Creighton Schenkel

I arrived in Shanghai in January 2006 after selling almost everything I owned in San Francisco.  I was preparing myself for a year-long adventure in China and wanted to be relatively unencumbered.  My experience thus far has been an adventure and more.

Arriving in Shanghai, I completed an intensive Mandarin course, found an apartment and was staffed on a global consumer goods case.  Before I finished unpacking my few boxes I was flying to Hong Kong to meet my new case team.  The case provided a platform to experience doing business across Asia.  I toured factories in the Philippines, China and Japan; interacted with clients from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur to Guangzhou; and began to feel the cultural differences around the region that I expected to see.

Living in China has been an amazing experience. I see my Shanghai neighborhood changing on a monthly basis.  When returning from a business trip, it is not uncommon to find formerly empty streets occupied by pet salons, spas and grocery stores.  The level of activity in this city is unparalleled around the world.  The pace at which restaurants open and life expands, as well as the optimism almost universally expressed by the Chinese, are wonderful to witness.

Getting to know the Greater China offices is tremendously rewarding.  Whether it’s struggling to show off my chopstick skills, discussing the differences between BCG offices or working on cases together, making friends with the Greater China team is the real capstone to this adventure.

Judie Feng

In the Spring break of 2003, lying on South Beach in Miami, I told my friends: "When I was a little girl, I wanted to spend time in the US.  Now I'm here, and I want to go to Europe next."  My friends warned me, “When you make a wish, be sincere, because it may come true".  BCG turned my dream into reality. I spent a year in Munich, the geographic center of Europe, enjoying 2006 World Cup fever.

BCG is a truly global company. In every office, the culture and commitment to the client are the same. However, the projects here are more international. My last one covered the USA, France and Japan market, with team members working from Paris, London, Berlin and Munich. A lot of projects have a China module, where I am very happy to contribute my knowledge.

My Munich colleagues have looked after me. They helped me to find an apartment, showed me the best restaurants and briefed me on the traffic rules before I drove onto the no-speed-limit highways. It’s fantastic to spend time with friends in a beer garden on a breezy summer night, even if some of them do complain about my poor German with a strong English accent.

I have been to Switzerland twice, Paris, North Italy and a lot of interesting places in Germany.  We had an office outing to Kos, a beautiful Greek island. I was stunned by the beauty of the Aegean Sea, as well as the energy of colleagues who can party till 6:00 AM two days in a row.

It will be definitely a very colorful and rewarding year for me!