My China story

Writing this article in a very short notice of probably two hours but I 'nailed' it. I guess that's what you get for having worked with the Chinese. Hard work and high rate of productivity plus a target thus helps you remain on toes. Growing up I always knew I was born for the international market as friendly, charismatic sociable as a ‘top up' kind of person I am I thought I was destined for great things. Without deflecting from my topic ever since I was employed in China Wu Yi (K) Company limited a Chinese construction firm based in Kenya I have discovered so much and grown both intellectually and in skills. It has widened my scope of interaction and has given me hope with the assurance that you can make it anywhere despite the difference in culture, color and sense of thinking if all brought on the table and team work is attained.

Time management a very huge aspect for our Chinese counterparts as they realize the value of time to keep up with production which entails high labor productivity thus eradicating any lazy attitude.

Many at times I got to interact with my immediate boss Lin, a warm young lady with great charisma with that I developed various life skills about yield as at first I thought she was too aggressive at her work but in time I grew to admire her skills and hard work as she believed I was capable and would be able to fit in. It was never hard for me because I considered myself as a flexible person with great interest for other cultures and language. At first I always thought to myself that I wouldn't communicate with the other Chinese engineers since they could not speak in English. Wait a minute, who said language is a barrier? Communication doesn't need lingo as much as everyone thinks the bottom line being at consensus with another. This comes when you find a way to communicate I don't have to learn the whole of Chinese to communicate to a Chinese fellow; we find a way to communicate. You should come to my work place and you might think it's a circus when one tries to pass across a message to the other. To us it's perfectly normal this is so because that's the mode of communication that we find understandable to all of us. With words like 'chaku'(food) 'wala'(to say) my friends call me crazy when they hear me talk and I try to explain to them at the end of the day feeling satisfied for my achievement.

I have great interest in visiting the Chinese country simply because of the stories I have heard from my workmates about china. These include beauty of the festivals and the major treasured animals such as the snake and the dragon. One other fascinating thing I have heard is that in china one can have two ages, believe me on this one. This is possible through the luni solar calendar and the solar calendar. I don't know how this is so but I tried to Google on it but still the descendants understand it much better. just like everyone else we all are different and are entitled to different views about each other that's why of course you won't fail to get some disappointments here and there from stereotyping individuals who fail to think outside the box and remain rigid and selfish on certain views such as Kenyans are thieves and what not. It may be true that the rate of crime at the moment has gotten high but it is just a stage at which whichever country can face at any moment and thus the reason for bettering our economy and working hard to build the national and international network.

With the rapid growth in the Chinese economy during the past almost thirty years due to various investments in foreign countries such as Kenya .The friendship and mutual understanding of both countries has led to immense growth of infrastructure in Kenya and ease of transportation. This bond has gone to further contribute to the creation of jobs for young people like me hence reducing the level of insecurity and poverty created by lack of employment. The increase in China's economic and political involvement in Africa, Kenya included is arguably the most momentous development on the continent today. One of the more contentious issues surrounding Sino-African relations involves trade. Although Africa and China have been trading with each other for centuries, the level and intensity of their trade relationship have increased dramatically. In the process, China has become a major destination for a range of African exports as well as an increasingly significant source of a wide range of manufactured goods imported by many African countries. The trends and patterns of trade between China and Africa suggest many possible impacts.

All in all I can describe my encounter with the Chinese, very friendly people as an eye-opener and developer as it gave me the motivation to aim for greater heights. My admiration attributed to their constant hard work.