TJ Visits China! :)

Shanghai and Shopping

My friend TJ, who I went to high school as well as college, planned his trip to China the moment I told him I was moving here. I waited nearly 5 months for his arrival but the time was here. He arrived on Thursday, November 15th at the PuDong International Airport in Shanghai and he was going to be for one week. One week is not nearly enough time but I was going to make it work.

 I had planned a big dinner the night he came in with a lot of my friends here in Shanghai as a Welcome to China. It was a fun night of laugher, eating, and drinking. We finished the night with a visit to a bar for some more drinking and dancing. After being on a plan for 15 hours, I was hoping all of this would allow for a long and needed restful night so the jet lag would not be as bad for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately he was unable to sleep for some strange reason.

Even though he was running on 36+ hours without sleep, Friday was still an active day of shopping. The plan was to show him a mix of shopping spots and sightseeing, however, things don't always turn out as planned. Stop number one was the South Bund Fabric Market. This place was vendor after vendor of tailoring shops. TJ ended up getting a tailored suit for 700 RMB (I think we could have gotten a cheaper price based on the events of the rest of the day but it was still a really cheap price). There he also got a casual coat for around 500 RMB. My friend Jose came with and he got himself a coat as well.

Stop number two was lunch in XinTianDi. This area of Shanghai is a western hangout. There is also a large number of really good restaurants. We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant that had an AMAZING curry duck leg. Afterwards, we went the Fake Market on 580 Nanjing West Road. Basically you can get anything you want on these five floors of shops for less than 10% of retail price. You do take the chance with electronics of it not working property or with things breaking down or tearing up easily but at these prices, you can't past of the opportunity.

We spent 4 hours in this place buying everything from chopsticks to jeans to a Louis Vuitton computer bag . TJ had all his souvenir shopping done after the first day and at some very low prices. Of course like many other places, I think we overpaid on a few things but we didn't care. The Louis Vuitton bag was only 250 RMB after the tough haggling we did. Granted it was a fake but it looked nice.

We ended the night with some dinner at this Chinese restaurant near my apartment and had a great dinner topped with some BaiJiu. If you had never had BaiJiu before, it tastes awful and is about 50% alcohol. We got a small glass of it and my friend, being the good Southern boy he is didn't think that that one little glass would be able to get him buzzed let alone drunk. He was in for a surprise! After one sip he was buzzing. The sad part is we ended up getting three of those glasses, which was a bad idea.

His first full day was over and very tiring. The plan was to leave for Beijing on Saturday morning and arrive back on Tuesday night, but as I stated, not everything happens as planned. Saturday morning came and my boyfriend wanted to go to this French Crepe place for brunch. I couldn't say no to that, so the trip to Beijing was pushed back to Saturday night. After brunch which was so good, TJ wanted to do some more shopping so I took him to the fake market at the Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology in PuDong. I had never been to this place before, but I figured it would be the same as the other fake market which was a correct assessment. What I did not know is this fake market also contained a fabric market. One suit, coat, and tons of other stuff later we finished with the market. It was getting late and we had decided that it would be best to leave in the morning for Beijing. After waking up at 5am, we got on the 7:50 train to Beijing. Finally!

On the Road to Beijing

I have a classmate that has lived in Beijing for two years now working as an architect and she told us the best place to find a hotel was in the BeiXinQiao area. Well, this place at first look was on the edge of murder- and hooker-ville. We had no idea where my friend had sent us so we stopped in a McDonalds for some much needed lunch and to use their Wi-Fi. After tiring to find a place, my wonderful-beyond-words boyfriend called me and told me he had booked us a Homestead and gave us the phone number for the lady and she got us there without an issue. 

The Great Wall of China

After getting checked into the homestead, the landlady gave us information on the best way to get to the Great Wall of China. It was easier than I thought it would be, just one 12 RMB bus ride up there. How easier could it get?

Upon arriving to the BaDaLing section of the Great Wall, it was, for lack of better words, FUCKING COLD! It had to be between 0F and 10F. There was snow and ice on the ground which was nice. I was hoping for some snow photos, I just wasn't prepared for how cold it would be. TJ had an interesting experience that I have yet to have in China. Natured called before we headed went up to the wall and there was only a public restroom. Not sure if you have heard the rumors about public toilets in China but best guess, is those rumors are true. No toilet paper and just a hole in the ground. TJ threaten to buy a scarf from one of the vendors but he had a more creative approach. If you want more details, just ask.

