Saturday, August 23, 2008

Wing Man at Holland House !!



Do I look like I have KFC written all over my face? Maybe KFC is on my forehead, because I do love some chicken! Oh boy, do the Chinese love their KFC.

Nevertheless, I am writing this entry because I played WING MAN once again!
Some day this wing man thing better pay off. I should be inducted into the WING MAN Hall of fame isn't that right Adrian?

I'm a team player and all, but do I always have to choose last, especially when I get the conversation going? Playing the wing tonight wasn't that bad, it is just that her friend was cuter.

Holland House Beijing
Tonight, we went to the Holland House in Beijing. The Holland House is a traveling club that opens for each Olympics. It serves as the headquarters for the Dutch and many eastern European groupies. Pretty fun place! I hope to add a few pictures from the night, but don't count on it.

Check out the Holland House Web Site




Picture Below: My boy Jon Venuto and Mark Vela holding up a model chick at the Holland House. Why couldn't that have been me ? Seriously, one of the girls is some Super Model and Olympic Medalist. Don't know who she is, and if I did, I still wouldn't put her on blast like that!


China Photogallery

Hey All,

I figured that it would be nice if I put a link to all the photos that I am taking during my trip to China. There are tons of pictures that I have taken, but I haven't had a chance to upload them all.

So here's my crack at helping you view a bunch of pictures. Let me know what you think.

Best Pictures from China (In Progress)



Beijing


Shanghai




Shenzhen




Alec's Pictures

My Section Mate from Harvard Business School, Alec Detwiler , has a set of awesome photos as well during our visit to China. Again, keep in mind that a few of these pictures may overlap. We will update our pictures as we have more time.


Friday, August 22, 2008

You Can't Bootleg Service



You can get a lot of fake things in China, but there's one thing in China that you can't fake and that is service.

The service associated with the Olympic Games here in China has been fantastic. The people have been unbelievably great from the hotels to the stadium and everything in between.

For example, Alec and I called the front desk for laundry service and within seconds (no exaggeration), someone was knocking on our door to pick up the laundry. Then, 15 seconds later, another staff member arrived. And then, 30 seconds after that, the manager showed up at our room in order to make sure that our laundry was properly being cared for. It was soooo funny that we had to take a picture while the event was unfolding. The manager is not shown above because she ran as soon as she saw the picture being taken.


In America, you'd be hard pressed to get the level of service that we've experience here in China !!!!

Are You My Daddy ? Are you from America?



While in Tiananmen Square, a family stopped me and asked whether I would take a picture with their child. You know me, and how I roll, being the celebrity that I am and all, I obliged.

China ---- I love it! One place where I wouldn't mind living based on how the people are fond of Black People.

Oh yeah, people asked me where I was from. I responded, "North Carolina" and they seemed very excited to learn about North Carolina. As soon as I told them that North Carolina was in the United States, they seemed a little distraught. They responded as if I told them that I were the grim reaper. Pretty interesting. Now, I am going to tell people that I am from Ireland, Canada, or Nigera. I won't make the mistake of being from American again.

Any thoughts on why they responded negatively about me being in America ?


NOT TO BE OUTDONE




Above: Picture of Alec Detwiler and his new found Chinese family.

Watching this scene unfold was hilarious. The lady asked Alec 3 times to take a picture with her child. At first we thought that she wanted him to take a picture FOR her, but in the end it was that she wanted to take a picture WITH him. Don't they look like they were meant to be?

Beijing: Modern Penthalon

We made it to Beijing this morning after a "fun" overnight train from
Shanghai. We are now checking out the finals of the Modern Pentathlon. We happened to get tickets to this event because of a couple from California gave them to us at a "VERY SPECIAL PRICE."

Only in China does everyone trying to sell you something gives it to you at a "VERY SPECIAL PRICE, JUST FOR YOU MY FRIEND."

No seriously, we ran into a couple in California that was nice enough to give us their tickets to the Pentathlon Finals.


MEET MY NEW FRIENDS FROM CHINA



My friend on the left is David and my friend on the right is Kent.

I met both Kent and David at the game. They are both college students and are studying Communications. David specializes in Stop Movie Productions. If you don't know what Stop Movie is, you should definitely learn about it. Pretty Cool Stuff.

All Aboard the Midnight Express



All Aboard

We are taking an overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing. We have all the cabins on the train booked except for one. So it should make for a fun night.

All types of games are being played: Poker,Mafia, and Spades.

Poker -- I made a little money. Not enough. It seems like everyone wanted to give their money to Jon Venuto.

Spades -- Funny! Way too funny for me. I had to school them on how to play with the Big and Little Jokers. Can you believe that ? They didn't even play with the Deuce of Diamonds as a trump card. Nevertheless, I explained to them the seriousness of spades in certain households.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

NBA China --- Straight Balling

This is how we roll! Yeah, I know that you are hating. If I were you, I'd hate me too. Today, we visited NBA China. Representatives from the NBA talked with us about their plans to capture the China market and how the business environment is changing.

Above: Picture of Alec and Ron Fun representing at NBA China in Shanghai.

Shanghai's Knockoff Version of Cirque Du Soleil

If I don't remember anything about China, I will remember this. Only in China can you get a bootleg copy of something that is actually better than the original.

