Here is a clip of me recording Chinese.  While my blog is currently under supervision of my Chinese program; I'm required to provide this clip.  I apologize for the closeness of the camera to my face (slightly embarrassing) - picks up on every little movement I make and makes me seem twitchy, but there was simply no other way to pick up on the sound!  Also a little hyped out on coffee at the moment, but for what it's worth:  an explanation of my role at Kosmos!

Good Morning! My name is Caitlin – Because my name is similar to that of the spelling of the Brand Calvin Klein, my coworkers like to call me “CK” – the Kosmos intern! – Or, as my so-called title says “Overseas Commercial Sales Manager”

早上好！我叫蓝凯琳 – 因为我的名字与流行品牌Calvin Klein的拼写很相似，我的同事喜欢叫我“CK”我是Kosmos公司的实习生！我所谓的地位：“海外的营业经理”

I am honored!  Only after a month, and I’m already a manager! Really amazing！Actually I'm just kidding.  I suppose that makes sense… I mean, it is only because I the only one in the office who speaks english as a mother language.

我感到非常荣幸！仅一个月后，我已经是经理！十分神奇了！其实我只是在开玩笑。我想这是有道理的... ...我的意思是，这只是因为在办公室里我是唯一讲母语英语的。对我来说，任务的难度不上一般经理者之程度。

By the way – my office, the Shenzhen office is the headquarters of Kosmos Logistics International.

不管怎么说 - 我的办公室在深圳，是公司的总部。

So what do I do as an Overseas Commercial Manager?  Honestly I don’t really feel deserving of this title. I have had many jobs before – but this is the first one of managerial status.

所以，我该怎么办作为一个海外商务经理？说实话，我真的不觉得我无愧于公司经理的称号。我已经有过大量的工作，但是这是我管理状况​​的第一次。

Although my role within the company is to help increase the U.S. customer basis the only method the provided is by phone.

虽然我在公司内部的作用是帮助Kosmos增加美国客户的基础, 公司所给我提供的方法只是通过电话。

At first, I was instructed to do this on my own.  During the day I would study these U.S. companies, look at their income levels and whether they need U.S. import / export freight forwarding services) – but this was a stab in the dark, not to mention my sales’ pitches were rarely ever successful

起初进步很小，公司让我做自己的研来一找潜在客户。通常而言，这是个困难的任务。 白天的时候我会研究这些美国公司，看看他们的收入阶层以及他们是否需要中美的进口/出口货运代理服务。更不用说我开始做研究的时候，没有效果了，就是因为我原来对货运行业的理解并没有那么深，所以我当时盲目地研究这些公司没有成功的。

Later my boss gave me a database of business cards he had received at business symposiums – and this has helped tremendously.  Within my first two days of using the contacts he provided, my I had already found 6 potential clients to give shipment quotations to.

后来我的老板给了我他从业务研讨会收到的业务名片- 这有极大帮助。在我的第2天使用他提供的明辨以后，我就突然地获得了6个潜在客户而且给他们发了货报价。

How to say?  The Kosmos intern training method is very independent.

怎么说呢？ Kosmos实习训练方式就是很独立的。

Although I don’t have any desire to work in this industry after graduation – the internship is helpful with my ability to communicate effectively in sales, and it will be useful if I become a private wealth advisor.

虽然我毕业后对于种行业下，没有任何愿望工作， 但这 Kosmos的实习经验现在是让我练习我销售的沟通能力。我认为如果我依照计划成为私人财富顾问，这将是有用的。

Oh it’s almost nine o’clock! Better get to work!

快九点钟了, 应该去上班!

    深圳超域国际公司成立于2006年，总资本有600万元，是授权的“A级”代理公司。深圳超域国际公司（Kosmsos）已经被中国外贸易经济合作部批准以经营海与空的货运。深圳超域国际公司自豪地属于深圳货代协会以及Gold Medallion金融保护计划。

Ê  Established in 2006 with a total capital of 6 million RMB, Kosmos International is an authorized “Class A” Forwarding Company.

Ê  Kosmos has been approved by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation to operate international sea & air freight forwarding.

