Back in Shanghai

Back in Shanghai, I'm done traveling for a while, other than back and forth to Korea. I'm thinking about going to Xi'an before leaving for the States again at the end of November, and have scheduled myself for a weekend retreat at a Buddhist monastery outside of Beijing in a couple of weeks. Other than that, this week's amusement is drivers.

Since I moved into Shanghai, I've had a car and driver service. Since I was gone for a couple of weeks, the driver I had--who I really liked--is now with someone else in the office. The guy who picked me up at the airport and drove me on the weekend was fine, too. As of yesterday I had a new driver who was supposed to be with me until the end of November. But after one day I decided this guy was just too creepy---plus his driving made me nervous---so now I have another one.

Why was he creepy? Well, for one thing he kept scratching himself--on his head, his arms, his stomach-- he even rolled up a pant leg to scratch his legs. Constantly, and while driving, which is the thing that made me nervous. I am not sure if he had a skin disorder, lice or what, but it was creepy and distracting. This morning he didn't do it as much, but it was one of those things where I kept watching him to see if he would start up again. Besides that, he zoned out and almost missed the exit a couple of times, and had to cross over four lanes to swerve onto the ramp, and he kept wandering over to the shoulder and driving there. So I asked for him to be replaced.

The new guy seems to be a bit better, but he too wound up annoying me. On the way home, he kept in the passing lane, but he doesn't drive that fast so everyone went around him. In my admittedly limited Chinese, I finally pointed out that he was going too slow to be in that lane. So what does he do? He speeds up, but switches lanes so he is now passing people who are in the passing lane. Back in Shanghai.

Around the World in 8 days

After a hectic schedule in which I logged about 30,000 miles in 8 days, am relaxing at our place in New Hampshire for a week. It's raining here and fall has definitely set in, with cooler temperatures and the beautiful landscape that this time of year brings. Friday night we went to a Sukkah party with people from the synagogue we attend here. TIme to reflect and enjoy the fall harvest.

I spent a few days in Korea before coming to New York and then up to New Hampshire. I realize that I have written nothing of Korea, even though I've spent a fair amount of time there. In part this is because I've not done much besides work there, and have had no time to explore the countryside or even Seoul. I enjoy the food--more than Chinese, actually, since it's very fresh and features a lot of vegetables and interesting spices, and is very healthy. I've picked up a little of the language--at times I do a doubletake because the inflections and body language of Koreans are so similar to Japanese that I think I should be understanding. I find that the little I've learned "sticks" better than Chinese--not necessarily because the sounds are similar to Japanese, but the grammar is almost the same and I must be using the same part of my brain that stores Japanese.

But Koreans are not like Japanese or Chinese--it is a unique culture. There are similarities all across Asia, of course, ranging from obvious things like squat toilets and rice-based cuisine to a group based cultures that value face saving and hierarchy over individualism. But beyond this there are significant differences. I haven't really figured out the thought process, as I was eventually able to do in Japan. In fact, the other day I had an email exchange with someone in our Japan operation, and found myself immediately able to read between the lines in a way that turned out to be completely accurate---it kind of surprised me that my instincts were still that sharp despite being away from the country for years. But Korea is a different story. Mostly I have to keep peeling back the onion in various interactions to try to get at what is really going on. I'll be spending more time there over the next few months, so let's see what progress I make.

Thinking about blogging

For whatever reason, I haven't had the dedication to keeping up this blog the way I did the one in India, where I posted every week. I was thinking over the past week that I should change this--it's really only a matter of discipline and observation, and there are certainly enough things to comment on here. I haven't written at all about Korea, for example. In part it may be because I spend a lot of time at work and I don't like to blog much about work for confidentiality reasons. However, as I have been out here for about six months I'm also feeling the need to take stock.

The last week I spent in Germany, near Heidelberg where the company I'm working with has its European headquarters. I really enjoyed this a lot, especially meeting colleagues from France, Poland, Italy and the UK in addition to Germany. The shot above--taken with my phone since I left my camera behind--- is Heidelberg Castle, during a more than 2 hour evening tour, which was quite interesting (though long). Heidelberg, partly for its cultural heritage, was spared bombing during World War II, and is really a beautiful city. One of my colleagues is French and we spent a long time talking about how the history of the war, especially the Vichy collaboration with the Nazis, still plays out in labor management relations today. All in all, a very rich week of learning and discussion.

Back in Shanghai now literally for a pit stop, then to Korea tomorrow for the balance of a short week, as beginning October 1 it is a major holiday festival in both China and Korea --Mid Autumn Festival in China and Chusuk (Bountiful Abundance) in Korea. I'll travel back to the US again to avoid racking up tax days in China so will miss this celebration.

Back in China

I returned to China about three weeks ago and got the cast off this past weekend. My wrist is pretty stiff and doesn't have a lot of range of motion yet, but I'm seeing some progress since the weekend. The doctor did not even want to give me anything to wrap it with, but agreed to put on an Ace bandage, which I wear during the day. (It is a good thing I got him to do it, because I haven't seen wrist supports anywhere in Shanghai, even though I'm guessing most of them are made here). On Saturday I am supposed to have a physical therapy session, though I've mostly figured out what to do on my own. No lifting or strenuous activity with the wrist for at least two weeks, though I should be able to swim pretty soon when the stiffness goes down a bit more.

