I haven’t written one of these in a while, since moving to
Tianjin, my outings have increased exponentially and I barely even have time for myself!
On Saturday, my friend David arrived from Korea. We planned to volunteer at the AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Independence Day Celebration. From what I had been told that week, I would help organize kid’s activities (Bouncy castles and whatnot). Later, I was surprised to receive another call informing me that the original MC was sick and that David and I were more than welcome to become the new ones. I happily volunteered, eager for the opportunity to help out! If only I knew of all of the excitement that would soon be had, I would have brought some of my local colleagues along too!
At 11:45am that day, David arrived at my building after disembarking from his direct flight from Korea. It was a good thing that he had two black belts in Tae Kwon Do as all of that training and built up stamina would soon come in handy. He had less than an hour to get his stuff in order and get ready for the long evening ahead. I would later find out that he had less than 4 hours sleep that day, talk about stamina! We were to meet our AmCham contact in the Hyatt Hotel, a ten minute walk away.
You know you have become a 天津人(Tianjin Local) when your guest grabs your arm as you cross the road in fear for both of your lives. Wading through speeding traffic had become second nature than me, I hadn’t realized that David was not used to this crazy jaywalking phenomenon. I’m sure that soon he’ll be up to speed with hacking through the urban jungle given a week or two here.
We eventually arrived at the Hyatt Hotel and headed up to find the AmCham room. I was surprised to see that a permanent office was set up in a hotel room, complete with signs on the wall outside the door. From what I’ve experienced now, it seems that these hotel-offices a common practice for many organizations in China. The door was open for us and we entered to meet 
Anna. She provided us with a short a briefing and schedule detailing the evening’s events. She also outfitted us with some immaculate white AmCham golf shirts. Later we found that we were the only ones wearing such golf shirts which not even the organizers had! It certainly seemed like we were to take center stage at this event. We were surprised to find that we had less than half an hour to prepare our speeches for the evening’s events. David and I worked hurriedly on the computer writing a speech in English which was then translated to Chinese by an online dictionary. While we were in the process of doing this, 3 other young local Chinese AmCham members entered the room and Anna started planning something with them. I’m grateful that David had a Commerce background, I’m sure that many would have folded under the stress of delivering a severely under-prepared speech in a foreign language. I didn’t have a problem as my parts were in English. Back home, I speak with little to no preparation so I felt quite comfortable and ready – no stomach full of butterflies for me!
Soon, it was time to leave the hotel and travel to the venue and the introduction speech was not even finished yet! We panicked as the printer in the office ran out of ink. Luckily, I had brought my USB along. We uploaded the speech to the USB and Anna led us downstairs to the business office to have it printed. The service was prompt and professional, and soon David had his freshly printed speech in hand.
I must pause now to take note of how familiar we were with the event. So far this entire time, we were completely confused as to what was going on. We did not know where we were going, who we were speaking to, and what we were expected to say. This total void of information was a great excitement for me – I’m too used to knowing exactly what is going on in a predictable day of University classes! We eventually found ourselves in the lobby where quite a few other
expatriates and AmCham members were congregating. We had a good time meeting and greeting some of the other guests. Soon, we boarded up on the waiting coach buses outside. I was thrilled to discover that the bus I was on was driven by the PPG driver that takes me to work in the morning! He was equally delighted to see me as well!
All of the guests boarded up on one bus while the organizers (David and I included) boarded another. The ride took nearly an hour but this was much needed. David caught up on his much needed sleep while I wrote down English speeches for the key parts of the program to be translated into Chinese for David. It was fortunate that Annie, one of AmCham’s organizers spoke excellent English and the speeches were translated without a hitch.
When we arrived at the venue, both David and I were completely floored – it was amazing. The Venue was called the Margaux Manor, and it looked like a little French village in the middle of the Chinese suburbs. There were no skyscrapers in sight, and though the sky looked ominous earlier, it began to clear. The decor on both the interior and exterior of the Manor was exquisite and there was ample greenery, water fixtures and authentic French decor. We found ourselves walking with the rest of the bus passengers to a large courtyard in the center of the villas. Here, the place was bustling with guests from all walks of life. Strangely enough, the demographics of those in attendance was 30% Foreign and 70% Chinese!
