While drinking at Key was crucial to build rapport with co-workers, drinking in China is going to be absolutely essential to building business relationships. The Chinese love to booze over business lunches…if people are wondering where the 3 martini-business lunches from Mad Men have disappeared to…the answer is China. I was invited to lunch by one our banks last week. The President of the Branch was clearly amused by everything I did…”Waaaa, you can use chopsticks?”, “Waaaa, you can speak Chinese?" (Apparently saying ‘hello’ is enough to be considered fluent), “Waaaa, you’re a foreigner but are okay with eating all these meats?”
Since he was hosting, he asked if I’d like Chinese whiskey or wine for lunch. I opted for wine because I figured I could slowly drink it over lunch. However instead of getting wine glasses, the waitress gave everyone oversize shot glasses. The wine was poured and instead of sipping it and trying to taste the wine, we took a shot. The shot glasses were immediately refilled. Apparently it’s a no-no to drink the wine by yourself, you have to pick someone else at the table and take the shot of wine with them. Since there were 12 of us, we kept on going in circles and having shots of wine. In typical Chinese fashion, taking a shot with me and my co-worker separately isn’t enough. After having shots with us individually, we’d have to take a shot of wine with all three of us so they could show their respect. Needless to say, things got sloppy rather quickly. It was almost surreal to see a bunch of drunk Chinese giggling at the table with their bright red faces. The Asian glow was out in full force.
After the alcohol started to open people up, they kept on telling me stories via Sharon, since none of them speak English. Among the more interesting tidbits, the 5 things any successful Chinese man has…according the bank President:
1. Chinese Cook
2. Japanese Wife
3. French Lover
4. German Car
5. Bank Account with U.S. Dollars
I asked why a Japanese wife since most Chinese hate Japan, the banker simply replied “I hate them but they are the best looking, so no choice” The women at the table nodded in agreement with his statement. Then the women pointed at me and said I was very handsome and said my nose is really nice (This is the 3rd or 4th instance when people in China have cited my nose one of my top traits, I need to figure out if this is their boilerplate response or whether this really is my best feature)
I figured since everyone was being so open, I’d ask the one question I’ve been wondering for years…what’s the deal with the waving cat figure in almost every Chinese store?
Two big misconceptions, first the cat is actually a Japanese thing that somehow found its way to China and second, the cat isn’t waving at you, it’s actually beckoning you. Unlike us, the Japanese/Chinese put their palms down and curl their fingers instead of how we put our palm up and curl our fingers.
As for the cat, the left paw helps brings in customers, while the right paw brings wealth and good luck. Some figures have both paws waving but that’s considered tasteless because you’re being greedy. Regardless of what happens while I’m in China, I can say the move has been worth it since I now know the mystery of the waving cat.
After our 3 hour lunch, we got back to the office and the first thing Sharon did was stumble into her office and take a nap on her couch. I stared at my watch, which said 2:30 PM and then stared at my counterpart. Days like this make me wonder how China is supposedly the most capable country of overtaking America.
the waving cat always creeped me out...
ReplyDeleteha - this was one of your funnier posts.
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