Anyway! After TJ's adventure, we had to get some warmer gear before we went increased our altitude to the Great Wall. The vendors were extremely pushy and it was hard to even get a word in but TJ managed to get a hat that one might think of when they picture a Russian and he got some thick gloves and an additional scarf. I only bought a hat but for a lower price from another vendor, again TJ over paid.....HA!

There are two ways to reach the Great Wall at BaDaLing. There are stairs and a ski lift. Can you guess which one our cold and lazy asses did?

After exiting the ski lift, we were on the Great Wall of China. What a sight! It was absolutely amazing. The magnitude of the wall tracing the snow topped mountain edge was surreal. Just like with the Grand Canyon in the US, pictures are just not enough to capture the beauty of it all. The Great Wall of China is a must see for anyone visiting China. Both TJ and I were glad we did not exclude this from the list.

Walking the wall was difficult at times with the uneven stair rises. There were times going back to the ski lift that we thought we would never make it back or that we might have a heartache if we go one more step. You never know just how out of shape you are until you have climbed the Great Wall...HA! 

Of course by the time we were on the wall, the temperature had increased and with the walking, it was getting very hot. All the apparel we had purchased at the start was too much for us. We did have some Chinese people come up to use and ask if they could take some photos with us, not sure if it was because of the hats or the fact we were Americans. That was a new experience for both of us even though I had heard cases of that happening in the less international cities in China.

When I told my boyfriend about the snow on the mountains, he was sad he had to work and wasn't able to come. Being from Ecuador, he has never seen snow before, a sight I hope to change in the near future.

We finished day one in Beijing with a short stroll through the Olympic park before heading off to meet my former classmate, Kim from the University of Tennessee. The Bird's Nest was a building I could not leave Beijing without seeing and my friend was more than happy to build in time for that.

So far Beijing has not given me a good first impression at least compared to Shanghai. People say "You either like one or the other," I think I like Shanghai better without a doubt. It wasn't until we met up with Kim that I finally saw a part of Beijing I would not mind living. She took us to dinner in the "western" area of Beijing, near the TuanJieHu Metro Station.

Dinner was Hot Pot per my request since TJ had yet to have Hot Pot while in China. I am not a big fan of it but I was trying my best to have him experience China as much as possible in the short time he was here. The Hot Pot was Sichuan, an area of China that is known for having really spicy food (I LOVE this type of Chinese cuisine). I don't think the food agreed with TJ but it was great getting to talk to Kim after two years and meeting her boyfriend.

BeiHai Park
Day two in Beijing began later than expected. After all the walking from the day prior, it was not surprising that we overslept by an hour or so. We needed the rest!

The first stop on the agenda for day two was the Forbidden City, however, the taxi driver misunderstood where we wanted to go when he pointed to it on the paper our landlady gave us. When he dropped us off, we had no idea where we were. The area did not look like the entrance to the Forbidden City but then nothing in Beijing looked like I had expected thus far. TJ and I saw all these people gathering around little shops and TJ said that this is what he was expecting to see in China. They were small shops selling many different things. We ended up getting a snack which looked like caramel covered cherries on a stick and walking around.

The treat was good so I thought; TJ had a different opinion (I guess I have adjusted to the flavors here in China). Before TJ threw his away, we saw an entrance to a park. It was a beautiful lake side park. Not long after entering, I saw a sign for BeiHai Park and I knew where we were. I had been told to visit this park by many people and they were right, it is a must see in Beijing.

Salary

For anyone who is wondering about salaries in China, the cost of living in China can be cheap or very expensive, it all depends on the life style you wish to have. I am not talking about living like a person of wealth and means but more so living the Chinese life style or a western life style. 

 From my observation, the Chinese people have the ability to live very modestly. A typical meal is cooked at home and usually many generations will live together. I suppose you could say that for most foreigners regardless of the country they live in that the life style is different than the local community; however, in China there seems to be a big difference between locals and foreigners.

Most Americans and Europeans have their Starbucks coffee every morning (I have been told that China has the highest priced Starbucks coffee in the world...unverified) and are not use to eating Chinese cuisine every day. A western restaurant is about 200% or greater than Chinese restaurants. There is also the consideration of travelling factored into the foreigner cost of living. Whether it is travelling to home country or exploring the country and surrounding countries, foreigners have the extra costs associated.

