One Week in Shanghai

My first week as an intern in Shanghai has actually been really great. Working full time in an accounting firm back home meant that I came here not only to experience working life in China, but also to connect my firm with potential Chinese investors. It is very convenient for me that the company I work with specialises in assisting high net worth Chinese investors invest in property overseas. The company is only a year or so old and they are looking to expand into new markets – it is really perfect for me to be working here. My first task as an intern is to prepare and present a power point slide to my colleagues and bosses about life and investment in Australia. I have been given the full week to prepare this and it is a 40-50 minute presentation. Having only ever done a 10 minute individual presentation before, I am very nervous, especially because of the language barrier. All of my colleagues speak English quite well but it will still be difficult to explain certain concepts and ideas to them.

My colleagues are lovely – it is a small firm of 4 employees and 2 partners and they go to lunch together every single day. The company pays for lunch which is an added bonus, and I get to interact with my colleagues a lot which is lovely. They have made me feel very welcome in my first week, buying me a reindeer Christmas hat and always asking for forks at restaurants so that I don’t have to struggle with chopsticks!

I really like Shanghai as a city so far. It is vibrant, lively, and something new is always around the corner. The other interns are also great – we are mostly from Australia so our friendship was almost instantaneous. We usually get dinner together at various local places near out hotel every night, go out for drinks at “Ricky’s” or watch movies together. There are no cliques forming and everyone is very cool and open.

Using the public transportation system has been interesting – I take 1 bus and 2 trains to get to and from work every morning and evening. It is not a long way despite having to change lines a few times. Peak hour in the morning and evenings is crazy, there are a million people everywhere and if you don’t push to get onto a bus or train, you will never get anywhere. In saying that no one here seems to take anything personally and everyone understands that we are all just trying to get somewhere in a really busy city. I feel like after the first 3 days of getting to and from work alone I am used to the amount of people on the trains and buses. After experiencing that it isn’t hard to believe that the population of Shanghai is almost the same as the total population of Australia.

I feel like I am settling in very well and I am enjoying my work so far. I am nervous about my upcoming presentation because there is pressure both from this company and also from my firm at home. I will be proud of myself if I can connect to the two by the end of my time here in Shanghai.

The post One Week in Shanghai appeared first on CRCC Asia.