Why am I here?

I'm in Beijing with our training team to conduct YouTube and Google Display Network training to the sales team here (and then in Seoul). It's an interesting challenge in a few ways. First and foremost, I'm a seller, not a trainer. I actually think this works for me as I prefer to be taught by those with first hand experience as opposed to those who learn materials just so they can turn around and teach others. That said, our training team is well versed on "human learning theory", etc...this is where I'm more challenged... I am trying to quickly understand how the Chinese like to learn AND what their base knowledge level is. I've been warned that if I come in too basic, I'll have a lot of unhappy people in front of me. My discussions with the folks here on Monday showed an intense desire to learn. I have 1-2 local allies helping me understand how I can be successful in front of 70 of their peers. Today (Tuesday) is all about honing my presentations and some practice tonight.

The weather today is a bit better. The smog has lifted a little and I can actually see some mountains from my 8th floor perch at the Google Office in the Haidian District of Beijing. It's also 5 degrees or so cooler which is a very welcome trend.

Some additional observations:

• Recycling in Office: Yes for glass and cans. No for plastic.
• Starbucks: Yes it's here...no I haven't been.
• Smoking: Yes, all over including my hotel which has 7 smoking floors and 3 non-smoking floors.
• Bicycles and Skooters: Everywhere.
• Honking of car, bike and scooter horns: Very popular.
• The sound of those horns: Lame

I'll leave you with my food photo with the day. Korean last night in my hotel. Based on price of 40 Yuan (about $6), I ordered two dishes as I thought one might be really small...needless to say, I was full come the end of two dishes and a bunch of appetizers/salads which come free with any meal purchase!