A little about Shenzhen

A couple shots of my office building in Shenzhen. Notice that the windows open.

I've had a lot of overhead manager-type work to do this week, which is unfortunate because I'm missing time to spend face-to-face with the SZ team, which is the whole reason I'm here. So today I decided to sit with my team lead and just chat without the framework of a conference call or team meeting. It went really well, we got a lot accomplished and were able to discuss topics both related and unrelated to testing, and got to know each other a bit better. I asked her about some things I had read about Chinese culture (i.e., it's offensive to gesture while having a conversation) and she laughed saying that's the first she had heard of any of it. I apologized for cracking too many jokes and she apologized for not getting them. She said that she practices her English understanding by watching Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty, so I should catch up on my viewing so we have something else to talk about on our weekly status calls.

I had asked her yesterday what she does for fun and she actually said that leisure activities really don't exist in the area. She said "we work during the day, we cook at night, and then we sleep, maybe on weekends we will go shopping or see a movie." It's true...I have yet to see a movie theater or club (lots of restaurants though) and while I expected to see many karaoke joints like in Taiwan, I haven't seen any. The population of Shenzhen is overwhelmingly young, I'd guess 80% or more of the population is in their 20s...not even very many children since the people here are just getting old enough to have them. Also 80s fashion is the rage (big sweaters and belts over leggings and boots)...I feel very out of date in my flared jeans and danskos.

Tonight I'm taking advantage of the spa services at the hotel and getting a massage and facial. ..very excited about that. Tomorrow I am interviewing 2 candidates for open positions on the SZ team, and going out for dinner with the team at night. Thursday I'm going to do some training on basic QA principles and our team lead is taking us out to see the sights in the city.