The Marketing Begins In Fuzhou - China

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Wow!! What a full on day today. Whatever doubts I had about whether I could do the presentations about our school were quickly wiped out, along with our nerves, as we were thrown straight into marketing all day long. Considering the three of us presenting spoke no Chinese and were sent off to the second agent on our own by taxi, as the lady from the international education division travelling with us had another appointment, I think we all did really well. We started the day by visiting two different agents and going through our presentation with each of them. After that off to visit a massive school where all four us worked together to present a demonstration lesson about aboriginal dot painting to a class of about 50. Then I was wizzed off by taxi back to the hotel to meet Prince's parents. I spent an hour in the hotel foyer going over her reports using the students cousin Susan as an interpreter and then they drove me to the best dumpling restaurant in Fuzhou in their very swish VW for dinner. They were lovely in then driving me to a student information evening at the China Bank at 7.00pm. After another presentation and time afterwards to discuss study in Victoria with parents, we finally got to go back to the hotel and finally take off the suit jacket and high formal shoes. Ouch!! My collection of business cards is quickly growing and thankfully I have off loaded at least 20 of those brochure packs. Driving is crazy and we fight to sit in the back seat so as not to see the near misses that go on constantly. The people a super friendly and very excited to practice their English. Foreigners are not that common so you feel very much like a movie star, especially at the school. There is a lot of money here to be spent but whether they choose Melbourne as a study destination is another question. I need an early night tonight as we must check out at 5.45am tomorrow to catch our flight to Xi'an. Home of the terracotta warriors. Not that there is much chance I will get close to them though. Highlights of the day:

1. Being told by one of the counsellors who works at the Fujian Education Centre that my hair was so fashionable. REALLY??

2. Having one of my collegues say that my presentations were excellent and that I naturally speak very well to crowds. So nice to be travelling with such supportive people.

3. Yonghong's hand luggage being found and arriving at the hotel after being left in the airport carpark by our drivers. Who would think they'd forget to put it into the boot??

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Comments

[Mark]

GETTING INTO THE GROOVE!
Fantastic to hear about your travels and adventures. Not sure about the plane defect - it would have put everyone on edge! I knew you would be a natural and present our school and Victorian education so well. You are certainly being raced around the world in terms of presentations and agents. All good fun, but at the end of the day - its good to get back to the hotel room and reflect on what you did and who you met. Keep up the great work Christine. Love your blog - the pressure is on for me to do the same next time I go!!!! Enjoy!

[Mariam]

Sounds good!
Hey Chris, I tried to leave a comment the other day, but I don't think it worked. Yes, your hair is very fashionable(!) and I told you the driving was nuts!! Glad to hear all the presentations went well. :-)

[World News From FAR]

Fashionable Hair
Sorry Mariam, I didn't get your first message but I am also learning to navigate this blog site. We are all becoming extremely proficient at giving our spiels under all kinds or conditions and in a variety of locations. As for the driving and crossing roads, it's crazy. Our advice is stick close to a local and go!! Looking forward to catching up when I get back xx