So. I made it through my first week of work. It was tough. Lots of positives and negatives that made my outlook of the future blink like a pedestrian-controlled traffic light.
To start off, my manager is great - I like him. But he's pretty busy, so I don't see him too much (we sit in different areas). And the project manager with whom I will be working - well, he was on a business trip all week, so I spent the week just getting settled, looking at some documents, and learning the basics of GSM and GPRS wireless technology (totally new to me).
I am the Canadian here. Everyone seems to know about me. My manager would introduce me, "This is N. She's a foreigner. From Canada." D'oh! Blew my cover, first thing. So much for slipping under the radar as a local. (Actually, while I may get away with looking the part, I apparently have an obvious accent when I speak. *sigh*) But it's almost as if they're proud of having a foreigner on board - rather amusing.
My colleagues are great. Everyone is really friendly with explaining product knowledge, logistics (how to order lunch), or even just whether or not I need attend certain meetings. Women make up maybe 15% of the staff - high compared to other tech companies here, but abysmal compared to my previous company (approximately 1:1).
Lowlight. The vast majority of the corporate e-mail I receive is in Chinese. Even with an instant translation software, it takes me forEVer to read my e-mail. IT installed an English version of Windows for me, but Dr.eye didn't get installed until the afternoon. I was a sitting duck, and it dawned on me just how inadequate my Chinese is, which was very discouraging.
Overall, getting on okay. More to come ....
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