Not for all the tea in China

About the Book

Gino and i never thought that we would ever live in the land of Nine Dragons. It was not on our bucket list, and not on any horison that we had discussed. It seemed as if by some magic though, that we laboured initally against a tide of administration, before we found ourselves in this land of ancient wonder. Our life here is the theme of this story, It was not always beautiful. It was at times frustrating, and often totally confusing and overwhelming. One thing is is for certain - It was never boring. China, the people, the expats and friends that we made have left an indelible (red) smudge on the fabric of my memory. A memory that I would not trade...Not for all the tea in China...."

About the Author

I was born in Durban South Africa in March of 1970. My grandparents raised me and I had the most wonderful childhood. I did spend a few short, and rather dramatic years trying to get to know my mother, without much success. Shortly after I left home I fell in love and married at the tender age of 18. The same year my precious son was born and I started my career in the financial services industry in South Africa. Sadly my marriage didn’t last more than 5 years, and I spent the next 13 years raising my boy as a single parent. This was both the most wonderful, rewarding and indeed challenging experience of my life. I battled against the system as a woman in the apartheid system in South Africa, and my son battled against the education system as a child with learning issues, alternating from being classified as a genius to a person with ADD and ADHD. Shortly after I joined what was then the Bankorp group in 1988, I commenced studies through Unisa towards a B.Comm degree. Despite being a wife and working mother I persisted with these studies until 1994 at which time I finally completed the degree, having not failed one subject. I then completed my C.A.I.B in 1998, as well as my MBA in 2001. I was employed in the commercial banking for the greater part of my working career. I have been fortunate in that I worked my way through most of the departments in the bank and have a thorough technical knowledge of the functioning of products and systems, which stood me in good stead in terms of the management positions that I attained. The last position held (Business Banker) added the dimensions of strategy planning, assessment of business risk and a broad understanding of business and macro-economic variables at both national and international level. I am an extremely dedicated, motivated and ambitious person and I strive for excellence in all my endeavours. During 1999 I was nominated and accepted into the ABSA Development Initiative (ADI) programme, which is considered an honour as only 30 candidates are selected from the ABSA group nationally. I considered it a privilege to be identified as an individual with potential and leadership qualities. The programme proved to be an incredible asset in terms of personal growth. Since the completion of the ADI programme, I have been involved in various strategy workshops held with the EXCO of ABSA. In October 2002, Rewards Co approached me to head up a member services and sales division at their Head Offices in Durban. Shortly after joining, in addition to the duties of my initial appointment, I was also appointed as MD of a wholly owned subsidiary. The company was reorganised and restructured. New policies and procedures were implemented and a new strategy devised to ensure the future success of the business. My leadership and people management skills have grown significantly in this short space of time, during which I was faced with enormous challenges. I joined Blake to establish a local sales and marketing division. This task was completed successfully, with sound foundations laid for future growth and expansion. My position here encompassed developing strategies and implementing projects for various Financial Services customers to ensure that their marketing goals were met through the processes offered by the contact centre environment. I was approached by Nedbank for a senior corporate banking position that they had been unable to fill for a considerable time period. The salary on offer was highly competitive, and I enjoyed re-joining the corporate financial services industry. In the short time that I was with Nedbank, I was nominated for various awards, and my applications were circulated nationally as examples of the standard that was expected. I would not have resigned this post, had it not been for my husband’s lucrative pilot’s job offer in the East. I have worked in an export company here in China, but had to withdraw due to an ethics issue, where I could not support the business practices engaged in by my partners. I am currently working for the Shenzhen Asian Cultural society as the secretary. At school I won various awards for creative writing, and I have always been the go-to person in all the companies where I have worked for editing and writing. With much encouragement from my husband, family and friends, I finally wrote my first book about our life and experiences here in China.