Honored Guest... or Lowly Intern?

I sense some growing concern in a few of you (names unmentioned) that there may be a little too much fun being had and not enough work being done. After all, I am here for an internship. That means peon-ship in Washington-speak, right? So what gives?? Now, just one second, folks....

Firstly, what some of you are noticing with respect to my experience thus far in China has much to do with the fact that I'm selective posting. There HAS been office drudgery (sort of). Furthermore, I did travel half way around the world and needed a few minutes (days?) to catch my breath and, uh, relax a little. Thirdly, and importantly, I can't just post ANYTHING I want about the company I'm working for..

Plus, I'm in China. I mean, I remember from back when I was a White House intern, this less-than-bright intern posted something on his blog about "W" coming to visit his office, and when and where. The Secret Service tackled the frontally-lobe challenged intern on his way to work and remotely exploded his computer. No they didn't do that. But he got in big trouble.

Big Brother is watching. That's all I'm saying.

Mostly, formally, lastly and most importantly, the big question: Am I an honored guest, or a lowly intern? There is the cultural matter to contend with here in China while performing my servile tasks as official summer peon. In the States, particularly in my hometown of Washington, the intern holds the position lowest on the totem pole at any organization. When photocopying is to be done, you get s/he to do it. After all, IF s/he's being paid, it's not much and so her/his time is worth the least. Here it's a different story. While my time may be worth relatively little when compared to my Chinese friends, I am a guest and as such am treated that way. The Chinese are incredibly welcoming to and simply seem to love their Western guests. It's almost unbelievable and at times totally embarrassing.

So you see, this attitude kinda mucks up the drudge-intern role a little bit. And if I told you more about my digs, etc. I'd just be bragging. So, suffice to say I'm over fed and well taken care of and if only I hated Chinese food (which I don't) or caught a nasty parasite, I might starve here in China.

A little about what I am learning: Something about ERP software, which is fantastic. I always wanted to know the guts of logistics, in particular global supply chain. The company is making sure I learn something about how manufacturing companies function on every level (I do mean every level). And so I'm visiting the two manufacturing components of the company to hang out and learn. In ServaShanghai I got to wear plastic protection goggles and walk around manufacturing warehouses with HUGE equipment.

I am still desperately hoping that there is hardhat with my name on it in the near future.

Lesson of the day: The Chinese and the Italians would get along swimmingly at the dinner table and on the road. They both order way too much food, most of it looks bizarre but tastes fantastic so you can't stop eating, and they eat family style. They also both drive like nuts, disregard all traffic directions, run reds as though they were not even there. I am thinking Marco Polo and the Stoics brought more of a lasting impact to Latin culture from the East than we realize.