Day 6: Goodbye Office.
The morning of day 6 was easily our most relaxed at the hotel. We knew that today would entail just doing a few bits and bobs at the office, catching up with some of the work from the UK. As usual I was the first up and into the shower whilst Kane laid in bed laughing at the latest Vines on his phone. I don’t mind so much, as I enjoy gazing out of our huge windows, watching Hangzhou come to life in real-time.
Our driver is on time as always, as is our now ritualistic stop off at Starbucks on the way into the office. Two Caramel Macchiatos please. Yum.
Our morning at the office is spent discussing the intricacies of the partnership and how we’ll implement our service, with Lisa and Jacky. In China, it would appear that they eat lunch early, as every day at half 11 a cart comes round packed with noodles. It is at that point that ‘the Westerners’ or the ‘the Binjiangers’ (if you’ve read the other posts), head out for some lunch. Today would be our lucky day, because not only would we be joining them again for lunch, but we’d actually be initiated into their motorcycle gang and take a ride on the back of their scooters.
We scooted on down to this fantastic Japanese restaurant where Kane and I would be educated on how to use chopsticks, by the omni-talented pairing of Adrien and Felipe. The food at the restaurant was arguably the tastiest meal we had during our time in the East. Kane and I both has a teriyaki duck with noodles dish that was exquisite. As we rode home, we took a detour to ride along the river – and I can honestly say that the feeling that encompassed my being as I looked around at where we were and what we were doing, could only be described as total elation. All of the hard work, sleepless nights, pay-less months had been worth it, because Giraffe was on the map and heading in the exact direction we’d dreamed about.
We got back to the office and started planning our new employments we’d be making upon arrival back in the UK. We were going to need a full-time team member who could handle social and content, and then two more part-time social media managers. The applications had been rolling in all week, now it was time to start sifting through them and find the stars that we need to take Giraffe to another level. At the end of the day we popped into everybody’s office and said our goodbyes. Although we’ve only been a part of the team for four days, the office is really starting to feel like home, and the people in it, friends.
That evening, Kane and I went back to the Sheraton for another Western style meal, before a good night’s sleep – as tomorrow would be our touristy day, looking around the beautiful Hangzhou city.
