What's wrong with us?
Last night I finally understood where the Disney Epcot people got their idea for the laser light show they put on every night: Hong Kong harbour! It was quite the sight and apparently they put it on everynight.
Today started off fairly well...had the best night of sleep in a week and had some dim sum, noodles and bacon for breakfast (isn't everything better with bacon).
We were picked up and driven to our first meeting in China, in Shenzen. The ride there was fine...had to fill out some immigration forms but the actual immigration process was surprisingly uncomplicated. We never actually left the car. The Hong Kong portion was rather veiled with our passports disappearing behind a paper-covered window after a quick match up of our pictures to our actual faces. Then we drove maybe 200 yards and went through a similar but friendlier process with the Chinese. Once through immigration, the car switched sides of the road (China drives on the same side as the US, Hong Kong the same side as Britain). We arrived in downtown Shenzen without issue and found our way to the office where our meeting was to be held. While a good meeting all in all (B failed to make it as his UAL flight made an emergency landing in Seattle when they realized they didn't have enough oxygen on the plane!), the meeting room was not air-conditioned or even well ventilated. Remember, it's June. In China. Hot and humid. After almost 3 hours of meeting, I was soaked through.
From there we headed further north into China and visited a wretched facility which is supposedly one of the better ones in the area. Four tall stories, crumbling staircases, no air conditioning, little ventilation, hot machines running, women sitting on hard wooden benches manually assembling batch work. Absolutely horrid working conditions that in the US would not be tolerated (hence the reason why most US companies have moved their manufacturing offshore). On the third floor they are spray painting by hand every piece of a plastic animal; the place reeks of paint fumes and paint remover fumes (for every piece is not only hand painted but then retouched by hand to remove any stray paint). I was disgusted by the entire situation: that I engage in hiring these kinds of factories, that they exist at all, that most Americans really don't care how their products get made as long as they can get what they want at a cheap price. Would we be so materialistic if we had to pay the price if produced to American working standards?
I couldn't wait to get out of there and into our hotel. Hoping for a chance to get a massage after lugging my bags for the last week and having heard how fabulous the massages are, I stumbled through the communication process to try to book the treatment only to be told that only men are allowed massages. Unbelieveable! Insulted and disgusted, I have returned to my room to shower and recompose myself before I have to turn up at dinner with the all male group I am with.
One more day of this terrible country.
Today started off fairly well...had the best night of sleep in a week and had some dim sum, noodles and bacon for breakfast (isn't everything better with bacon).
We were picked up and driven to our first meeting in China, in Shenzen. The ride there was fine...had to fill out some immigration forms but the actual immigration process was surprisingly uncomplicated. We never actually left the car. The Hong Kong portion was rather veiled with our passports disappearing behind a paper-covered window after a quick match up of our pictures to our actual faces. Then we drove maybe 200 yards and went through a similar but friendlier process with the Chinese. Once through immigration, the car switched sides of the road (China drives on the same side as the US, Hong Kong the same side as Britain). We arrived in downtown Shenzen without issue and found our way to the office where our meeting was to be held. While a good meeting all in all (B failed to make it as his UAL flight made an emergency landing in Seattle when they realized they didn't have enough oxygen on the plane!), the meeting room was not air-conditioned or even well ventilated. Remember, it's June. In China. Hot and humid. After almost 3 hours of meeting, I was soaked through.
From there we headed further north into China and visited a wretched facility which is supposedly one of the better ones in the area. Four tall stories, crumbling staircases, no air conditioning, little ventilation, hot machines running, women sitting on hard wooden benches manually assembling batch work. Absolutely horrid working conditions that in the US would not be tolerated (hence the reason why most US companies have moved their manufacturing offshore). On the third floor they are spray painting by hand every piece of a plastic animal; the place reeks of paint fumes and paint remover fumes (for every piece is not only hand painted but then retouched by hand to remove any stray paint). I was disgusted by the entire situation: that I engage in hiring these kinds of factories, that they exist at all, that most Americans really don't care how their products get made as long as they can get what they want at a cheap price. Would we be so materialistic if we had to pay the price if produced to American working standards?
I couldn't wait to get out of there and into our hotel. Hoping for a chance to get a massage after lugging my bags for the last week and having heard how fabulous the massages are, I stumbled through the communication process to try to book the treatment only to be told that only men are allowed massages. Unbelieveable! Insulted and disgusted, I have returned to my room to shower and recompose myself before I have to turn up at dinner with the all male group I am with.
One more day of this terrible country.
posted by shrunken girl at 5:53 AM
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