In the meantime, I moved to a service apartment in the Hongqiao area, which is where a lot of expats live. This place is convenient to the work locations I need to go to as well as to the domestic airport, which is only about 10 minutes away. It's been nice to have a kitchen and take advantage of some of the produce that China has to offer--last night I had several kinds of mushrooms sauteed in garlic, olive oil and wine, and tonight stir-fried some greens. There is a special washing solution you can get to rinse everything, but it all tasted quite good and very fresh.

Hillary, the Pope, and me

I haven't blogged since before I broke my wrist in Shanghai on July 25. I was walking in a semi-construction area (which actually describes half the city--there are cranes everywhere), and tripped and fell, putting my left hand out to brace the fall (the medical term for this is FOOSH--fall on outstretched hand). In doing so, I joined thousands of people of boomers (Hillary) and elderly (the Pope) who have broken a wrist or elbow in a similar fall. It was an unstable break, and, nearly three weeks later, I still don't know if I will need surgery. I have learned how to do a lot with only one hand---it's amazing the things you can do with a knee, elbow, or chin. I can type nearly as fast now with one hand as with two.

Meantime, I came back to Detroit to get it looked after, in case it displaced again and required surgery (plates and screws). The doctor in Shanghai did a pretty good job of setting it, but people were amazed to see an old-fashioned plaster cast. Last week the doctor here changed the cast to fiberglass, and it felt like a real load had been taken off---plaster is HEAVY.

I spent some time at the office here, and got to meet some of the people I had mainly known through email and phone conversations. Enjoyed seeing all the cars cruising around in anticipation of the dream cruise, which was this weekend. Tomorrow I see the doctor again, and hoping I will be cleared to travel back to China.

Coda to the Story--Quality Fade

So quality fade is not only about products, but services, too. Gradually, over the last six weeks, the breakfast buffet at my hotel has undergone a slow but serious degradation: cheese reduced from a nice assortment including brie, Swiss, etc. to only plastic wrapped Cheez-whiz; no more wheat and multi-grain, only white bread, four kinds of cereal reduced to three, no butter unless you ask---then comes after toast finished, etc. Then, suddenly---it all goes back to the way it was....and throw in some lox to boot---suggesting that the quality inspectors from corporate have swooped in. I won't be here all that much longer to see the slide again, but it's probably inevitable....

Poorly Made in China

I've been reading a very interesting book: Poorly Made in China, by Paul Midler. It reads almost like a novel, but sadly, it isn't. It's about the difficult relationship between importers--mostly Americans--and manufacturers in China, with all the ways that the Chinese manufacturers manipulate and control the relationship, not to mention the quality of products. Midler talks about "quality fade", a deliberate and incremental degradation of quality and manufacturing standards in order for the Chinese side to cut costs and increase their profits, as well as counterfeiting--making extra production runs to sell proprietary products in a gray market. The Mattel and milk scandals are only two more well known examples---Midler's cases and his research imply that the practices are widespread.

Midler is a fluent Chinese speaker with a Wharton MBA who has acted as a consultant to various importers, ranging from a personal care products importer to a diamond merchant. Like his clients, he often finds himself victim of the manufacturers' practices---at one point, insisting on a refilling of bottles of body wash that had been shorted the requisite 850 millileters, he found himself having to walk back to his hotel because the factory owner, "Sister", was angry with him for insisting on the re-do and wouldn't provide a ride. The importer, known only as "Bernie", constantly finds himself at a disadvantage as "Sister", who speaks very little English except "price go up!" manipulates both his temper and the business. "Sister" is also constantly engaging in "quality fade", with both the packaging and the formulas. At one point, some shampoo turns to jelly and she wants to ship it anyway, and in another, she gradually reduces the thickness of plastic containers to the point that they start to have leakage problems in shipping. Near the end, Bernie comes up with his own "gotcha" moment, but you have the sense that ultimately, Sister--despite little business training and no English--is going to cut him out of the middle one day and go direct to his customers. In fact, one of the main messages of this book is the way in which the importers are totally beholden to the manufacturers. Even when Bernie tries to go around Sister and find another supplier, she finds out about it almost immediately since the suppliers in this business all know each other and do not let foreigners play divide and conquer.

Midler himself, despite being a long time resident and Mandarin speaker, does not ever really seem to help his clients beat the Chinese manufacturers at their own games--he is taken advantage of almost as often as his clients. Even Bernie's "gotcha" moment is something that Bernie himself seems to have thought up. Or perhaps Midler is too clever to take the credit, since he wants to continue to be a bridge with Chinese companies? Hard to say. LIke him, though, I find myself thinking twice everytime I pick up a consumable product made here. You just don't know if "Sister" might be the factory owner....