Day 1 - May 22nd Tuesday

Today is the first official day of our trip. I barely slept may be because it was a new place or just simply jet lagged. We had to meet in the lobby at 9am and proceed to a restaurant owned by the Wahaha Group nearby to our hotel for the first official meeting of our trip. It was a rainy start to the trip and most of us had to borrow umbrellas from the hotel. We walked past several small stores and roadside fruit vendors. This brought memories of India. I almost felt like I was in India where the roads are full of people walking on the streets, people riding their bicycles, cars zooming past pedestrians waiting to cross the streets, buses honking to get the right of the way, and policemen helplessly trying to stop pedestrians from crossing the street when it is not their turn to cross. Just before reaching the restaurant, we passed by a small lane that had small shops on both sides. The shopkeepers were just opening the shops and placing the wares on the shelves. One could clearly see that they wanted to sell the products to us, but they were still trying to set up the shop.

The first meeting started with excitement, enthusiasm, and a sense of inquisitiveness amongst the students. Several logistics related questions were answered and we were given a list of dos and don’ts that we had to follow for the rest of the trip.

We were supposed to go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the evening, but the plan did not materialize due to the rains. Not wasting time , we made our way to the Pearl Market. Coming from India, I should have been prepared for what we were going to see in the Pearl Market. However, I was shocked to see the knock-off clothes, electronics, shoes, bags, and jewelry. These knock-offs closely resembled the originals and would fool the smartest eye. I thought that the shop keepers were true entrepreneurs. They had the passion, enthusiasm and a well developed marketing strategy to sell the products. They knew their customers well and would cater to the needs of an individual customer. If one had never taken a course in bargaining or negotiations, then expect to shell out a lot of money. My Indian origin really helped me since I had shopped in similar markets in India. I had been used to the concept of bargaining and thought that I was much better at it than my other Babson counterparts. I admit on getting some really great deals but I also paid slightly more than what I should have actually paid for a few items.