"Starving"

I remember many years ago as a child, my mother would say to us "don't throw your dinner in the trash, people in China are starving". Well, I would say that they are still starving....to achieve the dream. I have been so impressed with the level of dedication from all of the college students that we have met this week. I have spent every night at the library because it is the only place that has reliable, free Wifi. Every night that I was at the library, which included Friday and Saturday, the library was packed with students studying. When I say that the students were studying, I mean that they were really studying. There was no goofing around, no "scoping" for someone of the opposite sex (like we used to do), it was 100% dedication. These students know that the dream is within their grasp and they will stop at nothing to get it. 

We had the opportunity to tour many of the different schools on campus. The first couple of schools- nursing, engineering (HVAC, automotive, ceramics) were not all that impressive. In fact, down deep I felt a bit sorry for the students here. It wasn't until we went to the Supply Chain and Logistics school that I was blown away. These people are serious about being competitive internationally. There were many very practical rooms within the school such as the "international negotiations table", the dinner table to highlight the differences between Chinese and Western dining and the logistics room that simulated a product being taken from the factory and put all the way on a plane or boat. These students are getting first-hand experience on what needs to happen in an international environment. I have not seen anything like it up until this moment. So, I would say that "Yes, China is starving. It is starving to be recognized as serious global player and it will stop at nothing to receive that recognition." 

Exercise and tough talk

It has been interesting the last few days to see the difference in East vs. West. Yesterday, there was the difference in exercise habits when I noticed a few Americans sprinting along on their morning run. Each man was running at his own pace and in his own little world. On the other hand, all along my route there were Chinese exercising in at least a pair - playing tennis or badminton or in a group. I thought that this very nicely illustrated the differences in culture. 

Today, we were in meetings with staff and students and the interesting event was when the director stated that the students weren't good enough to go to Harvard or Stanford and that they needed to set their sights much lower. Now, it's probably true that most would not get into either if those schools but I couldn't believe that at least one didn't have a chance. This kind of blunt, almost negative, talk would not be something that would go over very well in U.S. schools. 

Traveling at 400 km

Today's post will be short and sweet. We took a high speed train from the airport to Shanghai- 40 miles, 7 minutes. So I ask, which country is the developing country? The El or the Metra can't get me downtown in 7 minutes from 40 miles away! 

"Where ya been…China?"

How many times in my life have I used something like "Where ya been, China?" or "Where did you park, China?" or "Where did you go, China?". I like to tell people when they ask me where I live, "China" which means "far from where we are right now". All of these expressions are meant to be dramatic. And while it's true, China is a long way from Chicago, I think that these expressions are more than just about distance but difference. No one would deny that China is much different culturally than the U.S. China is very much a collectivist society where the point is to blend into the group as best you can. Being a superstar or calling attention to oneself is looked down upon. Yet,these differences seem to be just the engine that is propelling China forward. I'm curious to understand more about this aspect of the Chinese culture and the impact on the economy. I expect to experience a people who are very welcoming and eager to share their culture. I'm confident that I won't be disappointed. I can't wait to answer the next person who asks "Where ya been, China?" and I will be able to confidently say "yes, and you have to see it to believe it!"