So the gweilo got on an Air China flight.
It seems I was the only non-Chinese person on the plane.
The culture shock began there. Flying Air China is not like flying Air Canada. We take our western comforts for granted and don’t really appreciate what we have until it’s taken away. This was a good, gradual first phase introduction for me. Take all we are used to here and knock it down three notches. Space, service, quality whether washrooms, seating, or food. I did not suffer, but realized that I was like a city guy going to visit country cousins on the farm. I was going from a developed society to a developing society. They were trying to catch up with us, and doing a great job, but…

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By Ernie Tadla

So the gweilo got on an Air China flight. It seems I was the only non-Chinese person on the plane. The culture shock began there. Flying Air China is not like flying Air Canada. We take our western comforts for granted and don’t really appreciate what we have until it’s taken away. This was a good, gradual first phase introduction for me. Take all we are used to here and knock it down three notches. Space, service, quality whether washrooms, seating, or food. I did not suffer, but realized that I was like a city guy going to visit country cousins on the farm. I was going from a developed society to a developing society. They were trying to catch up with us, and doing a great job, but were not there yet.
 
Alone with my thoughts, I wondered and worried. What was I getting myself into? The pangs of being alone were deep. It would be four months before Lovy would join me. Without her at my side, I was at the mercy of others and my own mental meanderings. Would Dan and his partners, Wu Bing and Peter, accept me? Would the Chinese staff accept me? How would I order things since I didn’t know the language? Would I succeed? How would I begin? What would I do?

Then the “what ifs” started. What if they don’t accept me? What if I don’t succeed? What if? What if?

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Last night, I was on MSN chatting with my client, whose trading WFOE (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise) incorporation is being proceed by me currently. He hired a 21 year old assistant to assist him in daily affairs. My client sacked her a couple of days early, for her irresponsibility and laziness, and is seeking another assistant, so he asked me if I happened to know anybody. I introduced a girl who’s intending to quit her present job, and they seemed to have a good conversation on MSN later.

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By Vincent Cheung

Last night, I was on MSN chatting with my client, whose trading WFOE (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise) incorporation is being proceed by me currently. He hired a 21 year old assistant to assist him in daily affairs. My client sacked her a couple of days early, for her irresponsibility and laziness, and is seeking another assistant, so he asked me if I happened to know anybody. I introduced a girl who’s intending to quit her present job, and they seemed to have a good conversation on MSN later.

The girl was concerned with the mandatory social insurance thing. The problem is, since the trading WFOE is still under incorporation, she wants to know whether she can still get the five social insurances during the first several months before the trading WFOE is legally established. Well, I think it’s an issue between the employer and the employee, and I literally cannot help. So I just reminded my client about the different social insurance treatment against the local Shanghai people (who have Shanghai Hukou) and those non-local staff. Read the rest of “Shanghai’s Social Insurance System” or post a comment