World Expo-sure

On Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00am so that I could begin what was sure to be a day filled with adventure. Why? This was the day that I would meet our client from Bayer (as in the German aspirin company) China. We had a 7:30am meeting and it was in the Pudong district. In order to get there, I would need to take two taxi cabs and the metro. I was excited but a bit nervous as this would be my first time riding the metro by myself, and I would be doing it in China! For those of you that may not know, I was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and have lived in Alabama, Texas and Arkansas thus far in my life. Although I have visited other parts of the country, I have been fortunate to be accompanied by someone who is familiar with the subway system the few times that I have ridden it the U.S.

So, I headed out the door at exactly 6:00am and hailed a cab to the metro station. I hopped in and told the cab driver that I wanted to go to Jiangsu ditie (subway in Chinese), and he understood me! I was thrilled that one leg of my journey went so smoothly. When I arrived at the station I quickly purchased a ticket using an electronic touch screen machine that had an English option. I boarded my first train on Line 2 and at the seventh stop, I exited and switched over to Line 6. At the fifth stop, I headed out of the station and hailed a cab to the Ramada Inn Pudong Plaza. I was so happy as I was riding along because I had made it without any trouble at all. And then what do I hear? Clug, clug, clug, clug…and then the driver pulled over and surveyed the vehicle. I could have told him that the front left tire of the car was flat and almost coming off the rim (that is, if I could speak Chinese). Needless to say, I was dropped off just a short distance from the hotel and walked the rest of the way.

We had a fantastic meeting about the project, narrowing down such particulars as desired deliverables, general timelines, meeting dates, etc. Then our contact from Bayer China suggested that we have a meeting at his home in Bejing soon. I was excited for a number of reasons, one of which surrounded travelling to Bejing, while another stemmed from the opportunity to tour the project sites and gain a deeper understanding of Bayer China’s work, and yet another was based on the fact that our client offered to make us pasta for our meeting. Did I mention that this guy is Italian? SERIOUSLY?!? My taste buds are looking forward to this experience! Our meeting ended on a high note as we transitioned from business to random conversation and in true Trenia fashion, a bit of light humor.

After the meeting the InnoCSR folks and I headed over to the Being Globally Responsible Conference that is hosted annually by the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). This conference was actually started by Sam Lee, the CEO of InnoCSR during his time as a CEIBS student. In the spirit of the World Expo theme (Better City, Better Life), this year’s conference was all about environmental responsibility. As I settled into what was actually a very comfortable chair in one of the auditoriums, I listened to a brief introduction from school officials and some students. The first session was quickly summarized and three panelists took the stage. Each panelist would give a brief presentation, and the first would deliver hers in Chinese. I was so disappointed because I thought this meant that I wouldn’t be able to understand the presentation. Not at CEIBS! Khushboo (a fiery little lady from India that works at InnoCSR), turned to me and said, “Go out and show them your business card and get a translator.” I was thinking, “Wow…they have individual translators? But wait, if someone’s standing in front of me translating, won’t that interrupt the session?” I would soon learn that the translator she was speaking of was a small contraption that looked like a tape recorder only sleeker. You put the headphones in and turn to Channel 2 and…voila! I could hear the presentation in English. I was impressed to say the least because I had never experienced anything like this before. I listened intently as several speakers addressed various environmental issues from climate control to the advantages of solar energy. There was even a discussion about Copenhagen and what should be done in order to spark some action to reduce the damage that has already been done to the environment where the climate is concerned.

Trenia’s Finale:
One of the panelists from the presentation was a woman by the name of Peggy Liu. As I read her bio in the conference program, I was truly in awe. A graduate of MIT with a work history that would stop anyone dead in their tracks, Ms. Liu was named a Time Magazine Environmental Hero in 2008 and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2009, was an advisor to the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative on Energy & Climate Change, and currently serves as Chair to the Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE). After the presentation, I went up and introduced myself to her (who wouldn’t?) and told her what I was doing in Shanghai. She leaned in as we shook hands, looked deep into my eyes and said, “You made the right decision coming here. It will change your life. This is where it’s at.” Her words sent chills down my spine and left me speechless (which for those of you who know me know that this doesn’t happen very often). When I could speak again, I thanked her and walked away. Her words keep echoing in my mind and now I have to find Peggy Liu in order to gain some insight into the meaning behind her words. Stay tuned…

Welcome to my world…expo-sure!!!