Wrestling with the steering wheel

Lobby of Four Points by Sheraton

It's been a heck of a long time coming, but I finally found an internship. It's been a long road to get here. I noticed that almost no one else was doing the same thing as me, going to China without a plan and hoping something would turn up, and I gradually realised that was for a reason.

There are two things: business visas to China are like hen's teeth, and since most companies aren't used to employing foreigners they don't know the situation with the labour laws, which just makes them totally unwilling to take a gamble. I discovered the first part thanks to HTHY, and the second part thanks to 中旅，the second company to accept me and then reconsider. That's CTS, China Travel Service, the largest travel agency in China. I got an interview thanks to Rena, one of my few local friends. I met her once ages ago, then heard through a mutual friend that she was returning to Beijing from her hometown to look for work. Initially I was supposed to help her, but of course she ended up helping me much more. She got an interview at CTS, and told them she had a foreign friend who spoke Chinese, and they had us both for an interview on a Thursday, and they said start on Monday. I thought it was incredibly lucky, working in a Chinese workplace where almost no one spoke English, it really would have been great for my Chinese. Unfortunately, I knew my Chinese really wasn't up to the level they required, they did a lot of work over the phone to their clients. Sure enough, after working there for one day and two hours, they said I should probably look elsewhere.

Rena was really helpful, and tried to give me some more advice, but I realised I was rapidly running out of time, as I needed a visa. Finally, I caved into using an agency to help me find an internship. The finder's fee was pretty steep, at about $600, but I took an interview anyway to see if it would be worth my while. And so I found myself at the Four Points by Sheraton: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3017&EM=VTY_FP_3017_BEIJINGHAIDIAN_PROP_OVERVIEW. Next, seeing where the dive takes me.