Shanghai Saturdays

I spent most of the day Tuesday wandering around St. Andrew's School in Jackson talking to Ms. Rosenblatt's 8th grade classes about globalization. I don't claim to be an expert on globalization, and there are definetely a lot of smart people in the world that know much more than I do, but I do have some first-hand experience observing how Globalization is changing the world. The main point that I kept harping on with these kids was that as the world becomes more and more interconnected, our generation of Americans has to understand what's happening in other parts of the world in order for America to remain the world leader in most fields.

I know that's nothing ground-breaking, but I think it's a valid and important point to make to 8th graders. Then today, I found an interesting post on The Shanghaiist, an expat blog about life in Shanghai, China. The post was about how this guy, Eugene Nelson,
an Intel employee and Diamond Dallas Page impersonator had a small problem while he was meeting with clients all across China.

After finishing his business in the Chinese mainland, Nelson was supposed to fly from Honk Kong to the highly Westernized island of Taiwan, but instead he boarded a flight to Taiyuan, a remote industrial city in North Central China. Nelson was stranded there in Taiyuan for a number of days before he was finally able to make it home.

Somehow the Associated Press found out about Nelson, interviewed him when he finally got home, and then wrote this article which probably sensationalizes the story just a little bit. Here's my favorite line in the story, "Nelson said he faced danger and indignity, injuring his legs and back leaping out of the way of a reckless car and enduring the spit that some Chinese hurled his way."

I'm glad Nelson finally made it home, but I think there are a number of important pratical lessons that we can learn from his trying experience. First, when you have a job that requires international travel, know a little bit about where you are going. I understand how easy it is confuse Taiyuan with Taiwan, they sound almost exactly the same. But anybody doing international business ought to know that flying to Taiwan means flying into Taipei International airport. When you fly into America, you don't fly into American airport, when you fly into England, you don't fly into England airport, when you fly into China, you don't fly into China airport. Why would Taiwan be any different? Point is, if Nelson had a little bit of background information about Asian geography, this probably wouldn't have happened.

Second, know a little bit about the lifestyle of where you are working. Traffic in China is horrendous, and any travel guide book will tell you that. Guide books will also tell you that spitting is a normal occurance in Chinese culture. Bottom line, it's good to be aware of where you are walking and what's going on around you on sidewalks in China. Just paying attention can stop a lot of problems before they begin. Had Nelson read a guide book, he probably would have been able to avoid his problems of "danger and indignity."

I'm rambled here a bit, but this story clearly shows how important it is that kids our age at least learn a little bit about how things work in other parts of the world, because everyone of you quarter-lifers that reads Rants and Cravings are going to be doing business that is somehow connected to another part of the world in your lifetime, I guarentee it.