Double edition

I’m afraid I had no time yesterday evening to update the blog. A significant change to the training I’m providing meant an early morning finish (just in case you think this a jolly!). Also, using Citrix or RDP is just too painful for words! So much so, that you’ll be pleased to hear I won’t be updating daily.

It was the first day of training today. I was fitted out with a microphone and my Ningbo colleagues were very keen that the sessions should be recorded via Echo360 Lecture Capture, which was an interesting experience especially during the afternoon when I paused the recording and forgot to reset it. Oh well, there’s always a repeat performance tomorrow morning. Having to consider each word and phrase before speaking is hard work but is worth the effort to get the message across. Having said that, any language barrier is very slight indeed.

The main change was a request for me to provide an overview of IT Service Management and the entire ITIL Framework hence the late/very early finish yesterday. Which reminds me: I really should attend some ITIL 2011 training!

We received another warm welcome from colleagues yesterday who have been very accommodating. The campus is very attractive and also has a Trent Building which made me wonder if I should rename the blog to ‘Around the World in Trenty Buildings’, however that doesn’t quite work. I’ve included some pics below.

The Ningbo campus has just celebrated 10 years and an inter campus games was held last week in Ningbo. This included students representing all three international campuses in a wide range of sports, which must have been quite a spectacle. The area surrounding the campus was very different 10 years ago – the open spaces have been developed as the city continues to expand outwards.

The rainy season arrived today and I’m reliably informed that it generally lasts for between 2 and 4 weeks. It’s muggy but not uncomfortably so and the rain is hardly monsoonal although I suppose there’s time yet. The mossies seem to be more prevalent. Brollies are always in evidence be it sunny or raining and to have shares in the business must be a bit of a no brainer.

Back at the hotel (Teckon Ciel by the way), my laundry was returned on the same day and every item was individually wrapped. This included my ‘smalls’, and the shirts were presented as if they were new (including a cardboard insert and sealed in a plastic bag).

Each day brings a basket of goodies (presented by the maid). This includes a couple of apples, cartons of drink and some biscuits but also a small key ring torch. This is every day which means I now have 4. Still, it sorts out the present issue. The bonus is that each one is stamped with the name of the hotel.

The search for the gym continues but has been in vain. It appears it hasn’t been built yet. Until recently, I might have made a comment along the lines of Gym’ll fix it but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea any more.

The plans for the return journey have changed. Harry (Deputy IT Director) has recommended that we visit Shanghai, which seems like an eminently sensible suggestion. This means checking out on Friday and then travelling to Shanghai on Friday afternoon via the bullet train, which takes less than 2 hours to get there at up to 300km/hour. This will provide an evening and part of Saturday morning in the city before heading off to the airport. What a way to end the visit.