GRIP, Internships Abroad Integrating into the Workspace

Urun Big Data Services - Guangzhou, China

Since my parents were both from the Guangzhou area in China before moving to the U.S., I grew up in a household that spoke a mash of Cantonese and English, and I never started learning Mandarin until college. However, going into this internship in Guangzhou, I thought this setback would be negligible, since Guangzhou is the hub of Cantonese history, food, language, and culture. While this still might be true, Guangzhou is apparently quickly transforming into a diverse Chinese city, with people from all over China coming here to find work, effectively diluting the Cantonese language. People, especially those that are younger, now opt to use Mandarin for everyday interactions, sometimes making it difficult for me to communicate. My workplace here at Urun Big Data Services is a good example of this changing culture; a majority of my coworkers are not originally from Guangzhou, and hence it was a challenge for me to integrate into the workplace.

Thankfully, during my second week of the internship, a coworker introduced himself to me. I clumsily introduced myself in Mandarin and asked him if he could speak Cantonese. Fortunately, it turned out that he was a native to Guangzhou and therefore could speak it fluently. He invited me to get lunch with him, and while eating chang fen (a type of rice noodle roll), I also learned his name, Guang, and surname, Xian, which turned out to be the same surname as mine (this is where my last name Shinn comes from). From this initial experience, I realized that my coworkers were very friendly, and I felt encouraged to talk to them, despite me being an elementary Mandarin speaker. I began getting lunch with other coworkers, texting them through WeChat, and talking about technology-related stuff, all while becoming more comfortable in this work environment.

A little bit ago, Guang and some other coworkers invited me to go to dinner with them. We went to a fairly upscale restaurant with incredibly tasty food, but the best part of the meal was the diversity of language at the table. We had a group of six people: two people who could only speak Mandarin, one person who could speak Mandarin and a little bit of English, one person who could speak Cantonese and Mandarin, Guang who can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and a little bit of English, and me, who can speak English, Cantonese, and a little bit of Mandarin. Although we spoke different languages at the table, we still had a great time together, and despite the language setback in the beginning of the internship, I now feel a part of the team.

However, this long integration process reignites my passion for learning Mandarin, for if I come back to China after this internship, I will need proficient Mandarin to talk to more than a few people. Even though I'm a little sad that Guangzhou is moving away from Cantonese, spending time with Chinese locals here has been the best part of this internship so far, and I hope to continue doing so in the inevitable future without Cantonese.