Global Experiences Part II

Hi again, my name is Matthew and I am doing an internship at Wf360 in New York City. Maybe you already read my last blog post called “An appetite for global experience”.  For those who did not read my last blog, here is a short summary: I compared my different internship experiences in New York City with China, Shenzhen, for example the differences in foods or the government influence on the citizens. There is, of course, a different lifestyle in each country but they also have a lot of things in common and this is what I am writing about today.

 Shenzhen City

Now here are some additional thoughts:

A interesting point is the fact that most Americans as well as Chinese people are workaholics. In China it is absolutely normal to work from Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. Most of the people do not live luxurious lives and reside in small flats, normally one room with a bathroom and that’s it. The Chinese people work hard with long hours but they do not earn a lot of money. Nevertheless they are happy and most of the time in a good mood. Maybe a reason for this is because they are used to this way of life and don’t know of other working philosophies in other countries to compare it to. That is a interesting point and was a nice experience for me. Compared to New York City, I can say that the people here also work hard and long hours. Some New Yorkers also live in small apartments in Manhattan because the rent is high here. I think the working motivation in both countries are high but nevertheless the living standard in New York is much better than in China, Shenzhen, though it is improving there.

Another point is the spare time people have in both cities. Here in New York you have lots of opportunities to do something, with a wide range of activities and it seems that there is no end. This is nice and in my opinion the entertainment opportunities in New York City cannot be beaten. There is no better place for this in the world but nevertheless there are also a lot of possibilities to do something nice in Shenzhen. Nowadays, Shenzhen is a huge city with over 10 million people who reside there. Only forty years ago, it was a very small fishing village with only a few thousand people but after a big government supporting plan, they built a huge and promising city. The reason for the government plan was to create a big and powerful city next to Hong Kong to show the strength of the Republic of China. So back to the topic, the entertainment possibilities in Shenzhen are also nice. For example, a popular activity is karaoke. The Chinese love karaoke and are crazy about that. I tried it as well and it was really fun. You can drink and eat a lot there, sing songs and have lots of fun with friends during the whole night. There are also karaoke bars in New York City, especially in China Town. I also tried one of them and it was really nice. 

 Karaoke Fun

That’s it for today. I will make sure to guest blog next week with any other differences I experience between China and NYC.  Don’t forget to enjoy a night at the karaoke bar either in Shenzhen or in New York, or wherever you are now.