AtW Podcast, Episode 20: Paddy Robertson

My guest for today is Paddy Robertson. He and I met on his first night in Beijing, about a year and a half ago. At the time, he was just beginning to study Chinese, and now he speaks the language far better than most foreigners, even among those who have been here for much longer than him. How has Paddy managed to learn Chinese so quickly? One big reason is that he works for Smart Air, which sells affordable air purifiers. His co-workers are Chinese, so he gets to practice the language on a daily basis.

Paddy was a very interesting guest. He has accumulated a broad array of knowledge about China and much of the world. Our hour together flew by. Choose a link below to listen to it in your favorite format:

[Download] [iTunes] [Stitcher] [Podcasts.com]

Here's a video we shot immediately after finishing our podcast:

Thanks for listening and watching! Did you enjoy our discussion? Hate it? Let me know in the comment section below.

Show Notes:

• We started our discussion by talking about polychronic and monochronic cultures. Here is a good article that explains the difference between these types of societies, specifically with how they view time.
• I mentioned The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. Sorry, I couldn't recall the author's name during the recording. This is one of the best books on self-development ever written. It's just as relevant today as it was in 1989, when it was originally published.
• I also mentioned Gantt Charts. This website has a ton of info on Gantt Charts and how to use them.
• Here's an explanation of Agile Software Development. Many of these concepts can be applied to a variety of different industries.
• We discussed the incredible growth of Beijing's subway system. This article includes a gif that illustrates this growth.
• I talked about the city of Mudanjiang (牡丹江) when I meant to say Zhanjiakou (张家口) in Hebei Province. The two names are so similar, you can easily see how I would confuse them. The Around the World Podcast regrets this error.

Here's Paddy, having a moment with a Smart Air filter.