A NEW ADDRESS

ŽIŽKOV, THE PRAGUE DISTRICT WHERE JESSICA

CURRENTLY RESIDES, IS A PLACE WITH A UNIQUE

ATMOSPHERE. HOUSES FROM THE TURN OF THE 19TH

AND 20TH CENTURIES MAKE UP A SIGNIFICANT PART OF

THIS DISTRICT. MOST OF THEM ARE SITUATED ON A HILL,

AND AS A RESULT, THE STREETS ARE NARROW AND STEEP.

CZECHS KNOW HOW TO LIVE

CHINESE MARKETING EXPERT AND MARTIAL ARTS FAN WORKS OUTSIDE HOMELAND FOR THE FIRST TIME

Xiaoyang Li

VMC – GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

CONTENT AND STRATEGY

She came to the Marketing Department in Prague

from ŠKODA China’s Beijing office, where she used to

work as eMobility Communication Brand Manager.

Called Jessica by all her colleagues and friends in the

Czech Republic, this young lady has been working at

the Marketing department in Prague since 1 January

and has been working for ŠKODA since 2015. Her

responsibilities here are not dramatically different from

those she had at ŠKODA China. “One of the aspects

I appreciate about my position here in the Czech

Republic is that I can apply more things in practice,

which is exactly what I missed in China”, she says.

CZECH IS DIFFICULT

EXCELLENT PUBLIC

TRANSPORT

SERVICE

When I arrived in the Czech Republic,

my first pleasant surprise was the

local public transport system. I tended

to avoid public transport in Beijing

because it is so crowded at rush hour.

Taking the underground or tram is

faster than going by car here, and it is

a comfortable alternative.

I have no communication problems with

my Czech colleagues: They all speak

English and are highly professional.

Sometimes I even feel that Czechs and

Chinese are similar in some respects.

Except for a word here and there,

I haven’t learnt any Czech so far. I find it

very difficult, but I don’t really have the

ambition to cope with it because my

contract is only for one year.

KICKBOXING IS

GREAT

“MY ADVICE

TO ANYBODY WHO IS

STARTING MARTIAL ARTS IS

THIS: BE CAREFUL, OTHERWISE

YOU MAY HURT YOURSELF!”

Over weekends, I like taking trips,

reading, meeting friends or just

relaxing. I live in Žižkov, which is a

district in Prague that is full of pleasant

cafés and restaurants. And I try to do

kickboxing three times a week. It is

similar to Thai boxing, which I used to

do in China. Unfortunately, I injured

my wrist a few weeks ago, so I had

to slow down a bit. But I still like this

sport; it makes me feel great after each

practice session.

GOODBYE TO

HOMELAND

A simple equation (Czech Republic =

home of ŠKODA AUTO) was enough for

Xiaoyang Li to travel to the other side

of the globe and make Prague her first

international stop for a year.

WORK IS NOT

EVERYTHING

Czechs have a good sense of

humour, and they don’t spend all

their time at work – they seem to

balance their work and private lives

really well. They can enjoy evenings

with their families and friends,

spend time in parks, do sports, have

a cup of coffee or a glass of Aperol

in the garden, etc. In Beijing, most

people work too hard and let their

lives slip through their fingers.

JULY 2019 ŠKODA MOBIL 7