Shenzhen 08- New Year;New Trade Contacts

Well, I should also say that I was introduced to the Skype products by Korinna.

She picked me up at my hotel by taxi and we went to her company in the Futian district of Shenzhen.

Korinna and I had known each other for a while through Alibaba, the largest trade association in the World, we chatted often in Skype.

When I arrived in Shenzhen, I contacted her and we set a date for our meeting.It was a meeting that almost never happened; I had not yet adjusted to the time difference and was not sleeping at night.

On that particular morning, I was so tired that I wanted to postpone our meeting.
I think I attempted to call her, but she was already on her way and did not answer, so I got up and dressed for our meeting.
When I came down to the lobby, there she was, getting out of the taxi with a big warm smile and greeted me with a soulful handshake! She exuded a lot of positive energy.

It was a Saturday morning, (many companies in Shenzhen work at least part of the day on Saturday's) and her co-workers did not arrive for an hour at least, so we got to spend some time alone. She used the time to explain and demonstrate her company's Skype products and wifi mobile phones. She was also sweet enough to offer me the opportunity to take a nap, after seeing how tired I was. But, her energy was contagious, so I was able to decline her offer and enjoy her company.

We ended our meeting with a nice lunch at a Hunan style restaurant nearby.

Okay, on to my 2008 return trip to Shenzhen, to summarize:

• My flight to Beijing was changed to a later flight upon arriving at Newark airport



• My luggage must not have gotten the memo, it did not arrive with me for my connecting flight to Shenzhen



• I missed my connecting flight



• I had to report my missing luggage to authorities at Beijing airport(it was very hard and stressful finding help for this)



• I had to pay for another flight via a Shenzhen airplane so that I would not arrive too late



• I had made arrangements to meet a contact named Yanjie, at Shenzhen airport



• I arrived after 1:00am the following morning, was scheduled to arrived about 10:00pm the night before

Yanjie was waiting at airport and she arranged for taxi to take me to my hotel and her home after she helped me file a missing luggage report.

I stayed at the same hotel as the previous year, the Golden Lustre, because I was comfortable there and liked the staff.

Yanjie called me a day after my arrival to tell me that my luggage had arrived at the airport.We made arrangements to meet each other there.

Next blog; more details on my experiences with new contacts and products.