For the past few days, our tour guide has been talking with us about how the Chinese are great at replicating and perfecting any craft. For example, during our trip to Boa Steel, I learned that metallurgy was brought to China well after it was introduced in many countries, and eventually the Chinese developed steel making techniques that were 200 years ahead of its time.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL of SHANGHAI
China's ability to bootleg something better than the original doesn't stop with metal and pocketbooks, but it extends to DANCE, ART, and THEATER.

Tonight, we went to an acrobatic show that was truly amazing. Although the show was short in duration, the stunts on display are tough to replicate anywhere else in the world. I wish that I had some pictures, but I was unable to take pictures during the show (hopefully I can get some pictures from Daniella - I believe that she was able to take a few during the show).

The Art of War -- Negotiating in Shanghai Markets

Wow! Negotiating is definitely an ART and a SCIENCE! Our group has spent the past two days shopping in Shanghai at various markets and I must say that I learned a few things about negotiating. In addition, I've enjoyed having Adrian and Alec watch me and my negotiating skills in action.

Lessons Learned
  1. Everything is negotiable!
  2. There is power in placing your final offer, directly in front of the seller. This tactic plays upon the human psychology in ways that you would not imagine (both Adrian & I have put this to effective use).
  3. Sometimes we (humans) sometimes negotiate for the sport and because of need. In these situations, the ego and principles remain supreme, which is why sometimes we must put things into perspective.
  4. Damn, I'm good at this game! I consistently achieve a bargain price while maintaining my integrity, values, and respect for others.
  5. Time can be your worst enemy during a negotiation.
  6. Creating a market is a good way to extract maximum value from the exchange.
  7. Don't pay for any customized product until the customization process has been complete.

Funny Encounters while negotiating
  1. Merchants frequently said "I give you great price. This is original, not fake. Everything in my store is good quality." I would respond, "I want the bootleg items, please show me the bootleg items." Then they would respond by showing me bootleg items and then saying, "Everything is bootleg." Funny, trust me you had to have been there.
  2. The Chinese merchants would immediately call me a "Jokester" because I would go in and say, let me buy this shirt for $2,000 USD. They would look at my as if I were crazy. We would have fun together for a few minutes and then I would leave. They are really funny and good at what they do. The only thing that I still don't understand is -- "Why does every shop sell the same thing?" The merchants end up competing against each other rather than differentiating themselves.
  3. Summer, our tour guide, took us to a Silk Market and tried to tell us that we could not bargain. Who does he think that I am? Summer, is definitely a hustler. The shops pay him money to bring tourists to certain locations. He should become a little more crafty at pulling off certain heists and resorting to bold face lies. Some people just don't have any values other than the love of money.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Live at the Olympics: Nigeria vs. Belgium



Watching Nigeria crush Belgium at the soccer semi-finals.

This game was not necessarily a thriller, but it was one for the ages. This game marks my first ever attendance at a major soccer event. The stadium was packed. I attended the game with more than 8 classmates from Harvard Business School.

Getting tickets to the game was quite interesting. We had to put our negotiating skills to use just outside the stadium. When I say "we," I mean ME. I had to show these guys how to get a ticket at a low cost price. We ended up paying approximately $17 USD for tickets. Not too bad for tickets that have face values way more than that!



This is one of my many interactions with the Chinese. I feel like I am a mini-super star in China. Every where I turn I see someone staring at me. Every once in a while, someone will ask to take a picture with me. Tonight after the game, I took at least 4 pictures with the local Chinese citizens. One more thing that being black will get you, "admired by the Chinese." I hope that Americans will take a page from the Chinese and begin to admire me a little more rather than continue with the status quo.

Just to show you that I'm not kidding, here is one more picture of the Chinese admiring the one and only RON FUN.


Monday, August 18, 2008

Zhou Zhuang

About an hour outside of Shanghai is a small village that was
preserved over a century ago. It sits on the edge of a large lake,
and has canals running through it. They call it the "Venice of China".

Uploaded Random Videos from the Trip to YouTube

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I uploaded some random videos from the trip to. You can access one or two of few of them here!



Sunday, August 17, 2008

Summary of Visit to Shenzhen



  1. People are the same all throughout the world, the only things is that people do things just a little different. Who am I to say that the way westerners do things is appropriate for all?
  2. Shenzhen is a massive city. It is quite ridiculous in both size and population.
  3. I realize that communicating is going to be difficult from here on out during my trip to China.
  4. The food is going to be tough to stomach for the next 14 days.
  5. The growth of China will continue well into the next decade. China isn't finished growing, but the growth may slow in comparison to how we've seen it in the past.
  6. The Chinese place a heavy burden on women to get married early.
  7. Our tour guide, Nancy, was awesome!
  8. Education is the key, no matter what society one is in!!!
  9. I am a very blessed individual.
  10. The people love Ding Xioping.

Summary of Visit to Hong Kong


Highlights from Hong Kong & Trip Summary

  1. Victoria's Peak offered excellent views of the Hong Kong
  2. Small World. I can't go anywhere without meeting someone that I know (Matt Payne, Roxanne).
  3. Hong Kong is like a little New York City.
  4. The night life in Hong Kong is pretty good. The people in Hong Kong know how to party (Matt P. is going to be okay!).
  5. I am beginning to believe that I would lose 30+ pounds if I moved to Asia, but we will see.
  6. The walk on the pier was fabulous.
  7. I can't wait for the next part of our trip.
  8. Watch out for aggressive woman while in Hong Kong.