Ê  Kosmos is a proud member of the Shenzhen Forwarder Association and the Gold Medallion Financial Protection Program.

办公地点包括：深圳、东莞、上海和青岛，总部是深圳（我的办公室）。

全球代表处包括：洛杉矶、开罗、曼彻斯特、博加塔、加拉加斯、纽约、维多利亚、开普敦、热那亚、华沙、德黑兰、迪拜、科威特和墨尔本。

主要业务:

l  全球的FCL（Full Container Load）
和 LCL（Less than Container Load）集装箱服务

l  航空货代

l  仓库和物流

l  内陆货运卡车

l  报关服务

l  海运贸易资讯

地区：

蓝 – 北美

暗紫色 – 中东

紫色 – 欧洲

红 – 拉丁美洲

橙色 – 东南亚

黄色 – 非洲

Kosmos地区的运输增长：

蓝- 北美

暗紫色 – 中东

紫色- 欧洲

红- 其他

我是通过亚利桑那州立大学的中国计划实习协调员成了Kosmos实习生。物流真的不是我的专长，但我认为在这里工作，可以扩大我对中美贸易的理解，肯定会获得了很多。在语言方面，北部和南部方言有很大不同。因此，我认为深圳适合我的学习需要。

It was the ASU Chinese program internship coordinator through which I became affiliated with Kosmos.  Logistics is really not my specialty; however, I think that there is a lot to be gained from working at Kosmos, especially in expanding my understanding of U.S. – Chinese trade.  In terms of language, Northern and Southern dialects are very different; because of this I think that Shenzhen is appropriate for my studying needs.

Let me introduce you to- 我给你介绍一下！

At Kosmos!  在Kosmos!

      This is my boss Tan Cruse，originally from Guangdong Province – haha Tan Cruse – Tom Cruise – get it?  Well, he is a young fellow to be a boss.  Pretty Spunky… likes to use his hands in gesture when he speaks.  He is very passionate about his work here.  I am fond of him, -when he is not stressed out.  He kind of reminds me of a smooth talking salesman at times.  These personalities are very clever… in the persuasive sense.  Here it is hard to relate to him… as a new overseas sales agent, my style is slightly more patient when it comes to making sales and corporate relations.  But this man is out for the hunt, very logical in his thought process… quickly give the prospective client the information, if they dig it – they dig it; if not – NEXT! But like I said, overall, as a young boss, he is highly sociable, likeable, and has an overall good temperament.

   这位是我的老板谭总，也被称为“Tan Cruse”。他是从广东省来的 - 哈哈“Tan Cruse” 也是“Tom Cruse” 你看了没有？我觉得他是一位挺年轻的老板，并可有胆量的一个人。他讲说时喜欢做手势。他是非常关心他的工作。当他不紧张的时候，我喜欢他。他让我想到那种“会说话”的业务员。对我来说，“会说话”的人是很聪明的... ...具有说服力。在这里，我和他的性格有一些不同的地方。作为公司的一个新的海外销售代理，我的业务风格是稍微耐心一点，特别当我培养销售和企业的关系的时候。但是，这名男子的做法找客户像打猎一样，在他的思想过程中.很有逻辑，相反我更有情绪化... ... 如果潜在的客户对他提供的信息感兴趣，Cruse就马上给客户推销，没感兴趣的话，那下一个潜在的客户吧！！！就像我说的，我觉得他可有胆量， 但总体而言，作为一个年轻的老板，他是非常善于交际，整体的脾气很好。

            This is Ella – our beautiful front office secretary.  When you ask most of the people in Shenzhen if they are originally from Shenzhen – about 90% of them will tell you in a bashful way that they are not.  I wonder well Ella comes from? She also speaks both Mandarin and Guangdong hua.  Cruse encouraged me to speak more English with her to help her improve her language ability, because she apparently went to an English-speaking middle school.  Outside of her telling my that my old Banking business outfits are too sexy while she wears short dresses exhibited in the second pic below, I like Ella.  Very pretty, very pleasant (sweet personality), and borrow my headphones every so often during naptime.

