Life on the Road Part II: China

The sleeping giant. China. This is my first time to China, and the experience has been so overwhelming that I'm not sure it will all process through my mind for weeks. From work to lifestyle and everything in between, the culture of China is one that is a combination of traditional culture mixed with an insatiable drive to modernize and follow the Western way.

The most amazing elements of China to me are:
1) The pollution
2) The kindness of people
3) The work ethic of adults (and kids)
4) The lack of law for branding, copyright, etc.

One of the most obvious differences of China from anywhere in the Western Hemisphere or Europe is the written language. Whereas in many countries you can guess some of the words on the signs due to the commonality of Latin languages, it is completely different here. Chinese characters leave no hint as to the meaning of words on signs, stores, or documents. Since most Chinese do not speak English, asking for help is out of the question. I felt a sense of isolation that I have never felt while traveling anywhere else in the world.

However, this is not to say the people are rude. In fact, when they are able, they are some of the most helpful people I've ever encountered. In fact, being polite is so engrained into their culture that they actually will laugh at your jokes just to make you happy. What an ego trip!

The pollution in Beijing is also quite unbelievable. On a cold, winter day such as this week, the air is so thick with smog that at times I felt uncomfortable even breathing. The cause of this pollution is primarily automobiles and lack of government control. This problem has permeated the city in other ways as well, as the traffic is somewhat unbearable. Moving 5 miles can take as long as 45 minutes!

I had the opportunity on my first day here to visit some consumers' homes. As part of my orientation to the Chinese business, I accompanied a co-worker to two people's home to talk about cookies. Now imagine this...For work, Evan is in an average Chinese consumer's home asking them about Oreo cookies! Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would someday be my life! The amazing part of visiting with these consumers was their comments about their children. Most Chinese families only have one child...in fact, everyone I worked with here was an only child. The children are nurtured well and protected, but they are also pushed very hard. Both moms we talked to said their child was expected to do 2-3 hours of homework after school...and they were 9 and 12 years old! Why, do you ask? The rationale was that the children needed to work hard to be successful. Obvious, but the undertone of the culture here is a competitive one, with dreams of one day being a truly global contributor on par with Americans and other Westerners.

I saw a lot of cool things here as well. I had my fellow co-workers guide me around the city, and I took in the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the 2008 Olympic Site, and the CCTV site (you'd have to see the building to understand). I also had the best Roast Duck I've ever tasted and ate a lot of traditional Chinese dishes.

The work culture of China is also very different from other places because it is developing. I interacted with people that had been doing marketing and CI for years, but still looked to me for direction. It's amazing the contribution that one can offer here, and it's equally amazing how willing they are to accept the help.

All and all, this may be the third best place I've ever visited, and the cool thing I get to come back in a couple of months!