Shanghaied Bob: Cousin Fest Asia Style

Several weeks ago a contingent of the Clarke's who are currently living in places around Asia got together for the first ever Cousin Fest Asia Style in Shanghai and to celebrate Margot's birthday. The leader of the pack, ME, has been the trail blazer on the international front having several opportunities to experience the exciting expat life. She is thrilled that Carly and family now make Singapore their home, and for Beau, who has been living in Beijing doing an MBA, is now in Shanghai doing an internship, and for Margot, who has been hanging with the international expat crowd working, writing, and teaching English also now living in Shanghai.

Cousin Fest Asia Style started out with dinner at El Willy on The Bund, a very fun Spanish tapas restaurant with lots of food and drink. After dinner we took a stroll on The Bund, which is an iconic path along the river in Shanghai with historic buildings on one side and the tallest buildings in China on the other. Then the cousins left to enjoy a little bit of the Shanghai expat scene at a friend's warming party. The next night was a house party for Margot's Birthday at a friend's pent house apartment in old town Shanghai that lasted almost till the next morning. The cops came to tell them to quite down three times!

I asked each of the Asia-based cousins to do a write up on what they are doing here.

For Carly: After 11 years working for J&J, I am on my first assignment focused on non-US business. I am based in Singapore on a 2 year assignment working primarily on expanding J&J's presence in body skincare in Asia Pacific. My #1 focus is to grow our largest body care brand, Johnson's Body Care in the 3 body care largest markets in Asia: Japan, China and India. With a whole lot of luck, our business will be as big as Dove and Nivea by the time I leave Asia! But my real goal is just to soak up as much of Asia as I can, travel as much as possible and enjoy every moment of this amazing adventure with my family.

For Beau: Well, to put in plainly I am in the middle of an International MBA at the University of South Carolina. Shanghai has become my home while I fulfill my internship requirement by working at an American engineering firm, MTS Systems. I am mostly helping them with strategy and market intelligence, but have worn many hats over the last couple of months.

But what am I really doing here? After over a year in China I can really just boil it down to a few things:

1. Dumplings- I have an unwavering affection for dumplings. Whether they are fried or boiled, filled with veggie soup or mystery meat- I need them in my life. I struggle to pass by a dumpling stand in China without dishing out some pocket change.

2. Language- Over the last several years I have become increasingly bothered by what I see as a serious language void. Before my arrival here, I could speak English, Southern-fried English, and some embarrassing remnants of my high-school Spanish. I'm also here to get learnededed in China talk.

3. Jump off point- A job in Shanghai conveniently serves the purpose of a) being located close enough to places I want to travel in Asia and b) provides enough pay for me to justify a hippy backpacker trip this summer!

And for Margot: This is my second stint in Asia after studying in Hong Kong for two semesters, so it feels comfortable, but it's a bit of a mind bending adventure.

The most legitimate of the work I'm doing here is working for Sprout Lifestyle, which is a shop and education space focused on healthy ingredients and super foods. I help them get the word out about their cooking classes and nutrition education events, plus I get to spend days at a time researching and writing about goji berries, speckled kidney beans, and macadamia nuts for their soon-to-be launched ecommerce site which is really fun for a food nerd like me.

For some additional mula I'm also tutoring English to several locals who are characters ranging from endoscopic surgeons who shamelessly peer pressure me into drinking Chinese liquor at company dinners to high school students who sport blue contact lenses and asymmetrical hair cuts.

I've gotten involved with a few expat social networking groups and joined a soccer team with a group of guys and girls from around the US and Europe. We play in a league with a lot of huge European dudes, so it's great exercise, but we regularly get our butts kicked. :)

And this is to all of the other Clarke cousins out there: do what Carly, Beau and Margot have done and as Chairman Mao says: "hao hao xue xi, tian tian xiang shang" or: study hard and every day will be better.