      这是Ella - 我们美丽的办公室秘书。当你问大多数在深圳的人，如果他们是不是本地深圳人 - 约90％的人会害羞地告诉你他们不是。我不知道我们美丽的前办公室秘书来自那里？她会讲普通话，也会讲广东话。Cruse鼓励我与她多讲英语，以帮助她提高语言能力，她上过英文中学。除了她告诉我我所谓的“保守”银行业务的衣服太性感，而她能穿短短的裙子（展示在下面的第二个PIC）以外，我喜欢Ella。很漂亮，很愉快（甜甜的性格），并在办公室小睡时她偶尔地会请我借她我的耳机。

            This next picture is Maya!  I love Maya, without hesitating, I could easily say she is my favorite here at Kosmos.  Cute little gal – great smile, and we are gym buddies.  She is dating one of the trainers at the gym we go to.  It is so funny, we will be in the same spinning class while her boyfriend is teaching, and they are so good at hiding the flirtatious glances they exchange.  Too cute!  But – Maya is a lot of fun, invites me to go shopping with her, brings me cheesecake and milk tea, and I make her salad and rice kipsie treats. We gossip on the daily – I could easily say she is what makes me feel at home here at Kosmos.  Only a month into working here – and I feel like I’ve got a good friend! – Maya!

    这下一张图片是Maya！我毫不犹豫地说我爱Maya，且在Kosmos公司，我最喜欢的同时就是她。可爱的女人 -大的微笑，我们现在是健身房“哥们”。她的男朋友是我们日常上的健身房教练老师之一。如此有趣的是，我们将在上相同的单车锻炼课（她男友是那节的教练）的时候，我瞥了见他们俩及他们交流媚眼的传情，他们真善于隐藏媚眼。太可爱了！ -Maya是有很好玩儿的一个密友；我们一起去购物，她曾经有一次给我带来了一些奶酪蛋糕和奶茶。今天我给她弄了一些沙拉和美国方式的Rice Krispy甜点。我们日常做八卦； 我可以轻松地说在Kosmsos公司，她是最让我舒服在这里的同事。我在这里只度过了一个月做实习工作-已经有了一个好朋友！ - Maya！

          Okay – I know this group “pig-slicing” picture is a little out of the ordinary... haha but that is another day another story… I just wanted to point out big-boss man!  Our boss “Oscar” is on the far right nearest to the camera’s angle.  Oscar is cool, I like him – really there isn’t anyone at work that I don’t like, which is nice!  Anyways – how to describe Oscar?  He actually has very good English, I haven’t asked him where he was educated, it is decent enough to get by, but also on the other hand that makes him slightly arrogant.  I don’t see him very often – spends most of his time in his personal office.  But my first week here he asked just like the typical boss would “so, Kailin, do you understand the business here?” Why yes – I do, and I went on explaining the purpose of a brokerage acting as an intermediary.  Intermittently I would throw in a couple English words, and then he would throw in a few, if I didn’t understand and repeated the word, he turned slightly red and said it loader.  Sigh lol – saying something louder doesn’t make it more correct LOL.

    好了 - 我知道这张“切猪肉”的图片是有一点儿不同... ...哈哈但是，改天我解释这个故事... ...现在我只是想指出我们公司主要的老板“Oscar”，是最右边的，离相机最近的男人。Oscar是很酷，我喜欢他 – 反正在办公室里，真没有任何我不喜欢的人，当然这是很好的！不管怎么说 - 如何描述Oscar？其实，我觉得他讲的英语很不错，我没有问他，他被教育的地方，就是说他的英文还凑合。但另一方面，他讲英语能力，使他稍微嚣张一点。不过，在办公室我没有很多机会看到他- 看起来他很忙。大部分时间，他都在私人办公室里。我在这里的第一周，他问我（就像典型的老板的老样子）“凯林，你了解我们这个企业么？”然后我给他解释一下，经纪公司作为中间人的目的。我给他讲的时候，偶尔的地利用一个英文的单词，这样一下子他也开始了利用英文单词，如果我不明白他英文的口音，我再重复了，他说的搞清楚一点儿。然后他的脸微微变红了, 又大声地重复好几次，有一点点过分。 哎呀， 我觉得大声说话，不会使话更正确LOL。

