liwei from internet cafe. they call I cafe "wang(3) ba(1)" here. sounds like bastard in mandarin, don't u think? first day at work. it's surprising how things in the office are alot like back home in singapore, maybe even better in alot of ways. i like the way they treat us interns. seems like a memo was sent to the heads, so that people actually know 3 interns from singapore are coming. people weren't exceptionally nasty. i think just like in singapore, there are nice and not nice people. but they don't seem to be v receiving of us in some ways, like the clerical/ secretarial level didn't talk to us at all. and since i'm not the type who'll approach ppl easily, i think things are going to be a little hard in this sense. the orientation they prepared for us was quite comprehensive, and my superior seems like a nice lady. she's pretty in a "zhong guo" way, and she's the soft-spoken type (i hope...). briefed me on the projects i was supposed to be doing, and i got stressed then. hehe, initially in singapore, when i got the job scope, i thought it was team-based job, that i was going to be part of a team. but, my supervisor (ms shirley han) told me i was going to be working with her, and she would be grateful for my help because before that she was working alone! (!!!) we r supposed to act as spies to find out alot of info at different housing plots, and then do analysis... which means i will be doing alot of running around. hmm... i'll decide whether i like this kind of things later, it's too early to tell now. no internet access in the office, theu seem to have tight control for this kind of things. but i have an office email which i guess my friends can CC: to, so things ain't so bad. i was quite sad when they took away the modem on my table and reformatted everything into CHINESE. sigh! must learn how to know MS Office and everything else in chinese. did you know that the chinese translation for "computer" is "calculator"? so when you want to shut down your computer, the option that comes out is "guan(1) bi(4) ji(4) suan(4) ji'(1)". there were quite a few singaporeans working in the company, although they are at the management levels. this general manage from singapore, mr lien, talked to us. wah, can see he's evaluating you as potential candidates for perm staff. he reminded me of my corporate lending lecturer, v corporate, v scary, v not-me. this consultant from singapore HR also talked to us, she's the plump, jolly nice type... hee, i think i like her. 4th day and my housemates started bullying me already. sigh! think i really got a "suan-me" face. they are really at two extremes, the worst thing is their similarity, both like to enforce their own viewpoints. wah, can literally see sparks flying when they voice their views. but one is less hao-lian than the other la, so i think still can live in peace. from my 2 housemates, i can see 2 different types of guys in love. one is forever icqing and calling his girlfriend (he's at the other computer now), the other one (the one some of u know i can't stand) is very bo chap. and from the things mr bo-chap-abt-gf says, i really pity the girl. i will talk abt my housemates next time. the "wang-ba" is super duper smoky with men hooked on LAN games puffing away. hmm.. think i will get lung cancer if i hang out here long enough. oh, thank yous for the emails. it feels really good to read emails from friends from back. :)