New Lao Wai - Intro and Some Observations

New Lao Wai — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 05:03:00 GMT

I have been in Shanghai about 3 weeks now and my thoughts are moving from the excitement of being in a new place especially one as dynamic as Shanghai, to observation. I’m sure some of my observations will be old hat to many of you, but hopefully some of this might also be amusing and maybe even bring back some memories for you of your first experiences in Shanghai.

Before I get to that, I want to introduce myself, a new lao wai (“foreigner”) to Shanghai. I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area most recently and have lived there most of my career. I have worked mostly in finance and IT roles, while my education is in international business. Always looking for opportunities to expand personal horizons, I decided to take a break from the day to day routine in Silicon Valley to explore the opportunities in China and become immersed in its culture and language... and now I’m here.

Getting off the plane in Shanghai, my senses were overwhelmed despite having spent the last 18 hours stuck in a metal tube of recycled air thousands of feet over the Pacific Ocean. Walking out of customs into the main terminal, I walked through a parade of people waving banners with the names of people they were waiting to pick up. Despite it being 10 pm, there was still a lot of activity. Stepping out to the curbside into queue for a taxi, I watched as everyone else dashed to get into line. Some guy tries to cut his way in front of the Chinese couple in front of me. They politely point him back to the end of the queue. Hmmm, my first lesson in China… keep your eyes open, stand your ground, and politeness/patience is sometimes the best first approach.

Since I arrived, I’ve keep a note of some of the things that stood out for me:

Biking is still very much the most common form of transportation. I think there is a direct relationship with this and why the Chinese seem to be pretty healthy.
Related to this, since most people don’t have cars in Shanghai, almost everything you need is within walking distance, which is really great. I can do my banking, grocery shopping, and go to the gym all within a block of my apartment.
Sometimes things get lost in translation. I went by a DVD store the other day and saw that “The Italian Job” had been re-translated as “The Italian Utility Room”… I guess that although the movie had been successful in America, in China it is destined to be more of a closet classic. Also, one can find toilet paper under the title of “Fresh On Sheets”.
It does snow in Shanghai… check out pictures on my personal site at: http://spaces.msn.com/ventureinternational/
Watch your step in intersections. Even when the pedestrian "walk" light is green, cars can and do still turn and drive through.
Everywhere I've been, I've felt very safe. However, as with any large city, pick pockets are around especially where there are tourists, but some common sense goes a long way.
Haggling is as much a sport as an art here. For foreigners like myself lacking a mastery of Mandarin, carrying a calculator to counter the vendor’s initial price is the easiest way to go. Haggling is pretty much expected by vendors, so for new folks like myself… get good at it as quick as you can.
"4" is a bad number (sounds similar "death" in Chinese). "8" is a good number (representing fortune and also sounds like the word for "Dad"). The pro and cons: you can get a cheap phone number if it includes a "4". What does "888" really mean… "Daddy, daddy, daddy"?

What funny or odd things have you experienced in Shanghai?

Finally, I wanted to comment that people here in general have been very kind and gracious. I wanted to express my appreciation to everyone who helped my get my feet on the ground in China. I greatly appreciate all the support.??

More to come…

New Lao Wai

Introduction

New Lao Wai - Intro and Some Observations