A Chinese Wedding

This weekend I had the chance to attend a Chinese wedding while I was in Qingdao.  Our HR Director, Jack Ouyang, got married to Duan Ning.  In China, the couple each retain their family names unlike in the US.  Duan is Jack's brides family name, Ning would be her given name.  (The family name is always listed first followed by the given name and the family name is how you should address the person.  Only very close friends or family use the given name.  Many Chinese in the business world, especially those with lots of dealings with western companies will take a western name - like Jack - to facilitate business and make for easier pronunciation for the western colleagues or business partners.)  Okay - back to the wedding.

Chinese weddings are often held in hotels (so I am told) and are quite lavish affairs including a grand entrance with fireworks, dragon dancers, drum corps and music.  At Jack's wedding they had 12 cannons which fired off explosions of rose petals as they entered the hotel.  Outside my hotel that same morning a couple entered to the sounds of a 30 piece percussion group who dressed in traditional red and gold costumes along with two (actually four) dragon dancers performing some sort of dance that I am sure has deep meaning and symbolism but for me it was simply curious.  

Chinese couples take the majority of their wedding photos weeks in advance of the wedding in a studio as well as on location by the sea or some other romantic setting.  These photos are then displayed throughout the reception hall both in print and digitally.  The actual wedding begins early in the day (again, so I am told) as the groom visits his bride's parents home and asks permission to wed their daughter.  He brings gifts to the family as a "dowry" of sorts.  There may be some other official stuff that happens between that time and when they arrive at the hotel but I didn't get filled in on that part.  The wedding (at the hotel) began at 11:58am as the Chinese are very serious about numbers and times and the number 8 is especially important as it stands for wealth and good luck.  The guests are seated at round tables that surround a runway stage (think Fashion Week) and are set with bottles of soda, juice, wine, water, Moutai (53% alcohol), chocolates, crackers and cigarettes (just in case you left yours at home I guess)  The food service begins right away and multiple courses continue throughout the next couple of hours as the wedding proceeds.  There is an emcee who hosts throughout the afternoon and begins with an introduction of Jack via fanfare and spotlight.  After a few words all attention is cast to the back of the room where the bride enters on her father's arm and he escorts her to the center of the room where Jack takes her from the father.  At this point Jack got down on one knee to the thrill of the audience and said something of which I had no idea but everyone seemed quite impressed.  After the couple sachets down the runway they then proceed to center stage to exchange rings and are introduced as the new couple.  There is now a break in the action as the guests dive into the latest course of food.  When the activities resume, the bride has now changed into dress number 2 of 3 for the day.  It is a blue number that is very striking and the couple pours the champagne fountain and then listen to a couple of speeches.  Jack had his former boss give one speech and his current boss (and mine) give a speech in Chinese!  Chris did a great job and the Chinese really appreciated the gesture.  Finally, after another short break to eat more food, the bride entered once again in another dress to cut the cake and then go around to all the tables and exhange toasts.  The tradition is for the bride an groom to toast a drink with all the guests (This could be quite daunting with the Moutai) however they pour coca cola into the wine bottle from which the couple are drinking so that the only fear becomes the random belch after scores of tiny shots of carbonation.  The final speech was from Jack's mother who I think was the happiest person in the room as she smiled hugged and beamed all over the place.  By about 2:30 it was all over and many of the guests were leaving and I had to catch a flight back to Shanghai.  My guess is that many of the guests who partook of the Moutai continue the celebration elsewhere while the bride and groom head off to take even more wedding photos.  So that was my experience with a Chinese wedding, one that I am sure is a bit skewed and misinterpreted as so much was lost in translation but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.

Bao Bei Foundation Milestone

Thanks to your "ad clicking" we have reached our first milestone in funds raised for the Bao Bei Foundation - $102.11.  Our goal is to raise $400 for donation to this organization that cares for babies with various medical conditions before and after medical treatment.  $400 is the cost for one cleft palate surgery that will make a world of difference in the life and future of the child who receives this procedure.  Thank you for the "clicks" on the ads found on our blog page.  Each click earns a small amount towards our goal and costs you nothing but a small bit of time as you are surfing the blog site.  I have included a link on our blog page to the Bao Bei Foundation website if you would like more information.

Thanks again and keep on clicking!

Regan in Beijing

Well I have been trying to get Regan to post a blog on his recent school trip to Beijing but with no luck so I will try my hand a recapping his adventure. 
Regan's class was divided into two groups for their trip to Beijing.  One group travelled by train and took about 7 hours to arrive at their destination.  The other group travelled by plane.  Regan was in the latter group.  The purpose of the trip was to explore Chinese culture from the rural setting to the very modern city life.  Regan's group began in the countryside at a small village where they had to work for their meal by harvesting corn and doing other chores.  They stayed in the village for the evening and experienced local homemade cuisine.  The following day they visited an "off the beaten path" section of the Great Wall where very few tourists visit and the highlight was the chance to rappel off of a 10 meter high section of the wall!  Wow!  The next day they started heading toward the city of Beijing and visited the site of the Olympic white water rafting and kayaking venue.  They toured the facility and even got to raft in the rapids section.  As Regan's group got closer to the city the train group was heading to the countryside.  The next stop for Regan was at the Summer Palace adjacent to the Forbidden City.  They also visited a performing arts center and met several students their age studying dance and other traditional Chinese art forms.  Regan even got the chance to "cut the rug" with one of the local dancers which made his mother and I raise our eyebrows when we saw the picture! 

In all the trip was 5 days long and I have only hit on some of the highlights that I am aware of.  I am sure Regan could fill you in much better and probably even "correct" Dad's version of things.  Hope you are all doing well and look forward to hearing from you via e-mail or skype.

Day by day

Mason, Regan and I just got back from dinner.  Cynthia and Landon were at football practice when I got home and we were very hungry so we headed to one of our favorite spots - the DIY Butcher Shop.  Now you don't actually have to butcher your own meat but you do pick it out of the deli case and they grill it up for you at a nominal charge.  Tonight we had lamb and beef kebabs - mmm mmm good!  Afterwards I treated the boys to a foot massage and now we are all settling in for a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow I head for Beijing to attend a trade show then on to Qingdao for some meetings and then I will stay over the weekend to attend a Chinese wedding for our HR Director.  Cynthia was going to join me but we couldn't work it out so I will be on my own.  I am having to learn quickly about Chinese wedding etiquette so I don't offend anyone.  The traditional wedding gift is a red envelope, called Hong Bao, in which you place cash for the newlyweds.  I guess I will learn as I go - it should be an interesting experience.

Mason is getting along well in school and is beginning to feel comfortable with the language and can even converse with his classmates.  He has found some friends who all speak French and he has been able to spend some time on breaks and at lunch talking with them in French.  Nearly everyone in his class speaks at least three languages with English being the common link among them all.

Cynthia has had some scooter trouble and had to drive it all the way to the shop where we bought it.  She didn't know the way so our driver Mr. Dong would drive alongside her and then wait as she caught up.  She told me she felt just like a local and was only missing the pile of recycled cardboard on the back of the bike to complete the deal.  The first trouble with the scooter involved one of the wires disconnecting from the batteries when I hit a bump.  I tried to repair it (which I did after I put the fire out)  but the fire damaged some other wiring and then it was in need of some serious overhaul in order to get the lights working.  I did get it to run however and Cynthia would just wear her "Light up the Night" lanyards that blink in blue and red hanging over her back in order to travel safely at night.  All is better ... for now.