Chapter 12: Daily Life

            Going into China I had no idea what to expect. After living in China for 7 weeks I have come to a conclusion that might not surprise many people. China is a weird wonderful place where you will be challenged by their culture and your emotions. Going into this trip I was told to have an unlocked cell phone and a personal VPN. After these 7 weeks I realized how valuable an unlocked cell phone really is. The sim card I bought wasn’t expensive and my data has helped me avoid hours of me getting lost. I despise the idea of using a VPN in China due to the inconsistent situations that occur. I either can’t connect to a VPN or my computer takes 1 hour to load Netflix.

            However, Chinese food is incredible. The highlight of my day is when my boss takes me to traditional Chinese restaurants where we have family style meals. I’ve witness my boss eat a fish head, drink soup from a bone, and eat chicken feet whole. I also enjoy how you can purchase anything in China. You can buy cheap knock off of famous brands, or you can have access to shop at a real retail store.

            My brother has the opportunity to go on this trip last year and my dad always told him “If you don’t see them poor your drink, don’t drink it”. We would say this to Tyler over 10 times a day, but Rebecca has informed us that some clubs use fake alcohol. There are also scams of women who ask to practice their English and then bring you to a tea house where you have to pay a large chunk of cash to keep a hand. Personally, I don’t drink or talk to women so I didn’t have any problems in China. I did however get scammed by a taxi driver. But, you aren’t in China unless you get scammed at least once.

            The photo to the right is a restaurant my boss would take me for lunch. Yes the name is hilarious, but they had Family style dinners. My boss always asked me what I would like  to eat, however the Strothers taught me well to refuse to give suggestions and always sit down after your boss sits in the back of the room. Oh, I almost forgot, my boss also ate the fish's head below. 

Chapter 11: Negotiation

China has a strong haggling culture. I’ve been able to haggle prices with so many stores, due to haggling being accepted. However, there are some stores that don’t allow haggling and have a set price. When negotiating a product, there are three Chinese negotiation steps. Step 1, pre-negotiate. Step 2, the negotiations proper. Step 3, post negotiation, A.K.A. you just bought a useless nick-nack that you will use one or twice in your life. There are also 5 key steps that are identifies when conducting negotiations. Step 1, build a relationship. Step 2, recognizing power brokers. Step 3, maintaining an attitude of respect. Step 4 reading body language. Step 5, chose a negotiating style so you can wipe the floor with the goober you’re negotiating with. Step 5 is ultimately choosing a negotiation style based on high and low context cultures.

            I found It very interesting that the person who stated their first price, always loses. In China, negotiations should delay naming their price as long as possible, due to battling hinges on the first price offered. When your put in this scenario, always ask for their price multiple times before you feel comfortable giving your price. However, if you don’t like the price they set on, do the walk away. I once got a woman to go down from a $100 Yuan fanny pack to $20 Yuan by slowly starring at her and walking back in slow motion. When I was about to turn the corner she yelled $20 Yuan and I responded back to her “I don’t even want it anymore”. I know, total savage move.

Chapter 10: Business Etiquette

            Chinese people address each other with their surname, thankfully my surname is Yuē Shū Yà. Yuē Shū Yà, stands for Joshua in mandarin. Once you greet a Chinese business man with your surname, you should make eye contact, shake his hand, and nod gently. You should never get caught up with bowing. Chinese people are very casual and mellow. After you introduce yourself, you should hand your business car with both hands. Make sure the text is upright so your new friend can read it. If someone ever hand you a business card always accept it with two hands and never put it in your back pocket. If you grab a business card with one hand and put it in your back pocket, your basically playing front hand- back hand with their face (shout out to 104A and Key and Peele).

            China has a simple dress code; dress the part you are playing. If you’re an attorney, you should dress like an attorney. If you’re a scientist, you’re required to dress like a scientist. Don’t underdress or overdress, just be yourself. I always wear polo, jeans, and a nice pair to shoes to work every day. I’m always fascinated by what my co-workers wear to work every day. I always see people in sweat pants, shorts, tank tops, and regular T-shirts. I know I just told you to not “over dress”, but when you’re an intern and your trying to make a name for yourself, It’s ok to over dress a little bit.

            In the photo below you see me and my co-workers. We got off work and we all went to get ice cream. Notice how I am the only one wearing a polo. Freddie is wearing a normal white shirt and flora is wearing a jacket and a shirt. Oh we also played “don’t let the balloon touch the ground” in the middle of the Ice cream store, it was my boss’s idea.