            And last but certainly not least – I thought that it would be good to mention Vivian!  Vivian is a sweet gal, in her late twenties, a hard worker, and single.　But I know two Vivians:  the working Vivian, and the off-work Vivian.  I tend to like the off-work Vivian.  She is much more personable, very attentive to beauty needs, and very fashionable. The working Vivian, I’m slightly fearful of.  Were she given the title of “boss lady,” she might very well become the slave-driver type!  In other words Vivian is someone I would like to hang out with, because she is witty, and seems like she likes to have a good time, but definitely NOT someone who I would want to work for!

    最后，但并非最不重要的 - 我想要提到Vivian！Vivian是一位很甜的女人，她年龄应该三十岁左右，一位勤奋的，美丽的，单身的女人。不过，我却认识两个Vivian’s：在办公室的Vivian和办公室外的Vivian。我倾向于喜欢的是“下班”的Vivian。这个Vivian的性格更加人性化，非常关心美容，并很时尚。在Vivian上班的时候，我有点害怕她。万一她将成为我老板的话，就知道逼我们干活的！有的时候他给我一些任务，但我不知道如何解释，在他解释任务的时候，仿佛她整个性格的开朗部分就被消失了。换句话说，我能和她一起出去玩儿，因为她很机智，好像她喜欢出去玩儿，但绝对不是我喜欢的老板类型！

A Bit of the Daily Grind:

Okay - so last you heard, I was having fashion issues at the office, and my boss Tan Cruse  (haha Tom Cruse get it? haha - made you smile) was trying to force feed me a sales pitch.  Okay - well, still waiting to have lunch with this American fellow - that hasn't happened yet, but I thought I might comment a bit on his behavior after I sort of... softly... got my way with the situation.  One thing I have absolutely learned in these situations is: as an American in a Chinese cultural setting - it is best to always be more sensitive as opposed to less.  Trying to predict behaviors of people also improves your reaction time - whether the situation is surprising to you - or not!

Let me begin by saying - the second day I arrived I was invited to the house of my boss's parents for dinner.  People - in the U.S. this is can be either a big deal or a no sweat situation.  But more often than not, being invited over for dinner here on this side of the pacific.... it seems to be a pretty big deal.  One thing to remember - is when invited over - never come empty handed!  Cruse was very casual... so this was a good sign, and also he was married - the wife was coming, and this was relieving to me... I shouldn't have to worry as much in that department.  I'm probably just interesting to them because I'm foreign.  Even though I'm doing my best to fit in  -  do as the locals do... sometimes, I can't help but behave a certain way because I am foreign.  Were I just another Chinese intern, I'm not so sure I would have been invited over for dinner, but this is kind of like, "look mom and dad, a foreigner who isn't Russian that can speak decent Chinese!"

So, that evening Cruse and his wife (who comes from Harbin in the far North) came to pick me up!  I had just got back to the hotel that day (15 minutes before they arrived) picking up cheese cake and brownies from the local Pacific Coffee Company.  Cruse noticed my bags and said... "oh , really you shouldn't have to worry, we are so relaxed, don't be nervous about my parents, we're really not that traditional, my wife is probably more tense than you are" - but let me tell you for giving first impressions, being the new kid in town at work, and having all eyes at me at the dinner table - I absolutely have high nerves and pretty much ignored what he was saying to make me chill out.  Dinner was fantastic, sometimes funny too... the parents wouldn't accept that I really actually understood Chinese (probably a generational thing) and would keep telling their kids (20-30's -Cruse included) that I needed more food... haha, and then they would look at me and smile and laugh, telling him "She understands what you're saying just ask her...?" lol

Dinner was over - and the cakes / brownies I brought were well received.  Of course they offered to open it to be polite, but I told them "No, -really no worries, eat it at your leisure, you can open it later if you like, I'm so full!"  Dinner was a success.

