Moscow Airport 16th of june
I have left Swedish summer and I am currently sitting in the rest area at Moscow Airport, watching airplanes take off towards the blue sky every second minute. But this is not where I will be spending my summer. My final destination is Shanghai. I will be spending eight weeks in the Chinese city with its skyscrapers, fast beating pulse and more than 15 million inhabitants, doing an internship at Bolaite, a factory that is part of Atlas Copco’s business area Compressor Technique. My project target is to roll out a measurement tool for operational efficiency, identify bottlenecks and implement improvements and a test plan for the R&D test lab in order to make it more efficient and reduce idle times by 30 %.
If you would have asked me one week ago what I expected from the project and my stay in Shanghai I would have shrugged, smiled and told you “I have no idea”. But thanks to an intense week at Atlas Copco’s head quarter in Stockholm that started out with a two-day project planning course I now feel more confident about my project and how to carry it out. After four years of studies I am excited to finally get the chance to put the theories I’ve learnt into practice. After all, this is what I have been studying for.
The focus this past introduction week has mainly been on the project, but of course a big part of my experience this summer will be facing the Chinese culture. I have never been to China before and I don’t know much about their culture. The last weeks since Sigrid at the HR department called to offer me the internship have been filled with exams, work and projects. I have been so busy that I haven’t had the time to prepare mentally for going to China. But that doesn’t frighten me or stress me. On the contrary, I believe my lack of expectations to be good. I will cross the Chinese boarder with an open mind and curious eyes.
Even though I am really excited about what summer will bring, I have to admit that I have a few concerns as well:
The language. It’s a fact that I will not learn Chinese in eight weeks and that most Chinese people don’t speak English. So far I know three words: Nǐ hǎo (Hello), Xièxiè (Thank you) and Píjiǔ (beer). The last one I didn’t learn because I’m planning to drink a lot of beer in Shanghai but because it’s pronounced like the Swedish city Piteå :)
Communication in general. My biggest fear is to offend someone just by not understanding Chinese customs.
The heat. Apparently it’s supposed to be about 40° C during summer and I expect it to be even hotter in the plant..
The food. I am a vegetarian, which will bring bit of a challenge. Thankfully I’ve gotten some suggestions for restaurants with good veggie food.
But those “concerns” will only make the challenge even bigger and challenges are something I truly love. I am really excited to get on the plane, go to Shanghai and getting started with the project!
来自上海的问候,
Hannah