Insider
My time in China has been one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences of my life. My goal was to experience daily life, rather than life as a tourist, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do that. I’ve met many wonderful people along the way and heard their stories.I’ve seen life inside an orphanage for children with special health needs, a Xian museum, heard about life as a university student in China, and most recently experienced working in a PR consulting firm – Sunnybund.
Ni Hao! As a consultant with experience in team building, managementand leadership development, I’ve taken a break from my work in the US (Boston) to travel in China for 2 months.I spent the first month in Xian focusing on cultural exchange and volunteer work in an orphanage and with university students. The second month I’ve been in Shanghai working at Sunnybund on team building and management development. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to some other cities within China including Beijing, Hangzhou and Chengdu.
I came to China to learn and grow and to broaden my own perspectives. This is so important to me as a person and in my team building work. I strive to help team members be themselves and bring their best strengths to the team. In order to do so, team members must be open and willing to listen to other perspectives. In order to bring my best to my work, I must do the same.
As I’ve written to friends at home, daily life in China is both the same and different.Although many external aspects of life are different, such as customs, politics, culture, food, behavior and communication style, it seems that as people we are more similar than different. The opportunities we have and the obstacles we face along the way may be different, but it seems to me that in the end most people want to learn and grow, to help others, and have good relationships with family and friends.
The time I’ve spent at Sunnybund has been a wonderful learning opportunity for me.I’ve been impressed by the strong collegial relationships among the staff, and the desire of all to exceed the client’s expectations. It’s also been interesting to see that although our histories are different, businesses in China and the US face many of the same issues, one of them being a tight labor market, further complicated by generational differences about career goals, work ethic, etc. I’m also grateful for everyone at Sunnybund’s willingness to attend the workshops I’ve conducted in English, and also to share their perspectives with me about team building and management development issues in China. It’s been a true exchange of ideas.
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