So when I went to work the very next day (remember they made me go to work only 3 days after arriving - I had not even moved into my apartment yet) and Cruse was very warm - im'ing me on "QQ" (like aol instant messenger with a Penguin lol )every so often.  Gradually as the last two weeks work on... his messages on QQ became less frequent, and after the incident from my last posting - the American business contact & Wendy talking to him - the im'ing completely stopped.  I'm quite sensitive I think, so I pick up on these things.  In fact, he didn't message me the rest of the week after that incident and rarely stopped by to say hi.

I am almost positive it is because I made him lose a bit face when he realized, I kind of know how to play ball when I feel strongly about something - for example I got my way, surprised him.  Not that the friendship between laoban (boss) and shixisheng (intern) has gone sour - in fact we had a meeting today with one visiting teacher of mine, and he was very warm again... but I analyzed his behaviors as a result of something.

Oscar the Bossman
Related to this: (in noticing people's behaviors towards me) Let me introduce to you Oscar - the head of our Shenzhen office - the big Laoban (big boss) - actually he's actually a smaller framed guy.  Very nice, but huge ego.  He asked me one time plopping himself in a chair next to my cubicle  "So Kailin, what is our business about?"  ... I go on explaining the implications of a brokerage in the business of importing/exporting goods and he started dropping English-bombs intermittently through my explanation.  I wasn't annoyed, but just trying to be helpful when I realized his English pronunciation of things was just not understandable, -at all.  So, of course once again, I am like a highlighted word on a piece of office paper in my office.  When I laugh, people wonder what's funny, if I say something curious, someone will randomly poke their head out of their cubicle like a cute little prarie dog and keep listening... lol  So I'm correcting Mr. Big Laoban Oscar's  indistinguishable English and Wendy smirks "haha Lan Laoshi"  - and then I notice the tone of Oscar's voice shrinks... I then realized, because Oscar is "Big Boss Man," it would be much much better if I was NOT Lan Laoshi "Teacher,"  because I was discrediting his English skills by doing so and furthermore making him lose a bit of face.  So, now I may much more attention to the tone of my voice and natural urges to be helpful... haha sometimes I guess when I think I'm helping - I'm really not!

Viva La Vivian
So I did mention the Sales lead who thought I was having a bad hair day to the point of making me go with her to the hair dresser.  This relationship at work is very interesting.  Never before have I met such a hot/cold woman before.  She is the sales lead, but she is also my intern 'trainer'.  These last couple days Jenny (the other newbee) and I have been studying our training manuals and then having afternoon sessions with miss Vivian.  When we had these sessions, I could hear the lyrics "your as cold ice" playing in the back of my mind.  She would ask us questions, but not until the 4rth failed attempt of trying to answer did I realize she was being coldy rhetorical... I wasn't actually supposed to be answering her. I would say something, and she'd be like "ya uh huh -" and then quickly continue.... sometimes as was thinking... but wait, we got hair massages together, I thought this meant something special between us?  Other times she would look at Jenny and say "Yeah, you need to memorize these states and cities, Caitlin already knows them all because she's American"  Jenny would sweetly nod her head, but I would feel kinda bad for her... I guess it's fair, I'm doing it all in Chinese, and Jenny is learning all my country's States, postal abbreviations, and capitals.

So when attending training, Miss Vivian was as cold as ice!  But so funny - she has quickly learned my coffee habit, and once in a while she would drop off a little instant coffee for me at my desk in the afternoon.  I thought... hmmm here's my chance!  The next morning I thought of a good olive branch "Hi Vivian - I'm at starbucks - can I get something for you?"  Okay, maybe sucking up a little bit, but you know?  Her hot / cold thing going on confuses the heck out of me... and I'm a woman, I should be able to understand my own breed.  She accepted!  -And the next day she got me one-cup drip coffees from Disneyland in a cute Minnie Mouse box.  Great Success (Borat accent LOL  ^.^)

