Apartment Living & the First Days at Work

A week has past since I first arrived in Shanghai and I think this may be my new home for years to come (just kidding, mom). Honestly, this city is amazing and I am really enjoying the culture, the language, the food (except pig feet) and the pace of life here in this metropolis.

My roommates. For some reason, the stars aligned and I came across an incredible apartment situation. Within 20-minutes (by foot) from my work, my apartment is located in the Xujiahui district of western Shanghai, which is an upscale part of the city with large malls, hotels, a university, the French district, and tons of businesses.

One of my roommates is completing her executive MBA this year and we get along fantastically. Last night I cooked Mexican food for dinner and we sat around the dinner table talking about business ideas for an hour. Her dream is to own a business, and I got even more excited when she showed me 3 of her books from the Rich Dad Poor Dad series.

Guanxi (connections) is everything here in the business and political realms, as Cici has explained. It can make the difference between paying customs or not, getting things approved, and much more. Apparently, Cici has a lot of Guanxi with executives that she's met through the e-MBA, and we're going to setup some dinners with her friends.

My other roommate, June, owns a Shanghai dance studio in the French district called Soul Dancing (http://www.souldancing.cn/), where she and her teachers instruct everything from Salsa and ballet, to hip-hop and pole dancing. Needless to say, I'm excited about living with a salsa teacher, yet I think I'll stay away from the pole dancing lessons (unless it will help with guanxi).

EnglishFirst. Yesterday was the first day at my new office in Xujiahui. There are about 15 teachers that work here and this office is known for being a close-knit family that has a lot of fun, which quickly became apparent at our staff meeting. The first class that I will teach is this Sunday and I can't wait to teach it. Students here are so dedicated to learning the language; many of them quit their jobs just to learn English here everyday for a year or two--and they pay a lot of money to do so. Even though I've only been in the offices a couple of days, I've had a chance to see what the teachers do and I've interacted a lot with the students. My intuition is telling me that this is going to be an incredible experience. Unlike the first days at Sageworks and Merrill Lynch, I have genuine excitement about this job. Whether it is teaching a group of 24 students about American culture, working in small groups to practice debating, or working face-to-face to practice interview skills, it seems as if this is going to meet my three criteria of an ideal job: 1) apply my skills, 2) bring me pleasure, and 3) allow me to pursue a purpose. I hope this job exceeds my expectations and I am looking forward to jumping into the job!