Hong Kong Day 4 - Lunch with Mr. Thompson

Third day of work.  This week has been a bit confusing because we lost a day on the way here (since we left Sunday afternoon and landed Monday evening) and we also started work on a Tuesday, so today really felt like Wednesday instead of Thursday.  Today we ate at the cafe on the ground floor of the office building.  We worked for about a half hour and then we all attended a branding workshop in the Asia Orient Tower (AOT).  This workshop provided an overview of what the Crown brand means and what the company stands for and strives to achieve.  

After the workshop, we headed back over to the 20th floor of main office for lunch with Mr. Thompson.  When we gave him the Spartans gifts yesterday he invited us to come to lunch and let him tell us about his and Crown's history.  He ordered pizza (margherita, pepperoni, and one with a type of ham/pancetta) and pasta for us, and showed us a powerpoint presentation about Crown and told us his story.  He told us about growing up and how he ended up going to SJSU, and then about how he decided to go to Japan.  We also heard about how he decided to start the company and got to see pictures from the first years of the company (1965 in Japan, 1970 in Hong Kong, etc).  We also saw some more recent pictures, including photos of Crown buildings around the world and some pictures of how the company operates.  It was really nice to hear his story and also hear about the history of Crown from his point of view.  We were with him for nearly 2 hours, talking about Crown and he also answered some other questions that we had.  He will be going to London in a couple of weeks to celebrate the 10th birthday of one of the buildings, and he will also stop to see the group of TGIP people who are in London.

We went back to work after our lunch with Mr. Thompson, and then at the end of the day we went out to buy some fresh fruit juice.  Ana, a Crown director and the sponsor for one of our projects offered to take us to find some juice.  Three of us went with her to a stall near the office (the other's weren't quite done with a training session they were going through) where a lady had many different kinds of juice to choose from.  I chose kiwi, and the rest of our group got orange juice, watermelon juice, and kiwi juice.  It was really good, and it was nice to have some fresh fruit.  We watched her prepare it right in front of us, nothing in the juice except the fruit and some ice.  

As we were walking back to the office, Ana invited us to join her and a friend for dinner at an Arabic restaurant.  We decided to join them, and went up to the restaurant.  Once we were there, they decided to just order a bunch of different dishes so that we could try many different things.  We had falafels, hummus, something similar to hummus made out of eggplant, chicken shawarma, and a few other dishes.  Ana told us to try their Mint Lemonade, it was really good.  After dinner we walked down to an MTR (metro/subway) station and took it one stop to Central Hong Kong to the H&M.  We shopped at H&M for a bit before going back to Causeway Bay where our apartments are.  We did a little bit more shopping/walking around Causeway Bay before heading back to our apartments for the night.

View from AOT

The rubber duck that is on display in Hong Kong Bay right now.  This view is from the 20th floor of the office
It is a moving artwork that has been in 12 cities and 11 countries.  We are going to try to go see it this weekend

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Hong Kong Day 3 - 2nd day of work

Today was our first real day of work.  We met up at the MTR (metro/subway) and then headed down towards the office.  We stopped at a sandwich shop between the MTR exit and the office for breakfast. Once we got to the office we went up to the 20th floor (the floor with the main office here, this building has many companies in it, not just Crown), and went our separate ways from there.  The e-learning project on the 20th floor, and the IT project (my project) is on the 10th floor, and the pricing project is in a building across the street.  

We worked during the morning, and then before heading to lunch we were able to see Mr. Thompson and give him some gifts that we brought along.  He is a big SJSU Football fan, so I contacted SJSU athletics and was able to bring some Spartan gear along with us as a thank you for this opportunity.  We had t-shirts, a military bowl t-shirt and hat, a San Jose State Football apron, a license plate frame, and other goodies.  There is a picture below that has us all holding up the items we brought.  He was very surprised, and loved everything that we brought.  He said that it was just like Christmas, and even put the apron on immediately.

After talking with Mr. Thompson for a bit, we went to lunch with some of our co-workers.  Today we went to a Mexican restaurant down the street from the office.  The restaurant had a lunch deal that allowed us to choose one of two appetizers, and pick an entree from 3 selections.  I had mini taco shells filled with Chorizo, lettuce and other things, and had a chimichanga for my entree.  The other appetizer choice was potato soup, and the entree choices were a fish item and a chicken pasta.  After lunch we went back to our work stations and finished our day of work.