Yuan Yuan
So the last latest greatest thing I have to say... is this time around - I'm making friends much much much much faster than I have in other cities - this is my method: get active.  By the cheesecake and brownies for your boss's family when invited to dinner, help Maya your coworker get Under Armor clothing by purchasing online and let her pay you back in cash, pass the olive branch to Vivian by thinking of getting her a Latte in the morning, offer help with English, if you go to a gym, try out a personal trainer!  All of these things have made me make some instant friends this time around.  My personal trainer - is one of the best investments I've made in the mainland.  First of all - not a waste of money, because I can't buy clothes and shoes due to lack of luggage space, and because I'm a chic I don't spend a whole lot of money on food.  Yuan Yuan, my personal trainer is in her late twenties, and on the third time we had a session (she's very professional btw) asked me to go out to dinner with her and other gym friends.  Great success again!  Also me and three other ladies have a little "I like to go to the gym everyday" click... it's kinda fun though =)  According to Cruse at my meeting with my teacher today.. I'm making good relationships already!

Other Awkward Moments:
-I went to the beach last weekend... I needed some sun because I don't want to turn office white.  I went for an hour and felt extremely awkward that I was the only one who WASN'T huddled under a shady umbrella... also the only one in a bikini... >;/ lol not sure if I want to go to the beach like that again.  Awkward moment.
-I thought I could add more positivity to my work environment, and make my coworkers feel comfortable about getting English help from me by posting an "English word of the day" on my QQ... at first I got great feedback, people commented and really liked it, Oscar was the first one to make a good comment using the English phrase I taught (I think it was "something up your sleeve")... the third day... people made comments and then Oscar said on QQ, something to the effect of  "yeah people, it's Monday... act like it!" - after that I felt like he thought I was creating some sort of distraction, so I stopped the English word of the day.  Awkward moment.
-Today as I was getting hot water for my Minnie Mouse Disneyland drip coffee from Vivian, Ella the front office lady just casually walks around the corner and smacks my butt... I was like 0_0.  I had no idea what to say... no Chinese girl every pulled that one before.  She thought it was really funny though.  Okay, so maybe my personal trainer is doing a decent job.. but Ella?  She's got me confused, doesn't look like someone who goes both ways..if you know what I mean, but also maybe she's just kidding? No idea... all I did was say.. hey!  Yeah... Awkward moment.

Nighty Night - past my bed time, gotta be up early again tomorrow!

Caity

The Chinese Office - A Whole New World (to me ^.^)

Okay – I just need to vent a little bit.  I will write these notes in a very fluid manner.  Not only because these notes are my personal impressions of how it is to work in a Chinese office… but also because I’m pulling a regular 9-5 job here.  It is a very interesting experience let me tell you!

Like I said before learning Chinese language is one thing… functioning “appropriately” to fit in an environment where there are expectations of you is quite another.  Being the only American girl in a Chinese office setting is an interesting experience.  So along the way, let me mention to you a couple things I think are worth paying attention to.

First impressions are everything… as we say in the U.S., as is said in many other cultures I’m sure.  When I was first introduced to my colleges there was quite a clamor.  Oohs and aahs… sigh… in the U.S., I’m sure I wouldn’t cause such commotion.  I did the office rounds, did the handshakes…  “everybody, here is our new foreign worker！” Okay – so when that was over I was given a desk… and a notebook – pretty standard.  I still felt like I had to prove that I had worthy Chinese language skills Luckily – there is the QQ instant messenger on the screen… this is extremely helpful… I could type in Chinese and people would be like OMG   0_0  she actually read and write Chinese…. [of course my spoken – Chinese still has a couple problems - wenti’s…I gotta work on my tones and pronunciation.  I find that this late in the game it’s really  to get a little sloppy with my language because I want to communicate faster].

So my first impression overall was very good.  The first day I was here, I got to participate in our  下午茶 (afternoon teatime which usually consists of a group gathering around in the lunch room where everyone grabs a pair of kuaizi (chopsticks) and/or toothpicks and we share in a feast of dumplings)  this ritual usually happens around 2-3 pm.  Very nice,… my boss originally told me I can stroll in around 9 “we are so relaxed here, don’t worry about it, if you’re a couple minutes late no problem.. we all usually stroll in between 9-10… when I start having you make evening phone calls to the United States, you can come in at 11:00”

说起来很容易、做起来很难 “Saying it is easy, but doing it… not so easy“

So like I said – this way I started coming in oh – about 9:30-10.  Vivian the leading sales associate asks me one day… Caitlin how come you come in a little bit late today?  Oh – I was told that you guys were relaxed and kind of strolled in between 9-10 everyday.  Oh！ No! she said, I’m just politely reminding you that.. we like to come in at 9 o’clock.  We aren’t very strict here in the office, but of course there is nothing we can do about changing the times we must work.  VERY INTERESTING!  So now every day I along with the rest of the workers who belongs to this building stand in line (yes everybody gets to work at exactly nine) and wait for an elevator)

People, 9:00 definitely means nine o’clock.

