Noah Zimmerman

Noah Zimmerman

Daily Journal Entry

May 10th

What an eventful day. Austin, Shannon, and I almost missed our plane from Japan to Hong Kong by less than twenty minutes. Since we had been in Japan already, we were better adjusted to the time but you could see the tiredness in the other study tour members’ eyes. The three of us set out to do a little exploring in the city and slowly realized the amount of people that truly live in Hong Kong. It was pouring rain and yet every sidewalk was overrun with people battling to get through to their destination. I also found it amazing how Hong Kong drivers drive on the opposite side of the road as the rest of China and we definitely started to notice the British influence throughout the city. I am excited to see how the rest of the trip turns out but I am definitely starting to grasp the immense differences in culture between the Western world and here.

May 11th

This morning we decided as a group to head to Harbor City, which is a famous mall in Hong Kong. The entire study tour went as a group, which is fun but also slows the whole process down. We stopped on the way to the mall at this very luxurious hotel and it was neat to see all the nice cars parked out front. When we got to the mall, we got the first real glimpse at Kowloon bay. The other side looked incredible and I instantly knew what I wanted to do that day. After the mall we broke up into groups and half of us went on the ferry towards Kowloon. Once we made it to Kowloon, we ate lunch at a restaurant famous for their Goose and then went to a big Red Bull event called Flugtag. I enjoyed the Red Bull event since my brother works for the company and I feel a personal connection.

May 12th

While JCP was our first company tour, Ocean Park was the company I obviously enjoyed the most today. We learned just how bad a position the company was in and through clever marketing they turned their image around and became extremely successful. While I would love to write more about this company, I have to admit that I was aching to be able to play in the theme park and that is just what we did. The theme park is actually built on this side of a mountain, which makes for amazing views while riding the rides. Going to the theme park furthered y belief that the Chinese do not believe in orderly lines and instead it is an incredible free for all to get a spot on the roller coasters. Today was also very sad because I found out a good friend from school passed away in a car accident.

May 13th

Today we went to the Duty Free Store and Dicks Sporting Goods Sourcing Office. The Duty Free Store was interesting because of how well they are doing selling luxury goods and because the Lady that spoke to us was a former UF student. I tried my hardest to keep myself composed today but I kept thinking about my friend who had died and it made it very difficult to concentrate. Dicks Sporting goods was interesting and I found it funny how they source for hunting apparel in Hong Kong where there obviously is not a lot of hunting going on. After the companies we loaded up on a bus and headed to Shenzhen. Going through customs was interesting but our whole group made it through without too much grief. Shenzhen seemed a lot dirtier than Hong Kong and my initial impression was not a good one. I hope I see a better side of it tomorrow when we walk around.

May 14th

I want to first talk about how amazing the hotel we are at is. Although its hard to justify a twenty year old college student staying in a five star hotel while on a study abroad, after seeing the buffet I think I can let it slide. Our first stop of the day was to a counterfeit market. Never in my life have I felt more pressured in hassled into buying cheap goods than today. The owners would literally follow you on multiple floors demanding that you at least see what they are selling. Austin and I ended up with fake Rolexes, which we both instantly regretted. After the shopping fiasco we headed to Umbra. Umbra was a very interesting company and their products made me want to invent things on my own. I definitely appreciated the business card holders they gave us and thought it was very ironic that our gift to them was the exact same.

May 15th

Today was the busiest day of the trip so far. We started by going to the Brown Shoe Company. The man who gave us the presentation was hilarious and blunt at the same time. He made some very inappropriate jokes but I felt we shared a similar humor, which made him very likeable. We ate lunch at an amazing Thai restaurant and then we headed to a fake mall. I bought a pair of work out headphones, which actually have made exercising in the hotel a lot more enjoyable. We then walked across the street to a warehouse stocked to the brim with fake designer goods. I bought a wallet and a purse for a special lady friend back home. After the shopping spree we drove to this very expensive and vast buffet where I tried but failed to get my money’s worth. After all gorging of food we went to the Chimelong hotel and went to a circus. There are very few times I have felt more tired than tonight.

