One Year Anniversary!

Hooray!!!

One year. Well I say. Hahahaha I laugh to remember how my HK relatives were taking bets as to how many months I would last here. Well they didn't know me so well, and they probably weren't so aware of how developed Shanghai is.

I'm glad I stayed in Fudan for the first few months, and that I didn't stay in the dorm but rented ghastly teaching accomodation. That was such a shock - far worse than living in a caravan. The closest I can imagine in the UK is living in a modestly decorated garden shed. Ok, a one bedroom garden shed with a TV and a sofa, but otherwise the comparison holds!

Experiences that are still strong in my mind are the night I got locked out in the rain and the dormitary staff wouldn't let me stay the night in the dorms, despite their having empty rooms or my friends willing to let me in. Also I remember sitting in Professor Tao Zhigang's managerial economics class, taught in mandarin and not being able to understand a single word he was saying. I did my very best to pick out repeated words (shou ru, cheng ben being the notable ones). An exhausting process that went on for months, but at some point ceased to be a problem. I remember cooking by candlelight for about 8 of my mandarin buddies, on a night that we'd bought food but lost electricity. I remember being terrified travelling around Dong Bei (NE China) in unsafe buses, mini buses and taxis at high speeds on terrible roads. I remember my massage shock in Changchun - what I thought was an upmarket and totally respectable massage parlour - wasn't at all! Least to say the girl gave a terrible massage! I remember the warmth that friends Winfun and Matt showed me, and the sense of family in the university. I remember the housewarming party that I held in my new city apartment, where I'd asked friends to bring me MP3s and chinese films, but I didn't expect at all that they would bring me genuine copies! That they did, and especially that colleagues did too, touched me. I remember the ordeal that we went through to choose an apartment - including getting lied to by estate agents, and chatting to Oscar whilst seeing maybe 20 or 30 apartments along the way. I remember having made very good friends with Kim, and loving also my friend Yo. To have gained a close friend of Kim is special, rare, something I am deeply appreciative of. I remember having had a crush on an aussie chinese girl, that was great but sadly not reciprocated, but hey that's life! We've stayed in touch as friends which is superb.

Oh, in my recapping of a year, I've also done 6 months at Capgemini, where I've written a few good sales proposals and helped with a few internal things. The company's been through a lot, and I've recently established a good reputation. Things are looking up. I'll be taking forwards client engagements soon, hopefully in significant roles as well. That'll be the start of a whole new chapter.

Chinese is well behind target if you ask me. I'm in my element when chatting to some close friends, but occasionally relative strangers or friends of friends will laugh at my chinese when I get simple sentences grammatically wrong. Some Chinese people are not afraid to laugh at you, despite your best efforts. I still get riled by this, but just as well I'm not shy like say some Koreans or Japanese. I'll work on my Chinese hard this year, especially now with reduced MBA classes.

I remain close to my mother and sister, although still not so close to my brother. Time will tell on that one I think. It's good to know that being away hasn't too dramatically affected my family. I'm much closer too to Auntie Teresa - I've definitely gained a lot there, that's a blessing. I had some good chats with Yuen, which has brought us closer together - some new closeness after the ebb and flow of some 20 something years of friendship. And whilst staying in phone contact with Vikram has been harder, I'm hopeful that he and Mel will be able to make further good progress in their relationship.

4 more years in my plan, and then who knows after that. The first was always going to be the hardest, although I expect and intend that this second will be just as productive. After that, I hope to reap some rewards and enjoy a little more perhaps, or even take up a new challenge or opportunity in the region. We'll see. Maybe i'll get distracted by some lovely along the way :) Who knows, who can tell.

Sorry for the rambling, as you know, busy life. Up early for a busy day tomorrow - chinese 8.30-10, MBA 12.30 to 6, dinner with some colleagues after that. Got to fit some office work and maybe some lunch into the middle of that somehow. Been taking coffee with a friend lately, not quite sure if it's headed anywhere, but no conclusions yet, will tread carefully and wait and see.

Here's to the next 12 months - Jia you!