Day Four

Hi all,

It's 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday. What a day. We met in the lobby at 6:00 a.m. to head for the high-speed train to Wuxi. Unfortunately, our train became a "no speed" train because we had some technical malfunctions .... and our high-speed train broke down. We stood on the platform for what seemed like hours (it was actually only about an hour). We were welcome to stay on the train during this delay, but it was about 130 degrees on the train so we opted for the platform. The air was so bad on the platform that Van (a non-smoker) said: "I'm craving cigarette smoke. It's the best smelling air on this platform." Brad's wife Tiffany is the most brilliant person ever because she carries a little bottle of mint oil to rub under the nostrils. She let me use some and it was a life saver!

Our day improved substantially from here. We went to a city called Wuxi, and split into groups for various tours. I went to a tour of Little Swan, which makes washing machines and other household appliances. The tour of the plant floor was pretty interesting - we basically wandered around among the line workers and observed what they were doing. We then had a Q&A session with some management employees. Little Swan is a state-owned enterprise, and the employees we talked to had very positive things to say about the company and how they treat their employees, the importance of the washing machine to the Chinese consumer, joint ventures with GE and other US companies, etc.... When asked "how many of your employees can afford one of your washing machines?" the speaker sort of laughed/smiled and said "100%."

I thought lunch was pretty good. More tofu and beer for me!

After lunch was the highlight of my day. Again, we split up, hopped on our buses and went off for various tours. I went with a group to a relatively small local hospital. They were apparently expecting 8 of us and they got 30+ of us instead. The staff was wonderful and accommodating. We basically wandered freely through the hospital, starting with a physical/occupational therapy building and proceeding to the main hosptial building. We wandered through a physical therapy room and watched patients doing rehab, through the ER, and even got to see the operating rooms. We were quite the novelty during the tour. Many Chinese people were coming out of their rooms to watch us. The tour was led by the Chief Operating Officer, head of nursing and a doctor. The doctors and hospital administrators in our group had some great interaction with the hospital staff.

Next we went to the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), which was really incredible. There was an awesome hands-on display of the various technology being produced at SIP and another sweet virtual tour - this one complete with giant comfortable moving chairs with pillows and seatbelts. The technology and plans for innovation are really incredible. They are creating entire high-tech cities in what seems like just a few months.

Not much more to report from today - half the group went to a noodle restaurant for dinner and half of us went straight back to the hotel (that sounds like it happened quickly but it was actually a 2+ hour return bus trip). We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. No tofu for me this meal!

One more random thought from today: we experienced several interesting bathrooms. I had my first experience with an Eastern-style toilet. Other bathrooms have either been Western or have allowed a choice (the signs say "sitter" or "squatter"). Needless to say, I have so far elected the "sitter" option. Today we had no such choice at a few of our stops. I'll spare you the details.... but it did not go well. It is difficult to manage the entire process, especially while holding my breath.... It didn't help that I (a) set my purse on top of the burning incense on the floor of the stall and (b) was dripped on from above quite heavily (let's assume it was water rather than the 4th floor bathroom as John suggested!). When we got to SIP, Jennifer came running up to me and said "chug your water now - these bathrooms are amazing!" The guys did not far much better. Van and Tim thought they might have to be admitted to the hospital after using the bathrooms there.

Off to bed. Tomorrow looks like a good day. I look forward to telling you about it! Good night -

Jill