May 16th

We visited the US consulate today and it was our only tour. It was cool to have to go through so many layers of security and suddenly you are in a little piece of America. The man who spoke wore an NFL lanyard around his neck, which immediately attracted a lot of attention from the men on the trip. There are a lot of internships being offered from the US consulate but after spending a week in China, I am not so sure I could live here for an unpaid internship. In the afternoon we went to Shamian Island in Guangzhou. It was my first real feel of street markets and seemed a lot less modern than the rest of the area. We watched a street vendor kill a cat, which was very traumatizing to a lot of the group. We also saw a kiddie pool full of scorpions, which sent tingles down my spine.

May 17th

We started our day with the Dr Sun YatSen memorial. It was pretty interesting but our tour guide Phillip really struggled with telling us dates of when stuff happened which made it difficult to put the pieces in a historical timeline. We then visited a temple with some of the most intricate ivory carvings I have ever seen in my life. After the cultural tours we went to Chimelong for a company tour. I was very disappointed in the meeting and felt that I did not learn much from him. I felt very upset that it was a let down because it was the company that I personally researched and they did not seem to care that we were there and were not very engaging. By the time we got back to the hotel the rains had started again and we were on our own for food. My feet were wet and my spirits down but the McDonalds I purchased made it all very worthwhile.

May 18th

Today was one of the highly coveted free days we got on the trip. Austin, Ben, and I decided to go on a hunt for these shoes that they have been dying to find since arriving in China. We took a bunch of taxis all through the city but to no avail. We then decided it would be very cool to go up to the TV tower which I one of the largest freestanding buildings in the world (whatever that means). It costs almost twenty dollars to go up to the observation platform, which I thought, was a rip off but then again most touristy things are so we went anyways. The view was less than desirable due to the smog but I still enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of today. When we got back to the hotel, Austin and Ben were set on going out, but my bed was calling my name.

May 19th

The company we visited today was Starwood hotels, which is a big hotel chain owner. I found it fascinating that they changed their business model and no longer own any hotels and instead lease their services and management teams. The presenters were very accommodating and even gave us gift baskets, which is always a nice touch in my opinion. They then treated us to lunch on one of the top floors of the hotels. It is amazing how much free stuff they gave us and I was definitely appreciative of everything they did. We had a flight later in the day to Shanghai, which was quite a hectic ordeal. Linda and Phillip entered panic mode and made us feel like we were about to miss our flight, which we didn’t at all. Our new tour guide is a young woman who seems very knowledgeable so I’m excited to hear what she has to say.

May 20th

The morning was a free day, which was spent going all around town and finding out everything was closed due to a bunch of leaders from Asia being in town for a conference. It was crazy just how much of a city they could shut down in order to protect important people. I was very upset we wasted half a day in such an amazing city and I hope I am able to return to Shanghai some day. In the afternoon we visited City Shop, which is an over priced import super market. They gave us a free buffet at the restaurant upstairs, which was appreciated by everyone. It was very hard for me to hear the presentation as the CEO was facing the other way the entire time. I have a very hard time believing that they are profitable judging from the amount of people shopping in the store and the vast size of the space. They also let us try their homemade beer, which was superb.

May 21st

We actually visited a steel plant today! The company is called Baosteel and they produce the most steel in China. We toured their plant and I was surprised with the amount of heat I could feel from such a great distance away. The trip to the factory made me sad thinking about all the employees working in such harsh conditions and earning relatively nothing. We had lunch at Pizza Hut today, which was by far the best meal I think I have eaten in a while. Pizza Hut is so much different in Asia than in America and they even take reservations. My stomach was full and my arteries clogged by the end of the meal but I really did find everything to be delicious and I wish they would bring that style to America. The last company tour of the day was Online Design Ltd. A lot of people seemed to enjoy Theo and his bluntness but I found it very rude and I think it would be impossible for me to work at a company like his.

May 22nd

We met with the most interesting man today. He was an American working for Jack Wolfskin. He did not mention his company once but instead gave us a complete overview of what he thought to be the most important aspects of China. I really appreciated everything he had to say but the fact that he wants to get out of China as quickly as possible seemed very disheartening. I found it quite amusing how much he said the Chinese people distrusted Baosteel and loved to import stuff from other countries. It goes to show that there are really two sides to every story and take everything you hear with a grain of salt. I’m starting to find that all these company visits are starting to take a toll on my body and my ability to concentrate. WE visited UCCAL in the afternoon and I did not like the company at all. I really felt like they should not be in business.

