□ 李靜
2010年,惠普落戶重慶。越來越多的外籍員工因?yàn)楣ぷ鞯年P(guān)系來到這座城市,在惠普工作的美國(guó)人杰森便是其中的一位。對(duì)于中國(guó),杰森一點(diǎn)都不陌生,過去的十年時(shí)間里,他像“空中飛人”一樣,常年穿梭于美國(guó)的休斯頓和中國(guó)的深圳、上海等城市。
2008年,惠普高層來到重慶考察,杰森才開始關(guān)注這座城市?;貞涀约旱谝淮蔚街貞c,杰森說:“那個(gè)時(shí)候我看到這座城市的面貌,就感覺這才是真正的中國(guó)。北京、上海已經(jīng)國(guó)際化了,而重慶,我看到了另一種中國(guó)文化特色。”杰森表示,自己剛來重慶就喜歡上了這里,重慶有時(shí)尚的元素,也有歷史的縮影,現(xiàn)代與古代的文明相結(jié)合?!拔曳浅O矚g這里的山水,這里的文化,這里的人都很友好,食物也很棒”,言談間,杰森一臉激動(dòng)。
也許是天意,2010年,本來是派到上海工作的杰森卻因?yàn)楣九R時(shí)調(diào)整到了重慶。在和家人的一番商討后,杰森和太太、孩子們一起搬到了重慶,開始了新的生活。新鮮之余,杰森開始慢慢的適應(yīng)這里的生活,“重慶是一個(gè)開放的城市,相對(duì)于上海來說,這里的外國(guó)人還不算很多,但這更方便我們這些外國(guó)人之間的聯(lián)系和交往。大家都很熟悉,可以一起分享在這里工作生活所帶來的樂趣?!?/p>
來到重慶以后,杰森開始和家人一起開始熟悉這里的一切,一家人去動(dòng)物園、泡溫泉、逛街,打高爾夫。杰森告訴記者自己最大的愛好就是尋找美食,所以他一到重慶就去嘗火鍋,兩個(gè)不到三歲的兒子也和爸爸一樣成了“火鍋迷”,一進(jìn)餐館就開始用自己的小手“自力更生”去拿菜放進(jìn)鍋里燙,十分開心。除此之外,杰森還興致勃勃地拿出相機(jī)向記者展示他最喜歡的重慶菜麻婆豆腐、土豆絲等,“我最喜歡的菜是干 煸 四季豆。我去餐館就很喜歡這一道菜,很好吃?!钡竭^中國(guó)這么多城市,杰森很坦率地告訴記者,上海是一個(gè)很適合外國(guó)人旅游的城市,因?yàn)槟抢锟梢哉业绞澜绺鞯氐拿朗?,比較國(guó)際化;而宜居的城市還是重慶。唯一讓他不太適應(yīng)的是在這里很難買到適合他的衣服和鞋子,每次回國(guó)都要從家里帶上足夠的衣服才行。
在惠普重慶擔(dān)任策略采購經(jīng)理,從事筆記本電腦SC合作伙伴管理以來,杰森很適應(yīng)這里的工作。“我是惠普歷史上第一個(gè)被派到重慶來工作的外國(guó)人,”言談中充滿自豪。作為一個(gè)外籍管理者,杰森和同事們能很好地溝通,在他看來,重慶的員工思想很單純,也很坦誠(chéng),這讓他覺得工作起來很輕松,有時(shí)他也會(huì)和同事們一起去吃飯、唱歌 , 彼此增進(jìn)了解。前不久因?yàn)楣ぷ魅ド虾3霾?,才去幾天竟開始想念重慶了,讓他自己也覺得很吃驚。
杰森表示,重慶是一個(gè)發(fā)展?jié)摿薮蟮某鞘?,尤其兩江新區(qū)成立以后,重慶的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展更快,他希望重慶加大物流和運(yùn)輸方面的建設(shè)?!盎萜章鋺糁貞c后,我期待惠普總部所在城市與重慶兩地能實(shí)現(xiàn)直航。”在他看來,惠普在上海業(yè)務(wù)發(fā)展很好,但成本高,而重慶勞動(dòng)力成本低,人源穩(wěn)定,這是很大的優(yōu)勢(shì),只是英語流利、經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的高科技管理人才也很緊缺,但因?yàn)橹貞c本地的員工樂于接受新事物和新思想,這讓杰森很欣慰。
除了在惠普工作以外,杰森也是中國(guó)西南美國(guó)商會(huì)的代表,為了充分發(fā)揮自己在商會(huì)的作用,他也積極鼓勵(lì)更多在重慶的會(huì)員企業(yè)和個(gè)人加入商會(huì),幫助舉行一些慈善活動(dòng)?!半S著重慶經(jīng)濟(jì)的快速發(fā)展,越來越多的外資企業(yè)落戶重慶,在重慶的外國(guó)人也會(huì)越來越多,雖然我來自美國(guó),但我也希望為重慶這座中國(guó)西部的重要城市的發(fā)展出一份力?!?/p>
Chapter 1: Moving to Chongqing, “the real China”.