A typical Chinese salary is around 4,000 RMB per month according to my own research whereas an entry level western salary is around 10,000 RMB per month. There are some westerners that make a lot higher than that.

My First Week in China! (unedited)

After a frustrating talk with my old boss, I decided to post the unedited version of my first week in China which includes a more detailed version of my post: Business Trip?. My boss actaully tried to defend what she had done as a special opportunity for me. Needless to say, I don't feel it was an opportunity but moreso a rude inconvence. Enjoy!


My First Week in China!

The first company I worked for in China was BHI Architects Australia, Shanghai Office. On my first day at work, I was given a Master Plan to Photoshop to make look as realistic as possible. My computer station including all computer programs were in Chinese and I do not know Chinese. The company had known for nearly two months that I was coming and still they made no effort to have my work station ready. Thankfully, I knew Photoshop well enough to use it by memory, granted I could have done the work a lot faster had I been able to read the tabs, effects, and filters.

After lunch, I was asked if I wanted to go on this business trip to ZaoZhuang. I did not know how long the business trip was nor where that city was, all I knew was it was north and we had to take the Hi-Speed Train to get there. Is there anyone who says, "No" to their boss on the first day of work? So, of course, I agreed to go. It was about an hour later that I was told we left that day on the last train which left about 5pm or so and that I needed to finish the Master Plan I was working on before we left. At no point did anyone say go home and grab some clothes and other items you might need for the business trip.

With only two or three hour notice and no information about how long the business trip will be, I along with some other colleagues including my boss headed to the train station. That is actually not the correct use of words, we RAN through the subway stations and through the train station because we left the office at the very last minute. Right as the train was sounding the bell that the doors were about to close, we stepped onto the train. I don't like to be rushed nor to I wait to the last minute when I am trying to catch a train. On the subway, I was praying we would miss the train but luck was not on my side that day.

Once on the train, I took my seat and I immediately started to send text messages to the two architects I had already met since moving to Shanghai the Friday before. Can you guess why I was texting them? I was asking them if they knew anyone who was hiring because I wanted to change my job as fast as I possibly could. Sad to said that didn't happen for another two months down the road.

Upon arriving in ZaoZhuang around 10pm, we went straight to our hotel. I was happy when a couple of colleagues asked me to go with them to find something to eat for dinner since none of us had had dinner yet. It was a quiet night in the hotel which was nice but I was nervous about waking up on time the next morning because I had forgotten my tablet back at my apartment that morning which is what I usually as my alarm clock and my mobile phone was nearly dead. My phone did last until the next morning but died a couple of hours later.

The first day in ZaoZhuang started with meetings with clients and governmental officials. I would have be interested in learning about the projects my new company was discussing but in this city, English is not as common to find as in Shanghai. So, needless to say, the entire meeting was in Chinese and there was nothing for me to do and no one translating so I could understand something that was going on. I felt useless there.

We did take a break for lunch which was very good and my first real experience with Chinese cuisine. The only positive that came out of this business trip was the food and seeing the "real China" unlike the international version of China that you see in Shanghai. After lunch was more meetings which continued into dinner which ended late around 9pm or possibly later, I cannot remember the exact time.

By this point, I had a lot of emotions going through my head including anger (being sent on the business trip my first day with no notice), embarrassment (having to wear the same clothes including underwear and socks for the second consecutive day), pain (having my shoes that had already started to rub a sore on both ankles the day before continued to do so which made it hard to walk), and humiliation (being called or referred to as fat by people at the business meeting as well as a colleague through the means of gesturing a large stomach or told "this will help you lose weight"). I don't remember ever telling anyone that I wanted to lose weight or that I was unhappy with the weight I was. You would think that my boss would have said something in defense of her new employee but that was not the case.

The next day (count it, that is a total of three days in the same clothes....discussing!) we had more business meetings which I did not understand with the only difference that I went on a site visit with a colleague. Now if you think about it, I had one day in the office and I was working on Photoshopping one master plan of a project I had no prior knowledge of, and I was sent to do a site visit and survey with a new colleague. I had no idea what I was looking at or where I was in relation to the city plus the colleague I was with didn't have the best English skills so he was hard to understand at times.

