Week Two at CEC

This week at China Entrepreneur Club was good. Nothing particularly exciting happened. I have been spending a lot of my time proof-reading and drafting invitation letters to speakers and companies that the CEC wants to come to their summit.  I am getting to know my co-worker Claire pretty well. We eat lunch together every day. She is really smart. I think Claire has her Masters degree in environmental science. Her English is also very good because she used to do translation work. It has been interesting having different discussions about politics and the world. Getting a new perspective is one of the reasons I am here in China.

                One thing that I have been struggling with is getting used to the business environment. I don't have any trouble getting to work on time or pulling an eight-hour shift. I just feel a little uncertain about what my function is exactly. I know that my title is "International Relations Associate Intern," but my tasks day-by-day are not always consistent. I often ask Claire and Amy (the director of my department) if there is anything I can be doing. When I am not given a task, I spend my time as productively as possible familiarizing myself with current events, as well as members within CEC and their various events, but sometimes I feel like I am not being very productive. Maybe this is the perfectionist/people-pleaser coming out in me, but I am just worried that someone will walk by my desk and see that I am not working hard like everyone else. I don't want anyone to think that I am a lazy American intern. This might also have to do with being new, I'm not sure. I think I am still in the "leave a good impression" mode so I just don't want to mess anything up.

                I think some of my feelings are also coming from being unfamiliar with Chinese perceptions of Americans. For the most part, I believe they are positive perceptions. I guess I don't want to do something wrong and make the people in the company feel like that's how all Americans are…Or I could be just awesomely amazing and make everyone think that all Americans are as cool as me! ;) I just need to not worry as much and do the best I can. This is my first professional working experience, so I am sure they are expecting performance not perfection. So far, so good. I am getting more relaxed in the office and people are beginning to become more familiar with me. I just need to keep doing what I'm doing. And I hope that if there is something I am doing that could be improved upon that no one will hesitate to give me some constructive criticism.

Chinese Word of the Day

Ge bi 隔壁: "next door"

Verse of the Day
Proverbs 17:22 "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."