Over the past 10 days I have met many wonderful, patient people; many of whom I’m proud to call new friends. I say patient because my curiosity drives me to ask hundreds of questions about the places we’re visiting – Tell me about the food? What’s the population of this city? What’s he saying? What does that mean? How do I eat rice with chopsticks? What dish do you recommend? Is that dish too spicy? My hosts have been wonderful and have patiently answered my many questions as we’ve toured a large part of China. (Beijing and Hong Kong will have to wait for another trip.)
I have learned much, taken a few photos and picked up a few trinkets along the way as a later reminder of the places I’ve been. It’s the friendships and the stories shared that have been the best part of this journey.
This is a picture of Nick, Shirley and Leo in Taijuan. The private dining rooms are a great touch. Leo was my traveling companion. He made every stop along the way with me as we toured seven plus cities and regions. His hometown is in northwest China and he received an engineering degree from a prestigious university in China. He then pursued his MBA in the US from a Big 10 university. His knowledge of English and Chinese was an invaluable help in navigating the culture, airports and hotel check-ins. We learned a great deal together - more on Leo later.
I now have new friends in Taiwan and it is a great place to visit. Our dinner in Kaoshiung, Taiwan last Thursday is fast becoming legendary through Facebook. We ate well, drank a few cold ones and laughed heartily – do we need much more than that? This is Jeff who is a friend of Kimmie. The folks in Taiwan are big baseball fans and even know the St. Louis Cardinals although most profess to be Yankee fans. I can forgive them for that.
One of my favorite memories will be a religion discussion I had with Kevin Lin as we spent 5+ hours in the car together. Like most of my stories, this one began with a simple question, “What do the characters on that red and yellow ribbon mean?” He explained that it was a symbol of his Tao religion (similar to Buddhism) and was a story of a goddess who guided ships in a storm safely to a harbor. This led to me show him my Miraculous Medal and explain about Our Lady – Mary the Mother of Jesus. Yes, we have religious differences, but we’re both spiritual by nature. We both believe in the value of love, self-sacrifice in service to our families and communities as well as traditional family values as the building blocks for a healthy society. I’ll remember this conversation for many years.
Kevin was kind enough to stop and guide me through the Tao temple pictured below. You can’t help but be moved by the love and patience that went into the beautiful paintings and carvings. The level of detail is astounding and a testament to the devotion of the Tao believers. There are still many temples for Tao and Buddhism in Taiwan. Unfortunately, most of these beautiful buildings were destroyed in mainland China during the Cultural Revolution. I’m glad that I was able to see them in Taiwan.
To appreciate the final picture, I’ll provide some perspective. My travel in the past 10 days has been taxing. During one stretch I was in six different cities and six different hotels in six days. Tuesday of this past week was a particular challenge. I’m not complaining, far from it; just working to add perspective to the story. We were up early and out the door of the hotel in Huizhou in Guandong province to visit our customer. (The hotel would not accept American Express – worst hotel of the week by far.) After our initial meeting we wanted a plant tour which meant we had to don Nomex coveralls, steel toed boots and hard hats. Ok, done this many times before and no big deal. The surprise was then riding bicycles through the plant to reach our destination in ~80F heat. We pedaled a couple of miles in full safety attire. A photo would have been great but cameras were not allowed in the plant.
After too many questions to the plant operations staff we left for the airport. Too many questions put us about 30 minutes later than we wanted. Our driver made a dash for the airport. Leo and I rushed through check-in, security and raced to our gate to find that our flight was delayed. Two and a half hours later we were on our way to Wuhan. Arrive in Wuhan, raining, wait 20 minutes for taxi and then 40 minute cab ride to hotel. Finally sit down for dinner at 9:30 – very thankful at this point. The hotel had a nice buffet but it closed at 10; we had time but it would not be leisurely dining.
Leo and I headed to the hotel lounge for one more drink before calling it a day. A band was beginning their final set of the evening as we settled in and placed our order. The singers were performing in English and were covering songs from Abba and Adele. I’m not an Abba fan but the ladies did a very nice job with Adele. It was a slow Tuesday in Wuhan so they asked if there were any requests. Leo asked about U2 songs and they said they didn’t know them. So I gave them my standard, American answer, “How about some songs from Elvis?” They quickly launched into Blue Suede Shoes and then Suspicious Minds.
So yes, we were in Wuhan, China drinking Jim Beam bourbon and being serenaded by a band from the Philippines to Elvis Presley. The world is growing smaller each day.
After the set we introduced ourselves and requested a photo. Meet Meidel, Joel and Cherrie of the Purple Shadow's Band.
Stay curious my friends. Stay curious.
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