Welcome to Chengdu, the Kingdom of Heaven -- population 11 million. The bustling sights and sounds prove our hotel to be situated in the downtown shopping and commerce district. The plaza is filled with clothing shops, fruit vendors and a public display of karaoke. Department stores welcome you with a pair of wish trees at each entrance. At every 100 feet, exists a different wedding photographer's store that beckons young couples with larger than life wedding portraits. People dressed in something closely resembling big panda or racoon mascot costumes entice onlookers to enter.
After three months of pre-work and conference calls, our team has finally assembled. Where does a transnational team of IBMers first gather to make fast friends? Starbucks, of course. We are 9 men and women ranging in tenure from 2 to 13 years and represent 7 countries. Our team has experience spanning consulting, finance industry, IT architecture, project management, sales and marketing.
Yin Yoon Ng – Malaysia
Alfred Schilder – Netherlands
Etienne Leroy – France
Bonnie Murphy – Canada
Layne Morrison – US
Rachel Couto Ferreira – Brazil
Rajat Pal – India
Rajanikanth L Bangolae – India
Tamara Gunter – US
During dinner, most of us start warming up our chopstick skills by tasting pork, goose, chicken, mushrooms, broccoli and tofu. If my luck is any forecast for the trip yet to unfold, we should be happy. The dinner check was followed by 'scratch'off' lottery tickets and I won 5¥ - that's 73 cents!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
So glad you've checked in. Hope you will be able to post some pictures eventually. Take care!
ReplyDeleteLove, Karen
I had forgotten how much the adults like "Hello Kitty" merchandise. I was thinking this went hand in hand with the panda and raccoon mascots. We have no room to talk with the AFLAC duck and the Geico Geccko. The food sounds great! I look forward to your updates! Love, Mom
ReplyDelete