Posted 6:55 PM by Andy
It has been about a month since my move to Shanghai, so here’s my first entry from this side of the world.

Daily Life. After a two-week stay in a guest room, I’ve recently moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Pudong. It’s in a highrise typical of housing here, part of the firm’s living quarters. Most of the employees live here because it’s close to work. I board a shuttle bus to work, and the commute lasts about five minutes. My office is in an administration building separate from the chip fabrication plants. You know the astronaut suits that Intel popularized through its ad campaigns? We have that, but I just have to change shoes upon entry to keep dirt accumulation levels to a minimum.

Cost of living. Everything is scaled by roughly a factor of ten, so a meal costs about 8 RMB at a small eatery and subway fares range from 2 to 4 RMB. Entertainment is considered luxury so movies will set you back 100 of your hard-earned local currency, and license plates for cars are at a premium and are set at 20000 for a Shanghai plate. Most imported goods can be had for a markup. For example, I bought my Lenovo (previously known as Legend) laptop at 1.75 times the price of a Dell model with better functionality that can be purchased in the US because the same computer is about twice that here. This is a classic example of tariffs and protectionism in play. Western style establishments like bars and discos charge exorbitant (by local standards) rates for drinks and other services (like conversation with a hostess girl although that is a questionable business practice.) There seems to be two economies operating here, one that caters to the locals and one to the expatriates and executives. Rent is subsidized for me so I pay around 500 RMB for my pad. Broadband is 1270 currently with a local ISP for a year-long contract.

Media. Media is more restricted although most sites and publications are accessible. I can get to the basic necessities like CNN, NBA.com, blogger, yahoo, google, etc. Yahoo is blocked at work but hotmail is not. Television lineup is a mix of dramatic serials, variety and news shows. The NBA playoffs are shown selectively on tape-delay generally on the next night. I watched Kobe take over the game in OT and the series against Yao and the Rockets in game 4 of the LA-Houston tilt. Watching him contort his body against the contact by Mo Taylor for the decisive basket knowing his off-court troubles gives credence to the Addidas ad and tagline headlined by KG, TD, and Tmac: “Impossible is nothing.”

Work. To say my team is easing me into the job is an understatement. I reported to the office the first morning after I arrived at 6:30 a.m. because I wanted to jumpstart this next phase of my career. I attended 3 weeks of orientation, a portion of which focused on character training. Since SMIC is a company with Christian management, a lot of the ethics taught by Christ are woven into the required training sessions and promulgated to the new hires. It’s cool and amusing at the same time to hear the trainers reiterate “Don’t steal from the office,” or “Pick up trash around you.” In many ways, SMIC resembles a commune with its own cafeteria, private school, and housing complex and its methods of indoctrination. I’m sure the management means well. By the way, my employment contract, though it is at will, is structured so that the vesting schedule on options is backloaded so I forfeit 70 percent of them if I leave before four years. This gives new meaning to the term golden handcuffs. I have a general overview of the projects I’ll be working on, namely creating a royalty payment system for third party vendors and enhancing the design alliance partnership program. My group (design services business development) has four people total. Everyone is very cordial and my manager is very approachable. I’m just waiting for work to speed up so my mind won’t stay idle for too long.

Church. I’ve been to the SMIC church once, which is a government sponsored meeting. That day I attended the English youth service. I’ve also visited the international fellowship which is farther away on the west side of the Bund. Many of my transplanted comrades hold house meetings and watch downloaded sermons. There is a weekly prayer meeting and various Bible study groups. I’m in Ivan’s group, a Canadian with Hong Kong origins. So far we’ve watched the Passion together, discussed Genesis (was there light before the sun’s existence? Check Genesis 1,) and played Animal Kingdom. I think I’ll stay close to Pudong because it’s very impractical to go out to Puxi (west of the river, literal translation) all the time.

Travel. I went to a tourist area called Thousand Islands Lake with my division. There are many tiny islands on this lake with various themes. Some examples are snakes, birds, and locks. Assorted vendors hock their trinkets, but this is a phenomenon all across China. The hiking on some of the trails wasn’t too strenuous and the waterfall at the top of this one trail was a pitiful trickle. It was nothing like Yosemite, but like a wise friend advised, just think of this as China, don’t compare things with the States, and you’ll be happy. I should have taken a day trip to Suzhou over the May labor day holidays, but I was lazy and lounged around at home, played ball, and watched fantasy martial arts DVDs instead. This weekend some folks that formed a “Singles Club” at the firm are going to an amusement park. I’m curious how this compares to Six Flags and those of its ilk. I know, it’s hard not to compare.

Friends. With two friends here when I arrived, I’ve expanded my network a bit in a few weeks. Angelia lives upstairs from me and made pancakes for me when I arrived. Hanron works in IT but will be leaving for business school in the fall. Steve is a engineer from New Jersey and California who sits two desks down. Yong Jun is the brother of a family friend who distributes Xerox printers. Mr. Tsoi is the father of Albert who is a broker to entrepreneurs and bankers. Gideon is a friend from my sister’s Stanford circle who works in strategic marketing and has a similar background (Taiwan upbringing, US education, high tech, Christian.) Ivan is a very gentle and fun-loving guy who leads my Bible study group. I may join him when he visits an orphanage in Guilin at the end of the month. There are various folks who play basketball so they provide a recreational outlet.

Ball. In my continuing tribute to this game invented by Dr. Naismith, I will chronicle the scene here. Since I’ve only played at the school playground, I can only comment on that. The court is on a concrete surface and since there are only two courts, we play half-court games of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 to either 5, 7, or 10 depending on the number of people waiting. The competition is decent although there is a range of players from regulars who can create their own shots and score to those who are out there for the exercise. There are games on most Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There is a teacher at the school who is a dominant player, about 5’10’’, 190 lbs, who can score with ease. Most other people I can match up against or lock up. I can’t wait until SMIC builds a gym. (The rec center has a pool and some universal weight machines but no hoops.) My jumper will improve by leaps and bounds when that happens. All other gyms are attached to hotels or located too far away and require an entrance fee.

Okay, time to check in with my manager.