Chinese People In USA!!!

Since I’ve been home for several months now, there hasn’t been too much to write about.

Until now.

Bill Zhong (originally our Quality Manager, now our Deputy General Manager) and Li Mi (originally our Quality Engineer, now our Supply Chain Manager) were both in Charlotte, NC attending a company sponsored conference last week. This was Bill’s second trip to the US while it was Li Mi’s first. Obviously, traveling to the US for only one week is very physically demanding, so we arranged for them to spend a second week here in Spartanburg and work out of our facility in Union, SC. During this week, they could spend time with more people in our company and learn from us as well as us from them on various different topics. At least that was the official plan; unofficially, maybe Bill and Li Mi had other reasons as well.

So, late Friday afternoon of last week (03 Feb), I drove up to Charlotte to pick them up and drive back to Spartanburg. Of course, I found Bill sitting in the hotel lobby busily working on his computer, but where is Li Mi? Oh, we had to drive over to one of the local Malls to get her as she was shopping. I should have guessed.

We arrived at the mall to find her waiting for us with not one, but two, new suitcases she had bought in order to take all of her shopping loot home. I should have guessed.

We drove down to Spartanburg and Li Mi told me all the stories from the conference with particular emphasis about how the food was unacceptable and she described, in some detail, why it was unacceptable and how she felt hungry all week. Since the plan was to meet Elise and Charles at an American Cuisine restaurant that night I began to get concerned that maybe she just didn’t like American food and I didn’t know what I was going to feed her for a week. After joining Elise and Charles, we ordered some appetizers while I tried to figure out what they might like to eat. One bite of the appetizer and she gushed “This is the best food I’ve eaten all week!!” In the end, it seems that the hotel just had poor food. Whew.  Dinner was successful and they enjoyed meeting Elise and Charles for the first time and getting to know at least this subset of my family.

Saturday, we attended a Wofford College Basketball game. Wofford lost in OT, but Bill understands the game really enjoyed cheering for Wofford. Li Mi enjoyed the cheerleaders and the dance team. I should have guessed that, too. Since Wofford is a small school with a small arena, I was able to slip the announcer a note that said “We have two Chinese Nationals from Xiangtan, China attending today’s game.” He smiled and said he could work that announcement in somewhere during halftime. But when he made the announcement he said “Attending the game with us today at Wofford are two Chinese Nationals from some city that I have no idea how to pronounce.” I should have guessed that. You could hear the laughter all around. Bill and Li Mi laughed, too. After the game, several of the fans who noticed us leaving all stopped to say “Welcome them to America.” (Good southern hospitality, I have to admit). Bill also won the "cheer for your team and win a McDonalds Hamburger" contest! 
We walked around campus for some sightseeing and they were amazed at the beauty of the campus and the amount of green spaces and fountains, etc. Most Chinese Universities typically do not have this type of landscaping with mainly plain, basic architecture with green spaces limited to the recreation fields. Dinner was at home where Elise, Charles, and I cooked a typical American dinner with grilled Pork Loin, grilled vegetables, etc. Well, we tried to cook. Bill kept taking over. It was fun.  They even enjoyed meeting the Chequers the dog and Squeaky the cat

Sunday, Elise and Li Mi went shopping at the Outlet stores. Apparently, Li Mi is a professional shopper and proved it all week long. Li Mi was definitely on a mission because in addition to shopping at stores, she made several purchases on line and had items shipped to our house knowing it was too risky to try and ship direct to her home in China. I should have guessed that, (but didn’t).

Monday, Elise and I joined them for dinner at a local Chinese Restaurant. The Owner, Mrs, Jin, is Chinese and was thrilled to have them as guests. They talked and talked and at one point I though Mrs. Jin was just going to pull up a chair and join us. She served us the food she and her husband had cooked for themselves. Bill and Li Mi have new BFF’s in Spartanburg. That dinner was a hoot.

Wednesday, we drove up to Gaffney to have dinner with my Manager (who coincidentally was at our Gaffney Plant for other purposes). We ate early and then Li Mi had more shopping to do (no guessing there, I knew that would happen). Bill and I were definitely a drag on her itinerary, so we wandered around separately while he shopped, albeit grudgingly, for his wife and daughter. We found some things for his daughter pretty easy, but his wife was more of a challenge. He almost bought her a Guess Watch until he saw it was made in Japan, and there was no way he would buy a Japanese watch for his Chinese wife. We finally hooked up with Li Mi at the Coach Purse store where she was buying a purse for herself. While she shopped, Bill calls his wife to discuss purses. He hung up and said “She wants a leather purse. Not White. Not Black.” So I turned to Li Mi and said “Find Bill a purse.” She started looking for him and Bill just stood there. I said, “You have to at least walk around with her.” And He says “But I have no idea.” to which I replied “Then walk beside her and when she shows you one and asks ‘What do you think?’ you reply ‘I have no idea.’ so you can at least tell your wife you participated in the process.” The sales ladies were laughing hysterically at this point because 1) Li Mi was so focused, 2) Bill was so clueless, and 3) I was just stirring the pot. In the end, Bill bought a purse for his wife.

Friday night was their last night and they decided they would cook a full Chinese Dinner for Elise, Charles, and me at home. They told me what to buy and I stopped at the store and got everything. They walked into our kitchen and simply took over. Of course, they don’t know where anything is and we don’t own Chinese cooking tools, so the process was a combination design/development and scavenger hunt. It was almost exhausting to watch. I’m not sure what Elise thought of them scavenging for everything, but in the end, it was unbelievably delicious. We had

• Steamed Fish (Tilapia with Scallions, Ginger, Garlic,)
• La Jiao Cao Rou (spicy chili pepper fried with pork)
• Fried Cabbage
• Sautéed Tomatoes with Scrambled Egg
• Mi Fan (white rice Chinese style – which means sticky and clumpy)
• And of course, watermelon slices for Chinese dessert
• And Ice Cream later that evening for American dessert.

Elise thought the spicy pork was too spicy, but she enjoyed everything else. Charles, who has always been hesitant about going to China for fear of not liking the food, absolutely fell in love with the food. He watched and learned the recipes as they cooked. And most importantly, Bill and Li Mi were able to enjoy real Chinese in America.

They have gone home today. But the trip was successful, I’m sure they learned something at the conference, but I guessed the real purpose was for shopping. In fact, the shopping was so successful; the results had a positive impact on the US economy.

Think I’m kidding? Check out this chart straight from the DJI. Confirm for yourself.

 

I should have guessed that too!