It was Wednesday at this point and I still had no idea how long we would be there. Everyone I asked said, "I don't know." That was very unpleasant for me to hear as I expect a company to know and tell their employees how long a business trip will be. Thankfully, later that day, a colleague and I left. Again we took the last train to Shanghai which left around 8pm, at least this time we got to the train station with time to spare. We arrived in Shanghai around 11:30pm and by that point the subway had closed which I didn't find out until my colleague told me on the train. I still didn't really know my address that well nor how to say it in Chinese. I knew the street number and the street name in English, I did not know my cross street at all. I did have my colleague write my address in Chinese so I could show the taxi driver but the taxi driver still had to call someone to look up the cross street which was a pain for him and me.

After spending 70 RMB on a taxi, I was home. My shoes had rubbed my ankles so much they were bleeding and didn't heal completely until weeks later and I still have scars on both ankles because of it. My clothes smelled so bad that I had to wash them the moment I got home. Since it was so late, my roommate was asleep I thought and I wasn't able to find my tablet that I had left on the kitchen counter by mistake when I went to work Monday which had worried me the entire trip. Thankfully, my roommate heard me come in and told me where my tablet was which was a relief. My roommate said he and my landlord were worried about me because they had no idea where I had been for the past few days which made me even more angry because I caused them to worry about me.

From the time I got back from the business trip, I was on a mission to find another job as soon as I possibly could. It made me sick to my stomach and caused me so much stress to even go into work at that place. I also felt like I couldn't say anything to my boss because I was still working at getting my full work visa and I was afraid if I mentioned I was unhappy or that I was looking for another job, my boss would have made a phone call and cancelled my visa application. I felt stuck and alone, so all my job searching was done in secrete including my interviews. I would try to schedule them during lunch breaks or after work but there were some that had to be schedule in the morning or afternoon. For those, I would come to work late or call in sick.

I was so happy that I found another job because I was planning on leaving China at the end of August if I didn't find another job. It might not have been the job that I really wanted but it is exponentially better than my first job here plus my salary is over double my previous one. I have never had a job or situation make me question whether or not I wanted to be an architect until this company. Old colleagues and I agree it is the worst company to work for with the disorganization, which was getting better thanks to the newest Aussie employee, and the fact that we never got paid on time. My first paycheck was three weeks late getting to my bank account.

I had been told by colleagues as well as other people I had met that western employees are often taken on business trips or present projects whether they worked on them or not so that office appears to have westerners as the designers to the clients. After I had heard that, I figured that was the only reason why I was on that business trip so my firm could show off their newest western employee. There was no other reason I could think as to why my boss would spend the money to take a new employee, who had no knowledge of any current projects in the office and who did not speak Chinese and could not understand or learn from the business meetings, on a business trip the very first day of work.

Moon Festival

Every year on the first week of October, China celebrates its National Day. This entire week is a national holiday for people to go home and spend time with their families and eat some Mooncakes.

Most non-Chinese residences travel out of the country during this week. I was not one of them. I stayed in Shanghai for the week for the main reason that I didn't have the funds to travel not even within China. This year the World Architecture Festival was happening in Singapore at the same time and I wished that I could have gone.

My moon festical was fairly uneventful. I did try to find an art store I was talk about without any luck. I was amazed at how cheap painting supplies were here. I will get some canvas and paints eventually. That was the extent of my week off. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?

New Job

After the nightmare of my first job in China, I was nervous that the same issues I had with BHI I would have with this new company. I did know from my interview that they at least had a layering system for AutoCad and file naming with was a major improvement. My newest company, Valode + Pistre Architects, Shanghai Office, was not the company I wanted to work for. The fact is I turned down their offer when I was still interviewing with other firms. I felt really good after my interview with Mayho Design. I knew the interviewers, an Italian and a Brit, wanted me to be part of their design team. After waiting a week or so, I contacted one of the interviewers via email to inquire about the position. Just as my luck would have it, the company president put them on a hiring freeze for the moment which was just as much of a shock to my interviewers as it was to me. That was devastating news for me.

As I was contacting the headhunter I was using to inquire about more interviews, he advised me that Valode + Pistre Architects were still interested in hiring me even. So one month after my interview with them, I submitted another counter offer to them of 8,000 RMB per month for the first two months with an increase to 10,000 RMB per month after the two months probation. They accepted right away and I realized I could have asked for more but oh well, at least I have a new job.

