Today I attended this event which 12 people with architecture and design background shared their experiences living and working in China. One thing struck me the most is “persistence”. One lady who runs an architecture company shared her stories on how she showed the construction team the drawing of the design, but non of them can read it. There is a knowledge gap in the labour industry. I suppose you cant expect low pay and also professional labour workers, that’s just a deal too good to be true. She said during the project, she taught some of the workers hand by hand on how to do some basic stuff. I asked her if the whole process ever got too overwhelming. She said yes it did, and thats when you learn that in China you need to know when to compromise, when to walkaway and calm down.
I am starting seeing some of the signs during my time in China. Not saying that the people I work with also has a knowledge gap, it is not about who I work with, this is more the general working culture. I notice at meetings it is easy to discuss plans and ideas without getting down to the details, I sense when the specific questions were raised, such as costs, time schedule and task allocation, there seem to be the general attitude of “dont worry too much, things will come out alright” . What I am trying to learn is getting the confirmed answers without appearing to be too pushy or direct. I can be impatient sometime when I can not get the clear answer, but I need to keep reminding myself in the motherland the constant pursue of getting a definite answer can be a deal breaker. I need to learn to take a step back, sometime take “maybe” as the best answer I can get (it is still better than a definite no, no?)
Work is busy, it is demanding, and sometime I do not know my place. It can be confusing, stressful and confidence crushing, but boy aren’t I learning a lot ! We dont have a set plan on how long this China deal will last, but I think I need time to really get my head around on where I am and where I am heading. I have been incredibly lucky to join a group of creative and talented people. Some of them are really young as well, some were born after 1992. They are hard working, smart, know their goals and very keen to learn. Being around them, make me feel that I also need to move faster. But …there is always a but….everything is going so fast in this place. The key is don’t let all these stuff fool you , don’t run in circles .
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 