Countdown to China!

Hello Readers,

In just a few short weeks I will be departing to China! I am very excited to begin my journey, but first I had to do some research and studying here at home. For the past week, I have been focusing on improving my reading and speaking skills in Chinese. I also have done additional research on my topic.

Yes, I did watch a Kung Fu movie in Chinese (this did not take away from the awesome martial arts scenes) and I have tried listening to some Chinese radio stations, which are quite difficult to decipher. Although it is a work in progress, I hope to improve my Chinese as much as I can before traveling to China.

Additionally, I have continued to find articles or papers that will help supplement my research. One study I found to be very interesting was "Doing Business in the 21stCentury with the New Generation of Chinese Managers:A Study of Generational Shifts in Work Values in China." Sadly, the local library has not been too helpful in my research since finding books discussing China's shift to individualism is no easy task.

My plans until I leave for China are as follows:

1) Improve my Chinese! Undoubtedly, the biggest difficulty I will be facing over my six weeks in China is the language barrier. Although I have learned a good amount of Chinese, improving my skills will only benefit my research trip. Ironically, I think I will end up learning Chinese the hard way: by being forced to learn in China while I stumble around trying not to look like a confused tourist.

2) Research, read, and research some more! I will keep on reading as much about my topic as I can. I am also going to look into how business is conducted in Chinese law firms (that way I have at least a small idea of what to do when I arrive in China). All of this is very new to me since I have never been to China, but I am really looking forward to the opportunity.

Thank you everyone for following my blog :) I will keep you all updated on how everything is going.

Countdown to China: 18 days!

-Ishan Patel