Well, this morning while feasting on the plate of noodles, I put his instant contact information into “WeChat” – the Chinese equivalent of iMessage and What's App which I've mentioned before. And when Roy confirmed our connection, I summoned up my “what's the worst that can happen” mantra when I texted back and inquired whether he might have time for lunch together today. I had already figured out, with Andy's help, that his office was located in the nearby World Trade Center towers – and he could have easily and quickly turned me down.
But while Roy had to decline lunch because he already had a meeting, he encouraged an afternoon meetup. That worked perfectly with my plans because by the time it came together, I had already made plans to visit the Tsingtao Brewery/Beer Museum). So after the tour, I again found a taxi -- showed the driver the Roy's card (as is common here, English on one side, Chinese characters on the other) and had a limited but fun conversation with the taxi driver enroute to the World Trade Center.
I easily made my way to Roy's office whereupon he invited me to the building coffee shop. Conversation flowed easily and comfortably, just as it had on the plane -- and I was happy to have yet another person to ask questions about the village culture that I had witnessed over the weekend. Because he seemed interested, I even pulled out my computer so I could share with him photos from the weekend in the village -- and get his insights into the values, honor, attitudes, food, etc. When we finally took a bathroom break -- after two coffees each -- a couple hours of fun conversation had passed. And just when I thought he would wrap up the conversation and return to work -- he asked if I'd like to accompany him to a brief tour of another part of the waterfront (that I hadn't seen) and to his neighborhood to have dinner with his wife, his wife's brother and 8 year old. What a truly wonderful surprise? I couldn't help but think what a lucky guy I've been with flight seat mates .
So, Roy led the way to the beautiful waterfront, pointing out the corporate headquarters of Tsingtao Beer:
And showing me another symbol of Qingdao -- and the waterfront:
And then he took us by taxi to a restaurant across from his residence where I met his lovely wife, brother-in-law and son. It was an evening of fun conversation and delicious food as he assured me that he would only order those menu items that his family typically would eat. His family's English was more limited than his -- but there are some eating/drinking traditions that can easily be conveyed with eyes and smiles. It was fun for me to get Roy's insight into the very detailed rules of Chinese business etiquette as I couldn't even lift my drink without others at the table doing the same -- and even his son already knew the correctness of keeping my beer glass topped off while allowing my tea cup to be a little less full. Other topics, including his son's fascination with the iPad games such that time with it has parental limit -- exactly the same across the globe with my 9 year old grandson.
Just as on the plane and in the coffee shop, conversation flowed comfortably -- and by the time he drove me to my hotel, it was clear that I had added another friend to my life. I'll definitely look forward to connecting with him again either in Qingdao, or perhaps as his/his family's host in the USA.
For my foodie lovers, I'll include photos from some of the deliciousness I enjoyed tonight and I should mention Roy's generousity. He would not let me pay (nor even help pay) for anything -- not the coffee, not the taxi, not the dinner.
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