Apparently it’s my Apparel

One more thing I’ve noticed is there is definitely NOT a Monkey-See-Monkey-Do concept I can use to learn how I am to behave appropriately, I can only go off of reactions, -because I'm different.  For a foreigner working in an officer environment: I can’t just look at the other ladies in the office and try to imitate the styles and appropriateness of what they are wearing.  Because I am foreign, I feel that everybody has this preconditioned sentiment towards me that I am an extroverted, sexual creature.  Maya behind me wore an off the should top yesterday with jeans; Ellen the front desk secretary is wearing a body-hugging (what looks like a cocktail dress) that is so high on her long slender legs that it would make any American man’s eyebrows raise thru the ceiling..  This, not to mention that all of them either where flip flops, sequined/rhinestone/lacy/strappy 3-4 inch high heel shoes everyday…  

So I thought well, maybe that means I can wear jeans, and the blouses I used to wear at my Operations internship in the U.S. at an Investment Banking firm (already a fairly conservative American business sector.)  but apparently not.  Comments I’ve received:

Day 1:  “oh so piaoliang 漂亮” “oh she’s so pretty” “uh oh, the boys in our office are going to have to watch out”  -Obviously these are not appropriate comments in an American office setting.  Liability becomes an issue.

Day 2:  (I had just got back from the gym – because lunch time to nap time takes two hours every day – I can’t eat for an entire hour nor can I sleep for one hour and wake up feeling refreshed… it is acceptable as far as I know currently to go to the gym for a little bit of time ) I return and take my hair out of a braid for a moment.  “oh my God, you hair is scaring me,” says Vivian… “but I just got back from the gym… I’m going to put it up in a second”…I reply ”No, I really think that you should come with me to the hair stylist after work today”  (little did I know that this meant 2-3 hours at the hair salon using Asian hair repair treatments and head massage therapy lol)

Day 4:  I wear a long dress… I thought okay… if Ellen can wear these skimpy little cocktail dresses to work, I can at least where this long (to my ankles), flowing (non-body hugging) dress with a shawl over the top.  By my American standards, quite conservative.  I walk into the lunch room, and pass MiuMiu and Shady (yes these are there English names).  And I hear “Oh my gosh so Sexy today” 0_0 “What?! – How is this sexy???” -I go and explain the details to them as to why I am not… definitely not sexy that day.  But  then Shady sarcastically says “It’s okay, actually that’s how we like it here LOL” ugh

Day 5 – about ready to give up…I pull out an old outfit, quite professional that I often wore at work in the Investment Banking job I mentioned before.  The first comment I get from Ellen… was “Oh this outfit is nice, actually it very much has Eastern Flavor”  Success… or so I thought.  I sit down at a meeting that evening for a training session and she says again re-analyzing my outfit “Wow, Eastern and Western customs are really different… your shirt is too low, too sexxy”  Not low by my standards.  At that moment I felt kind of like exploding and saying… “How do you get away with your short skirts every day?? Tell me???”

