Saturday, September 29, 2012

You Are Invited to a Provincial Banquet



Last night, I went to a fancy banquet. Zhengzhou is the capital of the Henan Province, and this was a provincial (Henan-level) banquet in honor of the 63rd founding of the People's Republic of China. It was kind of a big deal.


It was held in this beautiful building. The inside was as gorgeous as the outside. I felt very special attending.

With my teammie, Theresa!

Before the banquet, we got to walk around the grounds of the Yellow River Guest House. Think Camp David. It was beautiful. 



I was seated at table 6. On my left was the head of the Foreign Affairs Office of Henan Province, and on my right was a member of the Henan People's Congress Standing Committee, who was also Chairman of the Board of some important investment group. Let's just say I felt a little out of place, surrounded by such important officials. This would have been a night where Chinese would have come in very handy. But, I just smiled and toasted with my orange juice. There were many speeches, a performance by an orchestra, and lots and lots and lots of food.

What an experience.

1 comment:

  1. So, how did you rate the invitation? Looks like it might have been intimidating, eh?

    ReplyDelete