Hi All,
I can hardly believe it’s been a week since my last blog! Things have been very busy for me, both in and out of work. I’m progressing well with the project that I was set and should be finished it (all being well!) by the middle of this week. It has been really interesting analysing some of the variances across the different expense lines and countries. The documents I’ve produced will go to the category and country managers, where they’ll try to investigate the reasons why expenditure is so high across their category/region. It’s great to know the work I’ve been doing will have a real commercial impact for Citi. I’m getting details of my next project at some point this week too, I think the plan is to assign me projects that will give me an appreciation of all of the work that the expense management team will do, so I’m looking forward to getting this project completed and the next one started!
Outside of work, things have been pretty hectic too. On Wednesday I went to the Hong Kong Stadium, a 40,000 capacity arena, to watch the Barclays Asia Cup games involving Aston Villa v Blackburn, and Chelsea v Kitchee, a local Hong Kong team. There was a fantastic atmosphere and with Torres, Terry, Lampard and Drogba playing, the football wasn’t too bad either - not a patch on the good old SPL though, I hasten to add! On Thursday a typhoon level 1 warning was announced in Hong Kong, indicating that a typhoon was about 460km away, this was elevated to a level 3 warning on Thursday, fortunately this was reduced on Friday to ‘all clear’. Saturday saw me visiting Hong Kong Disneyland.
HK Disneyland is smaller than its French and American counterparts though I still found it to be a pretty magical place! The rides were good but the different shows were excellent, with the Lion King show a must-see for anyone who visits. It was a bit strange hearing Mickey, Donald and the others talking in Chinese whilst still maintaining their instantly recognisable accents! There were also a spectacular fireworks show at 9pm, especially dramatic against the Hong Kong skyline in the distance. On Sunday I visited the International Commercial Centre, and its viewing gallery on the 100th floor, 393 metres high. In a word, spectacular!
Hope everyone else is having a fabulous time. Before I know it I’ll be writing my ‘end of week 4’ blog, and be halfway through my time in Hong Kong!
David