In August 2006, I have started to work for the 2000 Year’s Hotel. At the beginning it was not easy because I have found myself in a completely new environment with the people who I do not know and completely other culture than I was raised and lived in. I experienced a cultural shock that is actually normal when you move to another country especially from West to East. My colleagues were a bit afraid to speak to me in English and my knowledge of Chinese was very poor. As these 10 months passed, I realized that all my colleagues became more than just colleagues. Now, I can call them friends and I know I can rely on them. Most of them speak to me in English and I speak a lot of Chinese to them as well. When I look back at this past 10 months working here, I realize that I have learned a lot and that I have experienced a lot of great moments that I will carry through all my life. I really appreciate hotel policy of organizing field trips for employees because I have seen a lot of beautiful places that I would have probably never seen by myself. We have been to Hebao Island which brought a lot of memories from Croatia and there I realized that Croatian and Chinese people are more similar than I thought before. Also, we had a great BBQ party at the Bai Lian Park, where we had a fabulous time. In October was my birthday and how the birthday was approaching I found myself a little bit nostalgic and missing my friends in Croatia and birthday parties that we used to have, but then I have found out that every month hotel organizes birthday parties for employees born in that month and I really enjoyed having dinner and celebrating with my colleagues. I must say that, in that moment, working for 2000 Year’s Hotel felt more like a belonging to a big family than actually being at work. I was also very happy to take part in the 6th Anniversary of the 2000 Year’s Hotel and I was really amazed how the party for celebrating this great occasion was well organized. I felt very proud to be a part of the Front Desk Department because we got the first price for dancing performance. And I must say that my favorite part of all the dinner parties is when I do “gan bei” with all department managers and especially the General Manager because this is a great honor for me. At the end, I would like to say that I am really enjoying working for the 2000 Year’s Hotel and that I am proud to be a part of the 2000 Year’s Hotel family.
外籍员工：Katarina Colovic