May 23rd

We checked out of the hotel today really early and got some amusement out of Kevin leaving his passport in the safe. We went to visit Outback Steakhouse, which was something I had been looking forward to since the start of the trip. I found it so odd that they did not want to even try to do Curbside Takeaway, which is a huge percent of their business in the states. The food was very much like back home except they put a disgusting sauce on the steak, which I wish I did not order. We then road the high-speed rail to Beijing, which I had also been looking forward to doing. I expected the ride to be a lot rougher than it was but I was still a five hour train ride which I could have done without. It is hard to believe my parents came to China in the eighties and none of this infrastructure was there. It goes to show just how much can be accomplished by humans in a short amount of time.

May 24th

Today was a day for cultural tours. We visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. My favorite of the three had to be the Great Wall of China. It is still hard for me to fathom just how much time and energy was put into this wall and how it has passed the test of time. If I could have changed one thing about this day it would have been the weather and the visibility. I was disappointed we could not see the wall more clearly due to the misty rain. Ben and I hiked a great distance along the wall and came back with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. We got tricked into taking photos with these guys at the bottom who then demanded a lot of money from all of us. Some battles you just cannot win in this country. We then went to some buffet for Bill’s birthday, which was pretty mediocre although I left feeling full.

May 25th

Today was our last real free day and I am sad to admit that we might have wasted it. Austin and I tried going to two fake malls on Alice’s recommendation but we felt as if they were the worst ones out of all the other ones we have visited on the trip. It was actually quite difficult to navigate through Beijing as very few people speak any English at all and we definitely felt a sense of hopelessness if anything were to go wrong. We also ran into some homeless people who were very mutilated and really disturbed us. I had a feeling that they hoped that the shock value would allow them to collect more money from people feeling sorry for them but it was very hard to look at. Austin and I stopped at Hooters for lunch and found it very identical to America except more expensive. This is the only day I really felt as if I did not get the most out of it. I also kept thinking about my big Europe trip coming up in just a few days. I was nervous and excited.

May 26th

This morning we went to the Hyundai factory. I was expecting us to be on our own like the other meetings have been, but instead we were with another school group and I definitely felt we were just on a public tour. It was awesome to watch cars get put together as it is a passion of mine but I wish we had a question and answer session instead of just a brief tour. Later in the day we went to a company called Right at Home, which specialized, in elderly care. The room was unbearably hot and I felt as though most people did not want to be there. I calculated the salary of the nurses and realized I made more as a lifeguard, which is upsetting. As soon as we go back Ben and I got drinks in the lobby after getting kicked out of a bar for wearing sandals.

May 27th

51Ants was the first company we visited today. Their goal is to bridge the gap between the producer and the consumer. I liked the owner’s enthusiasm and his vision. He seemed very determined and I hope he does well. He only spoke Chinese so I believe a fair amount of what he said was lost in translation. They gave us lunch at their on site cafeteria which scared me. There were flies everywhere, which grossed me out and made me sick to my stomach. Later in the day we visited the Olympic stadium, which was massive. I wish I were more awake for the stadium because I did not take many pictures, which I assume I’ll come to regret down the line. We visited and underwater mall next to the stadium that had almost no customers in it. The mall is a cool concept but it does not seemed to me advertised well or visible from the street.

May 28th

Today is our last day in China and everyone has mixed emotions. We visit JD in the morning, which has three hour shipping. I am in disbelief at the logistics behind this company. I would say that JD is Amazon on steroids but without the profitability. JD had just became a publicly traded company when we visited so they could not tell us much about financial stuff but we got the sense that they did not turn a profit and did not know when they would. Our final company visit was Perry Ellis wish the lady barely even mentioned. She was more interested in teaching us meditation, which was very hard for me to take seriously considering the business atmosphere. I am all for relaxation but I believe that wasn’t the time or place. We ended the day at a final group dinner, which was lovely. I was not hungry at all but we had a ton of duck to go around. I’m going to miss everyone.