I'm finding that I have a light bout of "writer's blight"...it's like "writer's block" but the effects can range from "light" to "shrivel up and die" proportions...(for a moment I thought I was Woody Allen)
Anyway, before the writer's blight take a turn for the worse here goes...The car finding expedition has finally took a turn for calmer waters! We decided to rent a car for a month and try out a driver before we commit to a long term lease or buy a car. In China it is common to enter into a two year lease agreement on a car together with a driver. They assign three drivers to each car so you get these guys on a rotation basis. The rental companies have obviously done their math and the cost of renting a car for two years will work out approximately the same as buying the car and paying it off (for them...) over two years. The appealing thing however, is that you do not have the added responsibilities of insurance, services (they don't have maintenance plans in China) and licensing fees. As for the driver you pay his salary directly to him. He works from 8 to 5 and does a lot of "waiting'. We enquired how to deal with this problem, because if he is not driving (which will not be all that much, especially in the beginning) he will be "waiting" quite a lot of the time. The answer is pretty much that " he is a driver it is his duty, he must wait until you tell him to take you anywhere". You also pay him an allowance for meals, a small cell phone allowance and if you want him to work on weekends and over time you pay extra for that too. Oh and if the guy knows two words of English you pay extra for that too! You probably wondered about the largesse of employing a driver when he'll be sitting around a lot, waiting). Let's just say it has to do with a South African GPS that doesn't work, a driver's test and written and practical exam before one has a converted Chinese license, weird unwritten traffic rules, millions of drivers and cyclists and billions of Chinese characters...
We have also appointed an assistant who starts working for us in a week's time. This was quite an interesting experience...You literally have "labour markets" here. It's such a novelty! When you decide to recruit, you send your requirements to the management of the labour market. They post it on a website where job seekers can look at what employers have available. On "market day" all the employers and job seekers convene in a huge four storey building. There is a giant scroll at the entrance that lists all the jobs and at which booths the employers are seated. There are literally thousands of people. The employers get issued with a box that has instant coffee in and tea. You are assigned to a booth and then the interviews begin. People line up and you literally see a person per minute! There are thousands of job seekers that are very willing, very keen and very able to work. For our position of personal assistant, all the applicants had university degrees. It is really quite emotional to see how willing these people are to work and the sacrifices they are willing to make to be able to be employed.
Anyway, before the writer's blight take a turn for the worse here goes...The car finding expedition has finally took a turn for calmer waters! We decided to rent a car for a month and try out a driver before we commit to a long term lease or buy a car. In China it is common to enter into a two year lease agreement on a car together with a driver. They assign three drivers to each car so you get these guys on a rotation basis. The rental companies have obviously done their math and the cost of renting a car for two years will work out approximately the same as buying the car and paying it off (for them...) over two years. The appealing thing however, is that you do not have the added responsibilities of insurance, services (they don't have maintenance plans in China) and licensing fees. As for the driver you pay his salary directly to him. He works from 8 to 5 and does a lot of "waiting'. We enquired how to deal with this problem, because if he is not driving (which will not be all that much, especially in the beginning) he will be "waiting" quite a lot of the time. The answer is pretty much that " he is a driver it is his duty, he must wait until you tell him to take you anywhere". You also pay him an allowance for meals, a small cell phone allowance and if you want him to work on weekends and over time you pay extra for that too. Oh and if the guy knows two words of English you pay extra for that too! You probably wondered about the largesse of employing a driver when he'll be sitting around a lot, waiting). Let's just say it has to do with a South African GPS that doesn't work, a driver's test and written and practical exam before one has a converted Chinese license, weird unwritten traffic rules, millions of drivers and cyclists and billions of Chinese characters...
We have also appointed an assistant who starts working for us in a week's time. This was quite an interesting experience...You literally have "labour markets" here. It's such a novelty! When you decide to recruit, you send your requirements to the management of the labour market. They post it on a website where job seekers can look at what employers have available. On "market day" all the employers and job seekers convene in a huge four storey building. There is a giant scroll at the entrance that lists all the jobs and at which booths the employers are seated. There are literally thousands of people. The employers get issued with a box that has instant coffee in and tea. You are assigned to a booth and then the interviews begin. People line up and you literally see a person per minute! There are thousands of job seekers that are very willing, very keen and very able to work. For our position of personal assistant, all the applicants had university degrees. It is really quite emotional to see how willing these people are to work and the sacrifices they are willing to make to be able to be employed.
Job seekers at the job market
Interview with a future employer
The last member of our "early infrastructural staff" is the ayi (domestic). We have an interview with an ayi today so will give an update on this matter soon!
The weather has been very nice the past Easter weekend with nice sunshine for three consecutive days! Yesterday was misty and raining. When the mists descend on Suzhou it is quite heavy and enveloping...not something that we are used to. On the topic of "weather"...I briefly touched on a kite flying expedition some time ago...Kite flying is a BIG past time in Suzhou and whenever the weather permits and there's wind, people head outdoors to fly their kites. There is a really beautiful walk outside our apartment through a park with many camphor trees that opens in a huge open square next to lake Jinji where people fly their kites. Not sure who's having the most fun...kids or adults!
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