This document summarizes a 5-month experience working in Shanghai, China that presented both risks and rewards. The risks included living in a foreign country without family or strong language skills, potential health issues, and navigating a different legal and political system. However, the experience led to personal growth through quickly adapting to challenges, gaining work experience, expanding one's network, and developing cultural understanding and humility. The outcome was proving one's ability to take initiative and adapt in new situations.

1. “I'm not telling you it's going to be easy.
I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.”
Art Williams
Question C
Describe a time when you took
a great risk. What was the outcome?
Bianca Obert-Sauvagnac

2. A five months work experience in Shanghai
at SAS FASIA, a Chinese company
importing French wine.

3. Why Asia ?
30%
20%20%
30%
Curiosity/Will to learn Food Culture Test myself

4. Weaknesses
 General risks
- Living in a country where I had no family and no connections
- Working in a foreign country where most of the population did not
speak English
- Communist Party’s monitoring and unstable legal environment
- The fact that you will never be accepted as “Chinese”
- Human and animal rights are not always respected
 Health risks
- The “occidental” health care system is globally poor and corrupted
- A nuclear risk: the Japanese nuclear central explosion few months from my stay
- The air pollution
- The food safety
Experience’s risks

5. Strengths
- Focus on improving myself in a developing country
- Respectful and accessible population
- Daily surprises that make everyday exceptional
- Interesting food experiences
- Urban density
- Possibility to live a dual life as both a “local” and “laoi” (foreigner)
- Low violent crime rate
Experience’s good points

6. Where
 Surrounded in red
Shanghai’s delimitation for expats
 In gray : Minhang district
(new industrial area)
- District where I lived and worked in
A place where I could live my experience
to the fullest: far enough to the center to
live an “expats” life but close enough to
have a “Chinese-workaholic life”
1rst solution: living in Minhang

7. My exciting job: CRUOVER manager and aid to other projects
Creation of a Business Plan
for the CRUOVER Vth generation
Promoting new wines (show and website)
“Secret des Grands Chefs”

8. The chance to evolve fast in a company
As a speaker
Business dinner Internal company dinner
“Ganbei” : a sign of respect
Customer and Coworker’s presentations
Translation and Q&A

9. Discovering new traditions
It is important to have a ranked
military figure in a company
Political figures are
the n°1 stars in China, held above:
International stars
People with high standing
Buddhist monks

10. What I gained: A life changing experience
 Evolution
When one does not know a country's codes or have the “right information” and
people to help, one needs to learn fast, the hard way and adapt quickly.
 Education and Experience
Details of daily life become enlightening and precious source of information.
If shown respect, the Chinese population never fails to give a helping hand or a piece
of advice. As long as you have a smile on your face and are willing to learn, you are
given a chance to prove yourself .
 Networking
The people I met were usually open minded and have lived worldwide. The great and
sometimes awful circumstances created a special and unbreakable bond.
 Empathy and Humility
I had to think beyond my preconceived notions, further my understanding of the
Chinese culture and learn how to adapt to other viewpoints and working
styles/methods.
 Appreciating Home
It made me aware of my values and the little details I took for granted.

11. In ONE phrase
This experience proved to myself that I was
capable of many things as long as I was ready to:
take initiative, fight for my ideas, adapt and
kept an open mind.

12.  All the pictures were taken by myself but
• You may find here the link to the map’s
o http://www.google.fr/imgres?start=106&um=1&client=firefox-
a&hs=n2t&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:fr:official&biw=664&bih=680&hl=fr&tbm=isch&tbnid=Lw-Jz0No-
YwdJM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511005738&docid=V
EQkVSZrcvklgM&imgurl=http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0301421511005738-
gr1.jpg&w=386&h=425&ei=vB2SUZv0Mce3hQfF4oDoCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1268&vpy=84&dur
=102&hovh=236&hovw=214&tx=188&ty=166&page=4&tbnh=142&tbnw=129&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429
,r:34,s:100,i:106
o http://www.google.fr/imgres?hl=fr&biw=1525&bih=714&tbm=isch&tbnid=9CMZZFtg-
3NMVM:&imgrefurl=http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspectives_de_la_Chine_comme_superpuissance
_potentielle&docid=-
hbnaIrty89dXM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/People%252
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WSUcz_GIW3hQff_IC4CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=944&vpy=160&dur=243&hovh=140&hovw=140&t
x=101&ty=26&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=140&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:93
• And the dragons can be found here
o http://www.google.fr/imgres?um=1&client=firefox-
a&rls=org.mozilla:fr:official&hl=fr&biw=1525&bih=714&tbm=isch&tbnid=CgLelXjKT9jihM:&imgrefurl
=http://blog.dpark-
shanghai.com/%3Fp%3D739&docid=nMEMCag1EH8pgM&imgurl=http://blog.dpark-
shanghai.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dragon.jpg&w=413&h=413&ei=_yWSUYzvNo-
rhQfRtoDgDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=12&vpy=120&dur=353&hovh=140&hovw=140&tx=97&ty=102
&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=140&start=0&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:78
o http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.renders-
graphiques.fr/image/upload/normal/Picture5-4.png&imgrefurl=http://www.renders-
graphiques.fr/galerie/Dragons-66/dragon-d-or-
67580.htm&h=1000&w=1300&sz=1440&tbnid=uoU5xSCNl5o1VM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=111&zoom=1&u
sg=__rzmv-
Xw5ZBpLGy3LY81_HYS3P_Q=&docid=KkShRG1rehKdeM&sa=X&ei=pR6SUbXXDOqM7QaH4IHYBA&ve
d=0CDMQ9QEwAQ&dur=52
Links