of you. Wish I could bring you all over here to visit this amazing place!