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.

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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。

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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