First Day at the Office

Michael picked us up with his driver in the morning so we wouldn't get lost on our way to Intel's Zizhu office. Lila and Michael spent the 45minutes in a work conversation, while Karl sat in the back and counted 7 near miss traffic accidents. The Zizhu area has a technology park with very little going on around it aside from 2 universities and other tech companies. Lila spent the day meeting most of her new staff, while Karl used the time for online training and email.
We wrote yesterday's update on our 45minute commute back to the hotel. We found the commute back to the hotel to be good bonding time, and a nice start to our “date night.” Thanks to one of the admins’ arrangements, we had dinner at the “M on the Bund” restaurant which happens to be Josie & Mel's favorite restaurant. Apparently this Shanghai-favorite transformed the restaurant industry in ’99. Dinner was excellent – high-end western/French influenced cuisine – but overpriced. Lila’s favorite was the date pudding dessert, while Karl’s was the salt-encrusted lamb. We have realized we need to ration multi-course meals or invest in larger clothing. The view from the restaurant overlooked the river beautifully lit up at night. The lights weren’t just pretty – they were advertisements! This is China’s capitalism at its best. Karl was particularly fascinated by the mobile, high-resolution advertising screen sitting atop a floating barge. Lila’s favorite was the 50+ story high res that doubled as a 50-story LED billboard. As if the lights weren’t enough, we wandered down Nanjing walking street under the romantic glow of neon shopping signs. Karl practiced his “bu yao” (don’t want) every 10 seconds or so while hawkers offered watches, purses, and DVDs.