Once we got done with work we took the MTR back to the station for our apartments, but we did not go directly back to our apartments.  We all bought SIM cards yesterday so that we could have data and local calls and texts to communicate.  One of our phones was not working, so she made an appointment with the genius bar at Apple to solve the problem.  This appointment was at 6:30 so we went directly there from work.  At first glance the store looks very similar to the ones back home, except it is three stories.  The first two floors are the display/shopping stores, with many computers, Phones, iPods, and iPhones on display and for sale, as well as the accessory displays like we are used to.  The third floor is set up just for the genius bar and private lessons.  It is a very large store, and the stairs inside are made of glass.  

After finishing at Apple, we walked around a bit to see what we wanted for dinner.  We decided on a noodle shop, and ate there.  I had rice noodles with brisket.  It was really good, and also very inexpensive ($36 HK/ ~$4.50) for a big bowl.  After eating we walked through some shopping centers and then headed back to our apartments.  We spent most of the day inside, and it wasn't too hot outside, so we aren't quite as tired as we were yesterday, but it is still tiring.  We are also not quite adjusted to the time yet, so there are times that we feel the jet lag/time change a bit.

Map in the lobby of Crown.  Shows where Crown offices are around the world

Hong Kong Day 2 - First Day of Work

 Today was our first day of work.  It was very hot and humid, even early in the morning.  We got up and stopped at a McCafe for breakfast on the way to the metro station.  It was already in the 80's, but because of the humidity it felt like 90+.  We took the MTR from near our apartments to a stop pretty close to the office.  Today was an orientation day, we were given an introduction to Crown by members of the HR department, then we met Mr. Thompson and were able to speak with him for a bit, and then heard about individual components of the company.  After the talks, we went to a nearby restaurant and had dim sum for lunch.  It was very good, and it seemed like the food just kept coming out. Right as we thought they were done bringing food they would bring another dish to the table.  

After lunch, we went to Crown's Shatin Office for a tour.  To get to this office we took a bus to the other island (through a tunnel under the bay), and then took a few lines of the MTR to get to the stop near the office.  The Shatin building has offices and warehouses for many of the divisions of Crown Worldwide at this location.  We were able to see how they store items for customers, and everything else that is going on in the office.  We saw quite a few Crown trucks and took a group photo with one of the trucks.  After the tour, we got back on the MTR to find SIM cards for our phones and to head back to our apartments.  We got back and we each went into our own apartments to catch up on things and rest from our busy day.

Tonight we ate at a Ramen shop inside a mall near our apartments and walked around a bit before heading back to our apartments.  Getting in earlier tonight than last night, it's been a long day and it feels like the time change is starting to be felt a bit.  Was definitely tired after getting back from work earlier before going out to get dinner.  Tomorrow is our first "real" work day, we will start working on our projects and see what else is going on

View from the 20th floor of The Mass Mutual Tower (Building that Crown's office is located)

Hong Kong Day 1 - SFO to Hong Kong

Long day of traveling, 13.5 hour flight (arrived 45 minutes early).  Left SFO Sunday May 26 at 1pm CA time, arrived in Hong Kong Monday, May 27 at 6:45pm (2:45am Monday morning in CA).  The flight was very smooth, tough to sleep, but watched shows and movies that were playing and was able to get a bit of sleep here and there.  They had a map that would be shown between movies and shows that showed where we were geographically, what speed we were going, altitude and temperature, and how much time was remaining

We quickly got through immigration, went to wait for our bags, and then got in a taxi to our Causeway Bay and our apartments.  The apartments are small, but pretty nice inside.  Once in Causeway Bay we dropped off our stuff, changed into cooler clothes and went out to find some dinner and explore for a bit.  It is VERY hot and humid here, even late at night.  We were all wearing warm clothes for the flight, and that made it very uncomfortable after landing, so it was nice to be able to change.  We exchanged some money, found a little shop to eat at, and went to a 24 hour supermarket-type store to pick up some things that we did not want to carry with us on the plane.  This part of Causeway Bay has many shops, both items and food, and also a lot of people walking around so there is a lot of activity.  

Start working tomorrow at 9am, we will most likely take the subway or a tram to get close to the office so that we only have to walk a couple of blocks.  Both the subway and the tram have stops right near our apartments, so it will be easy to get on in the morning.  

We are starting to figure out what sightseeing and adventures we want to do when we are not working.  Hong Kong Disneyland and Victoria Peak are at the top of the list so far.

If you want a postcard let me know and send me your info if I don’t already have it.  Let me know if you would like a souvenir from somewhere.

Mid Flight