Team Blog

Hello again -  our whole team is also contributing to a team blog.  If you would like to learn more about our team and our experience you can follow here:  https://china33team.wordpress.com/

Day 1 - meeting the team

I finally met the team this morning at breakfast, well all except Ivonne who was delayed until this evening.  Our NGO team was also there Karen, Elaine and Brandon.  They are from Pyxera Global and have coordinated all of our logistics along with Congming who arranged all of the travel ad visas.  I can tell you that having a logistics team is AWESOME!!!!

As I expected everyone was very enthusiastic and it was so nice to finally meet everyone.  Today w.as orientation and then a quick neighborhood tour.  Food has been VERY good.  Breakfast is included with the room, but we went to a Ramen house for lunch and a dumpling place for dinner.  Qingdao is famous for its dumplings.  We had the Qingdao favorite fish dumpling, some squid ink dumplings as well as some pork and vegetarian dumplings. It was all wonderful. 

I also had my first TsingDao beer.  You can buy it off a keg in the street and if you do not happen to have a cup, no worries, they will put it in a plastic bag. So you will see people with plastic bags full of beer.

This evening after dinner we walked down along the waterfront.  All of the buildings are lit up and vibrant.  So colorful.  We walked down to the Olympic torch and stretched our legs.  It was a tough day trying to stay awake with a 13 hour difference.  

Seven days and counting down to departure.

We just completed our 12th and final call as a team. It is so hard to believe how fast these 12 weeks of prep work have gone by.   So much has happened in the last week and so much still do before I head out to the airport and say goodbye to my family for a month.

My assignment is with the Qingdao Link Startup Community.  I am very excited to work with a client outside of my usual scope which, as part of the CIO organization, is IBM.   I am hoping to put all  my learning on design thinking and agile frameworks to good use as part of this experience.  Our ultimate goal to provide an excellent experience for our client and leave them delighted with a roadmap on next steps to achieve their goals.  I am lucky to be teamed with Ivonne and Bharat for our project.

A little bit about Qingdao - First is is right on the sea.   It was the host of the Olympic Sailing Competition during the Beijing Olympics.  It was once occupied by the Germans and there is still much German influence in the architecture.  Also it is the home of the International Beer Festival -  another German influence.  It is know for Beaches, Beer and Seafood.  I am a fan of all three.

Next post will be from Qingdao.....Zaijian(Goodbye)  for now!

2 Weeks to departure

We just wrapped up call # 11 of 12 team calls.  This is was a big one as we received our assignments.  Our 12 member team will be divided to work on 4 different projects.  My team will be working with a Qingdao Tech Incubator. I am looking forward to meeting our interpreters and learning more about the organization.   I am busy creating "While I am away" documents for my managers and my husband.  I am really hoping he remembers to feed my 2 cats.  (Not too worried as both cats will let you know when  the appropriate amount of attention is not bestowed upon them!)  I also have been creating coverage plans for my team and trying to get as much done as I can before I leave. Lots of stuff to do: Research for the assignment, packing, study Mandarin, write and practice an introductory speech in Mandarin and taking care of all the little details that need to get done before a long trip.   Oh and my normal job too!  One more team call before departure and then we are finally on our way to meet the team and begin the in country portion of the assignment.

Month 3 - Departure is closer

Lots has happened in the last month as our team prepares for our in country portion of the assignment.  My visa has been completed. I have been trying to learn a little Mandarin every day. There is still much to do.  I have begun planning what I will take with me.  I need to take some nominal gifts for our teammates, translators and our clients so I need to make sure I have space for this. I am not sure how I will fit everything in one suitcase.  I need business clothes and casual casual clothes and of course shoes. This will be a challenge! I now have all my medical and dental checkups setup. I was lucky to be able to talk to several former CSC candidates to get some insight on what to expect and tips on what to bring. They are a wealth of information and I am so thankful they are all so willing to share their experience.   I have a good sized shopping list.  I hope everything is small so I can fit it all in.    The team has been busy learning different styles of conflict resolution,culture differences, and project management skills.  We should get our assignments in the next couple of weeks so we can begin preparing ahead a time.  So far my teammates all seem very energetic.  I think it will be a great team experience.    4 weeks to go!!