The company wanted to start me in their Beijing Office for the first three months. I was excited to go to Beijing but I knew that I would not have been able to afford an apartment in Beijing and keep my lease in Shanghai so I asked them to pay my apartment in Beijing while I was there. Apparently they did not like that idea and told me to just start in the Shanghai Office.

On my first day, I took a taxi to work and took my seat, got some information regarding rules and regulations and a list of the folder system and file naming and layering system. So far so good! As the day went on, I asked where the other employees were and to my surprise I was told the five of us were the only ones in the Shanghai Office. I thought I was entering an office of forty-five. Small offices always worry me for a couple of reasons: first, the management isn't always present and employees are expected to work without management which is bad for someone just starting out as an architecture, and second, if it is a satellite office, the project architects and the company Human Resource personnel are located in the larger office which was similar to my first company here. I like to be able to talk to the project architect if I have questions about the project or what exactly they are looking for when it comes to my work. The biggest shock out of all this was the fact that I am the only non-Chinese employee at this office. All the employees knew English and seemed very nice so that calmed my nerves some.

My first week, I did absolutely nothing. It was so boring. I was already starting think my fear of little to no management was justified. So as the week went by, I would read articles and search for apartments on SmartShanghai.com, window-shop for clothes and shoes on TaoBao.com, and draw in my sketch book. OMG! I hate being bored at work.

We did get some work to do the next week but it was still fairly slow most days. It continued this way until the head of the Beijing office was going to stop by for a visit and talk about the new project we were working on. I had been working on a PowerPoint presentation which I had been given the Monday prior and told I had two weeks to work on it which was more than enough time and it was now Thursday and Olivier was going to be here on Friday. My boss came to my desk around 3pm that day and gave me a list of changes I needed to make before his boss arrived at the office the next day at 11am. Where was he with these corrections the day before or that morning?

I ended up staying 3 hours over that night to get most of the work done so there wouldn't be that much left for me to do the next day. I was not happy that I had to do overtime when I was not getting paid extra for it and that it could have been prevented by better management. My boss did seem surprised when I was not quite done with it when his boss arrived which just increased my frustration. I was done before he needed to access however.

The next week things were back to being slow. Doing this slow then rush to meet deadline then slow then rush to meet deadline is not the way to run an office. I know it will happen at times but most of the time it is avoidable with good time management by the project leader and office managers. At least I am not sick to my stomach to come into work like I was at my last office, so I figure I can deal with it for the time being.

Shanghai Contemporary Art Gallery Showcase 2012

On Thursday, September 6, 2012, I was invited to attend the 2012 Shanghai Contemporary Art Gallery Showcase preview. There were over 100 galleries from China and abroad in attendance with art work ranging from photography to painting to sculpture to living art. For more information see link above.

Some might ask how I was invited to such an event? Well since being in Shanghai, I have met some great people who have being friends. One of those friends works for Moproo [art gallery] and happen to have an extra VIP pass for the event (isn't it awesome to know the right people...lol). His gallery was one of the new one galleries featured at this year's Shanghai Contemporary. I really had one plan to attend because it was late notice when I heard but I am so glad I attended. I have posted some photos of my favorite pieces on display. I took many photos of great art; I only wish I could share all of them with you.

**Note: All photos on this blog are prohibited from private or commercial use in any form without written permission from photographer and/or artist of the work photographed.

This photo was my absolutely favorite piece. I only wish I could get a better image of it. The photograph was taken using film and the contrast of the two skin tones is phenomenal. The way the black man nearly fades into the back ground is beautiful.

These two photos were taken by me inside one of the art pieces. The installation piece was a large box with controlled light so there was absolutely no shadows. All of the shadows you see were created and by the artist. This had to be one of the most interesting art installations I have seen.





This piece I thought was very interesting from the colors to the forms and balance of the overall composition. This was the first piece at the art event that really caught my attention but I am not entirely sure why.

This is one example of live art. I always enjoy watching someone create art. It never fails to amaze me the talent that some people have. Right next to him was a woman using a living canvas to display her art.

These two paintings by the same artist are nice and simple but with a clear message of relationships. The depiction of two different couple, and their affection or lack of affection toward each other.

Death in the Family

Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, my grandmother had a stroke. She has been dealing with one health issue or another for many years but she has always pulled through. This woman has beat cancer, survived the pain of knee replacement, and many others so I thought she would beat this stroke too.

I was told that the stroke left her partially paralyzed which is common for stroke victims but she was going through physical therapy to help. I was trying to get updates regularly on her condition through my mother and my sister. Everything was going well from what I was told and that she was recovering.

