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More lies for the sake of "face"
Written by Jean   
Monday, 25 August 2008

Returning from a great weekend trip to Shanghai and catching just a bit of the Olympics Closing Ceremony, I was in high spirits. But that quickly changed after I saw a newspaper article that mentioned me. Last last week a colleague of mine contact me to request me to help them with an interview. Despite how busy I was, I nevertheless took out time to help out a fellow colleague, even though I didn't personally know that person. That was a big mistake. Never assume that the other colleagues will adhere to the company code of conduct, just because they are a colleague.

 Anyway, what was printed in the Hangzhou newspaper in Chinese wasn't anything horrible, but it certainly was false in every way, which does serve to leave a bad taste in my mouth for that colleague and this Hangzhou news agency.  They printed that I joined the company early in 2008, which was false. They wrote that I came directly from Silicon Valley, which was false. They wrote that I came because Silicon Valley was not doing well and the opportunity for advancement is nil, which is again completely false and made-up. They printed how I came to Hangzhou for vacation and totally fell in love with it and wanted to come back, not completely false, but definitely overrated.

 In some ways, I find this extremely  amusing that they would contact me through a colleague to collect my information, then publish a completely false report using my name, for the purpose of slapping gold on their face. Such things will happen in places, where integrity is always shoved aside for "face". I just have to remember to only help people/colleagues whom I personally know.

The below follows the interview questions I was asked and my responses. None of which, (except the part where I mentioned I liked Hangzhou) was published. Not so surprising since this is published on a local Hangzhou paper, praising Hangzhou to Hangzhou locals, haha.

_________________________________

5、典型外籍员工您为什么离开原来的工作和自己的家乡,来到中国杭州发展,他们是主动前来求职还是阿 里前去招贤。杭州吸引他们的地方在哪里。

Although my Hometown is San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley), I spent my college life and the early years of my working life in San Diego (my College Town). I left my previous position and College Town to go to Beijing for 2 semesters, for the purpose of taking a break and learning Chinese. I came to Hangzhou for vacation during my Spring Semester in Beijing. It was during this vacation that I discovered the kindness of the Hangzhou people, the elegance of West Lake and met the company. Joining the company happened in an unusual way, similar to two strangers bumping into each other on the street by chance and developed into friends.

6、来杭州之后,他们是否适应这里的工作环境和生活环境,相比以前,他们感觉最好的是哪些方面,觉得 比原来不便的是哪些地方。

Living in Hangzhou (and Beijing) is very different from living in the U.S. There was a lot of things that I was not accustomed to and each day of life in China is a challenge. The difficulties for a foreigner are immense, because as a foreigner there are a lot of cultural differences, habits, social manners, processes, and finally the biggest barrier of language. It took me many months to feel comfortable in Hangzhou, in the company, and with my language skills. Now I have been in Hangzhou and the company for just over a year and am more comfortable in Hangzhou now.

The best of my hometown would be that you can enjoy yourself indoors and outdoors, because the roads, the streets, the laws, and the people are very orderly. I can read a book and cross the street in my hometown, as long as I obey street signals. I don't worry about falling into road construction or getting hit by a motorbike. Most importantly to me is that I can go out happy and come home still happy.

The best in Hangzhou is it is almost as pleasant as my hometown because the people I meet when I'm outdoors are very nice. Even though it is VERY HARD to get a taxi, the taxi drivers are also very nice.

The worst of my hometown is that it is very spread out, because California is a car-centric state. I cannot go out my door and get something within a 20 minute walk. I have to drive, drive, and drive everywhere to get anything.

The worst of Hangzhou, besides the hot humid summer, is it is very hard to get a taxi and it is dangerous when Hangzhou is fixing roads. One of my colleagues was jogging on the street after work and she fell down a hole left by construction without any signs, warnings or markings and broke her leg.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 August 2008 )
 
Brain Fun
Written by Jean   
Wednesday, 13 August 2008

Finally something non-Olympics related to share with everyone...

a fun Slideshow my colleague sent me on the Human Brain.

I'm so bad... It took me forever to see dolphins!!!

I recommend viewing this in Full-Screen mode.

The only slide that doesn't work in SlideShare is the pink and green dot illusion one. To see that illusion, you can download the original Powerpoint Slide.

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 August 2008 )
 
More Olympics Opening Ceremony photos - Birds Nest Beijing 2008
Written by Jean   
Tuesday, 12 August 2008

 Following the Re-Cap of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony, I found some more photos from Xinhuanet to share with everyone. See the original article with photos from the Chinese website or read on to see photos with some descriptions translated to English by myself.

August 8th, 2008, 8pm, the 29th annual Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing China, at the Birds Nest. These are the opening fireworks from within the arena.

Please note that there seems to be word going on around the net that a lot of fireworks seen in the NBC syndication of the Olympics Opening Ceremony were digitally added-in because the camera couldn't get all the fireworks in there. Which means these photos might've been altered too... Wow, what a let down if that was true.

Enough with the fakes China, please.... well, anyway rea/fake pictures below for some eye-candy.

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Read on for more photos...

 

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 August 2008 )
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Best Wishes for the Bachman's and McCutcheon's
Written by Jean   
Monday, 11 August 2008

It's very saddening to hear that just one day after the festive beginning of the Olympics, two fellow Americans were attacked in Beijing on the Drum Tower. The crime was shocking to me, not only because it was committed, but also because it was committed by a Hangzhou person, a people whom I regarded highly since being based in Hangzhou for the past year. Despite the shock and sadness, it does bring some slight comfort to know that local Chinese people and the government are also saddened/angered that this happened, and that the crime appears to be random.

A lot of Chinese websites spreading the news of this has been blocked in China already, but surprisingly some are still open. I finally managed to get a version of the story from a Chinese wikipedia looking website, called 18dao.cn 

It looks like the Hangzhou man was a 47 year old manual worker, divorced twice, with a problem 21 year old son. He went to Beijing to tell his son not to cause any trouble and as it turns out, he didn't take his own advice.

Best wishes and condolences to the Bachman's and McCutcheon's... It's very saddening that this has to happen to anyone, and especially so when you visit another country out of good-will as tourists, to have it happen to you by the host's countrymen.

UPDATE:

After discussing this topic further with local Chinese friends... Read on...

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 August 2008 )
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DIY: Olympic Bird's Nest with Bamboo
Written by Jean   
Monday, 11 August 2008

Just saw this on Digg. Simply too awesome.

DIY Bamboo Bird's Nest

See the full article on Gizmodo.

Haha, I'm almost tempted to call a cab after work and check the thing out myself.

See the Digg article.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 11 August 2008 )
 
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