Mainland Extravaganza Pt 1

Day 1

This past week I got to go up to the mainland and visit one of the factories that my uncle manages. Not really having any expectations, I had no idea what to really expect of the few days that I would get to spend up on the mainland. The drive from HK was only about a couple of hours. When we arrived, we got a quick lunch with my uncle’s friend. They spoke Mandarin during lunch. This gave me my 1^st test of how much I could really understand the language. Well, I left that lunch pretty much not knowing anything that was said. One of he 1^st things I noticed was that people in China drive on the right side of the road like in the US. I always thought they drove on the left like in HK and in Europe. I asked my uncle about that and he said some people from HK get confused when they drive across the border and drive on the wrong side of the road. I thought that was pretty funny. Now, the thought of it was funny, but when it actually happened to us later that day, not so funny. I don’t think I will ever touch a steering wheel in that country. I was literally scared to death at how people drive. Most streets don’t have medians, let alone lanes to keep your car in. In fact, most of the 4 way intersections didn’t have stop lights. The way it works is, you drive full speed up to the intersection, ease off the gas a little bit to see if anyone is coming and then you keep on going. The intersections that did have lights on them, some people just blew right through it like there was no red light. My face was in utter shock. I asked my uncle, “is this how it really is?” His response, “This is China.” I couldn’t stop laughing after that.

When I got to the factory, I got to meet a few people that I would be spending the week with (otherwise known as the young English speakers that I could communicate with). There were 3 young ladies there that were just finishing up their 1-month internships before they went back to their university to finish graduating this summer. I spent most of my time with them as well as one of the guys that worked in the office of the factory. They all showed me around the factory, showing me the different departments and the processes for the development of the product. It was all very interesting seeing the product move from a raw material to the finished good. My supply chain class actually came in handy for once. On the site of the factory, there is also a very large dormitory for the workers. I stayed in one of the dorms next to my new found friends. Then one of the most kind things happened to me. One of the interns that was with me when I got to my room said, “the floor is dirty, we need to mop your room.” The floor really wasn’t dirty but she proceeded to go back to her room, got a mop and mopped my floor for me. I was kind shocked, she by no means had to do that and when I insisted that she didn’t have to and she still did it anyways. This reinforced some of my preconceived notions of people form the mainland as very hardworking and on top of that, very hospitable.

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Posted in China, Experience, Travel