In 2008 Hewlett-Packard first sent representatives to Chongqing to explore setting up a location here. In 2010 their operation was up and running, bringing more foreign employees with them. Jason Ortega is one of those employees. For the past ten years, Jason has traveled back and forth from Houston, Texas to Shenzhen, Shanghai and other Chinese cities for HP. He first visited Chongqing in 2008 and was quite impressed, “I felt this was the real China. Beijing and Shanghai are very international, but I saw more of the genuine Chinese culture in Chongqing. It's full of fashion, is a microcosm of the country's history and is a combination of modern and ancient civilization. I really like the landscape and the culture here. People are friendly and the food is great.”
Last year, after discussing with his family, Jason moved to Chongqing with his wife and children to start a new life. They gradually began to adapt to life here. “Chongqing is an open city, but there are not many foreigners compared to Shanghai. We live in a small neighborhood of expats where almost everyone knows each other. We can share information and talk about our experiences of living and working here.”
Chapter 2: Enjoying Chongqing, “hot pot fans”.
Jason and his family have started to explore the city, with trips to the zoo, hot springs, shopping and playing golf. Jason told us his favorite hobby is to look for good food. When he first arrived in Chongqing he tried the hot pot. His two younger sons also became “hot pot fans” like their father. They would start to put food into the hot pot as soon as it was placed on their table. Jason took out his camera to show us pictures of his favorite dishes of Chongqing, such as Mapo tofu, potatoes, etc. “My favorite dish is stir fry beans. I can go to a restaurant and just order this dish and some rice. It is so good!” Jason exclaimed with a look of excitement.
After traveling to so many cities in China, Jason told us, very frankly, Shanghai is a city for foreign tourists because you can find food from all over the world. But, for a foreigner, who likes to live here, Chongqing is the best! The only issue he has is the difficulty of buying clothes and shoes that fit. So, each time he returns to the United States, he returns with the clothes he needs.
Chapter 3: Working in Chongqing, “the first American sent to Chongqing by HP”.
As a Strategic Procurement Manager and working in Notebook SC Partner Management, Jason is very proud of the work in which he is involved. “I was the first American sent to Chongqing by HP.”
Jason's ability to communicate with his staff makes his job as a foreign manager very smooth. In his opinion, relations with his staff in Chongqing are quite open and direct, which he enjoys. Sometimes they will go to dinner, or singing with HP co-workers and friends together to enhance mutual understanding. Some time ago, when traveling to Shanghai for business only for a few days, he began to feel homesick for Chongqing, which was very surprising to him.
Chapter 4: The Future of Chongqing. “a city with great potential”.
Jason said, “Chongqing is a city of great potential, especially with the establishment of the Liangjiang New Area. The economic development of the city will grow faster and he hopes the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone will strengthen the logistics and transportation in Chongqing.
In his view, although HP's business in Shanghai is doing well, the cost is quite high. The labor cost in Chongqing is lower and human resources are more stable, which is a big advantage. However, experienced, high-tech management talent, with English fluency is very scarce. It is good that the local staff is very open and willing to accept new concepts and new ideas.
In addition to working for HP, Jason is also a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Southwest China. He actively encourages more companies and individuals in Chongqing to join the association, which holds a number of charitable activities every year. “With the rapid economic development of Chongqing, more and more foreign enterprises will settle in Chongqing and more foreigners will move to Chongqing. Although I am from the USA, I also want to try my best to help with the development of Chongqing, the major city of western China.”