 My Hypothesis: Is my Chinese colleges have preconceptions about Western women formed by watching U.S. media "Sex and the City," "Friends," etc.  Comments about my appearance should be acceptable because I am a “direct-speaking / open-minded foreigner,” my hair is not allowed to frighten them, I should not wear high heels because by default I am already tall and wearing high heels makes me seem towering, Office assistant ladies are hired probably because they are attractive – paid to make the front desk look good – so strutting around in tight short things is completely acceptable, and – because I’m a foreigner  - expected to be a bit curvier – anything below my collar bone in terms of blouses is thought to be rather risqué…

Today:  What I’m doing today:  I am wearing black pants that are loose (non-tight skinny jeans.), black flats, a black tank top (not collar bone high, but nothing too low – I debated wearing it this morning), and a relaxed business jacket over, a small simple string of pearls, and a head band.  You can’t go wrong with pearls in business, they are not flashing.  My hair is curled, my makeup is simple.  To my fellow American women who might go through this process, it could be useful advice for trying to “fit-in” – that is the goal, after all, of my Chinese program…. To be taken seriously by my Chinese colleagues and it has definitely been a challenge. I’ll keep you posted if I learn of any of these other fashion faux pas.

In regards to what I do:

I am literally an “outsourced” American sales lead… how do you like that?  Ha, most Americans will perhaps complain that work is being outsourced to China, so I guess that makes me a strange case.  My first assignment was to connect with another American in China who owns a trading brokerage; the following is a conversation I had with my boyfriend trying to figure out how to best handle the situation：

Okay  - so get this I'm making American guanxi （connections） at Kosmos her at Kosmos right?

lankailin: okay -

lankailin: well... he gives me this business card of an American Business owner who owns a Trading Brokerage

lankailin: I give this guy a cold call... tell him who I am, What I'm doing here, who I'm working for etc... and politely ask him if I may exchange email addresses

lankailin: it works... he is willing to talk more..

lankailin: he is interested in learning more about what I do, and agrees to have a formal business lunch with me...

lankailin: then my boss comes around the corner and bombards with: okay... Wendy you go with Caitlin to this lunch.. （Wendy is the ‘Overseas Sales Manager’）

lankailin: "bring all of our company information..."

lankailin: we have a sales lead!

lankailin: ugh

lankailin: totally unprofessional I think

lankailin: in order to make business connections, you can't just make the assumption that they want your business... you have to lay foundations for relationships to make business connections

lankailin: otherwise... They see right thru it and think "this persons just out to get business from me... they don't care about me"

lankailin: and they just hang up the phone.

lankailin: ugh

lankailin: shasi wo!  (Shoot me now… )

Tim Hui: ummmmmmmm...

Tim Hui: sigh

lankailin: yeah...

lankailin: So I said politely to my boss:

lankailin: "I'm new at sales... but I tried to make a relationship for your company the best way I knew how, I have recommendations, but if you think I'm doing this wrong let me know"

lankailin: I told him - because it is a trading brokerage... he has potential business A LOT OF potential business for your company

lankailin: so... it's like... if you are fishing...

lankailin: you don't throw rocks at the pond, hoping you’re going to hit a fish

lankailin: and it will surface

lankailin: ... things don't get done that way, it is stupid.

lankailin: you have to be patient

lankailin: put your bait on the hook,

lankailin: wait for the fish to come to you

lankailin: he understood that...

lankailin: but he his an aggressive sales man...

lankailin: not my style

lankailin: but hopeful I can maneuver my way around it to do a good job for these people

lankailin: it's a good company, but you know?

Anyways – the way I averted the situation – my boss Cruse had a talk with me saying he actually “only wanted Wendy there for safety reasons.”  Being a good 实习生 (intern), I agreed and went back to my cubicle lol.  But – then I raised my concern to Wendy who is in the cubicle behind me.  I explained to her that I have a simple understanding of American Business because of my cultural background, and that if Kosmos was using me to make these businesses have more trust in them as a Chinese company… I have a lot of suggestions, but because I am willing to do sales the way Kosmos does, I am willing to do it the company way.  Then Wendy listened… I told her, that shoving all of our company’s information into this person’s face was a perfect way to scare them away, but if we use ‘me’ to make friends first (anyways I am fascinated by this business in particular – an American business owner in China – 12 years of experience he said… this is a person I would like to know ANYWAY).  Wendy whispered to me… “I totally agree with you… let me talk to Cruse.。 But you’re right – it would be extremely awkward if I was a third wheel at this lunch.”  Wendy left for 10 minutes, came back to me… and rest assured all was settled the way I wanted.  I was lucky this time with my instincts I think.