On CSC China 14 team's 1st official "free" weekend, the team eagerly arose early to hop in a cab; destination Tianjin train station for a bullet train journey to Beijing .
The travel time between Tianjin and Beijing is approximately 30 minutes and the ride was extremely comfortable and pleasing. Upon arrival into Beijing, we took two separate subway rides in order to reach our destination. It is simply amazing to see how many people they can fit in one subway car; when you think there can't possibly be room for any more passengers, they still manage to pack them in like sardines (save some room for oxygen please).
We visited Tiananmen Square which is a huge open space surrounded on all sides by imposing official buildings. The square is frequently used for big celebrations and for government leaders to address the people. We also visited the Forbidden City, vast in size, rich in history and truly amazing).
After spending the majority of the day seeing all the wonderful tourist sites, we sat down to a nice dinner where the main dish was Peking Duck (very moist, tender and flavorful). I hate to admit was a little sad to see that they cooked the duck with head still intact (okay the animal lover in me is beginning to show and felt just a tad guilty for eating).
Moving on ... after dinner, the team spent approximately 1 hour exploring one of Beijing's shopping districts (very modern and similar in some ways to Manhattan).
The Beijing shopping district has an open air food market where various sorts of local specialties are prepared for visitors to sample and enjoy.
Speaking of food, some of the local delicacies consisted of snakes, scorpions or silk worms on a stick. Several of my teammates were brave and sampled the silk worms. On our last weekend in China we will venture back to Beijing because there is so much to experience so perhaps while there will get some courage to try the silk worms (although the jury is still out on that one).
On Sunday we visited some of Tianjin's local Chinese open air markets. If you have ever had an opportunity to visit Canal Street in New York, the shopping experience is similar only difference being the goods sold are geared more towards local Chinese crafts / goods.
As I write this update it is Tuesday evening in Tianjin. We have had two official work days thus far this week and have met with our clients in order for them to provide more feedback and address additional concerns.
We are now tasked to compile our first high level set of recommendations. Next week we will meet one last time with our assigned clients to determine if they have any more input prior to the sub-team creating our final presentation materials....the overall scope is wide and varied.
Although the experience has been a little intimidating at times, it has been very interesting to serve in a consulting capacity. I have learned so much from my teammates, translators and clients; am eager to learn, develop and grow in so many ways and apply those learning experiences to my overall job responsibilities in the United States.
Have a great day everyone - see you soon and will send another update early next week.
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