When the news came that she had taken a turn for the worse, I was stocked. I was told she was back in the hospital and not doing well at all. My family went to visit her including my sister and my mother, her former daughter-in-law. My sister and my grandmother had some tension between them for years and it was good that my sister went to see her. Lisa, my sister, told me in an email that she made peace with grandma and treated her visit as a last goodbye.

Things were not looking good for my grandmother. The doctors had given her a 30 percent survival rate. I wanted to come home to see her but if I left the country before I completed my residency permit and received my full one year work visa, I would have to restart the process back in the US. My temporary visa was only for thirty days with a once only entry.

I talked it over with my mother and we both agreed that it would be best for me to stay in China. I had seen my grandmother before I left and spent some time with her. She was healthy then and we had a great day together just talking about my new adventure and past stories. Of course being my grandmother and the religious woman she was, I did get the you should be going to church speech.

Well it was the day I was getting my passport back with my full visa and the day when I needed to make the final choice of whether or not I was going home. That same day my grandmother passed away at the age of 81 only days after her birthday. That was a tough night for me. I decided to not go home for the funeral and that my family would understand I couldn't be there.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

For some reason, before I moved to Shanghai, I thought it was going to be cooler and drier than back home in Tennessee. Well....I have never been more wrong about anything in my life!

The temperature since I got here has in the 90s (F) [upper 30s (C)] with a humidity of about 80%. YUCK! If you know me, you know that I am not a hot weather person. If there is snow on the ground or if you can see your breath, then I am happy. Even at night it is hot which still makes no sense to me. Back home, if it was hot during the day, it would still be cool at night. I never thought I would say this, but I long for Tennessee weather. Crazy, I know! The only relief from the heat is right after it rains. The temperature does cool off the day or two after a good rain which is nice.

I do hear that it can get pretty cold in the winter here. Let's hope that is correct! Once winter comes, I will let you know.

Business Trip??

My first day at work was interesting for sure. I arrived to the office for my first work day at an architecture firm in China to be told that I was going on a business trip to ZaoZhuang for an uncertain amount of time. This would have been an exciting event had it not been my first day at work and had I been giving the opportunity to go home to get a change of clothes but sadly that was not the case.

The city is located north of Shanghai in the ShanDong province. It is a city that is pretty much completely under construction (ALL of the projects in the office are located in ZaoZhuang). There is no English to be found unlike Shanghai. I believe I was the only western person in that city until my boss's friend from Australia showed up which was a much needed relief.

We, a few colleagues and I, were there to meet with clients, government officials, as well as do some site visits. I still don't know why I was there which was a total of 2 full days and 2 nights. All the meetings over the 2 days there were in Chinese with no one to translate for me and I had no knowledge of the projects that were being discussed. I was told by others that I was there to be the "white face" of the company to impress the clients and officials. Whether this is true or not, I did feel useless there.

The only good thing about being there was attending the big banquet lunch and dinners. Every lunch and dinner was a chance to discuss more business for my boss, however; I was there for the new foods. I had some really amazing food (don't ask me what I ate because I didn't ask, I just tired it all...lol). I did try something that I knew exactly what it was but I tried it anyway, that was a large INSECT with 6 legs and a crunchie outer shell (trust me it was crunchie). There was an entire plate of them sauteed for the table. I knew I had to try one to keep face and not be laughed at by everyone at the lunch. To my surprise, it wasn't that bad. I did just have only one though..lol.

Welcome to China!

Here I am on the other side of the world living, working, and starting a new chapter in my life.

A few months ago, I came across an advertisment for a placement company that brought architects to China. With this economy and the effect it has had on the job market for architects, I didn't see any harm in sending my information to this somewhat suspicous company. I never really considered working in China. Up to this point, I had sent out over 400 CVs since graduating from with my bachelor two years ago. It was a huge surprise when I received an email from the company notifying me that there was an architecture firm in Shanghai, China, that wanted to interview me.

Well, as you probably know by now, I received the job and made the frighten, life changing move. I have now been in Shanghai for a little over a month. There have been a lot of ups and downs when it comes to working here, living here, and just trying to mantain a life here. In future posts, I will recount my experiences both good and bad. Please keep in mind that any observations made whether positive or negative are purely based on my opinion and/or stating the opinions of others.