Anna sat us down with Hank Martin, the charismatic Chair of AmCham. He provided us with tips and key things to mention when making the speeches. There was a large stage set up in the courtyard, complete with a huge AmCham backdrop, lighting and a massive sound system.
David and I put the final touches on our speeches as a live band started to play. We also had the chance to meet some very friendly employees of a logistics company who sat at our table. Soon, the band’s performance was coming to an end and it was our time t
o get up and start talking. David and I took the stage, and I delivered a speech in English followed by the Chinese translations read by David. Everyone stood for the American National Anthem, which was sung by a governor of AmCham. She was extremely talented. I found it to be quite the phenomenon that two Canadians were leading the AmCham celebration. This was also the first time I have ever stood to join in the American Anthem!
Opening speeches were given by Hank and the Operation Director of the Margaux Manor Club and soon the banquet was opened to the guests. David and I stood in line, mingled with guests and learned a thing or two a
bout business in China from some of the very knowledgeable expatriates in attendance. Fortunately, Annie picked up food for us as it was almost time to speak again and we weren’t even near the buffet yet!
First two pairs of very talented Chinese dancers performed a Cha-cha rendition. Both young women in the dancing pairs wore high heels that were at least two inches high. It was incredible that they could pull off such moves without even stumbling! David and
I gave speeches for the first set of draws for the evening. The prizes up for grabs were incredible, ranging from a year’s membership at the Margaux Manor, to Digital Cameras and Barbeques!
After the first draw, some other MC’s took over for us giving David and I a chance to sit back and enjoy the show and mingle a bit more.
Kind hearted and friendly foreigners were in abundance here (unlike previous experiences!). We met a great variety of people from local Chinese employees in multinational companies, to English teachers, working expatriates and entrepreneurs. I was delighted as well to meet people of mixed heritage like myself!
There were two more lucky draws for the evening, with prizes that were equally incredible as the ones given out for the first one. The dancers performed two more numbers and there was a traditional Sichuan Face-Changing (Bian Lian) performer. As he walked the stage, changing his masks at lightning speed, I tried to piece t
ogether how he pulled it off. I was completely baffled though when he approached me to shake my hand and his mask changed right before my eyes at a rate too fast to even see. The great thing about this performance is only the performers know the trick, unlike so much of the well-known western magic. This is a closely guarded secret that only a few know, hopefully, I can learn a bit more about this in my lifetime! He ended his colourful performance by blowing fire across the stage - I was blown away.
To wrap up the night, one of the most incredible firework performances lit the night sky. This was on a scale equivalent to even the best Canada Day celebrations I am used to back home. It was INCREDIBLE.
Sadly, the night was coming to an end. David and I bid goodbye to our new friends, and with pockets full of business cards, we hopped on the bus which took us back to our building in Tianjin.
We went to one of the local Bars afterwards, but the story of that will come sometime soon!
Anna. She provided us with a short a briefing and schedule detailing the evening’s events. She also outfitted us with some immaculate white AmCham golf shirts. Later we found that we were the only ones wearing such golf shirts which not even the organizers had! It certainly seemed like we were to take center stage at this event. We were surprised to find that we had less than half an hour to prepare our speeches for the evening’s events. David and I worked hurriedly on the computer writing a speech in English which was then translated to Chinese by an online dictionary. While we were in the process of doing this, 3 other young local Chinese AmCham members entered the room and Anna started planning something with them. I’m grateful that David had a Commerce background, I’m sure that many would have folded under the stress of delivering a severely under-prepared speech in a foreign language. I didn’t have a problem as my parts were in English. Back home, I speak with little to no preparation so I felt quite comfortable and ready – no stomach full of butterflies for me! 
expatriates and AmCham members were congregating. We had a good time meeting and greeting some of the other guests. Soon, we boarded up on the waiting coach buses outside. I was thrilled to discover that the bus I was on was driven by the PPG driver that takes me to work in the morning! He was equally delighted to see me as well!
When we arrived at the venue, both David and I were completely floored – it was amazing. The Venue was called the Margaux Manor, and it looked like a little French village in the middle of the Chinese suburbs. There were no skyscrapers in sight, and though the sky looked ominous earlier, it began to clear. The decor on both the interior and exterior of the Manor was exquisite and there was ample greenery, water fixtures and authentic French decor. We found ourselves walking with the rest of the bus passengers to a large courtyard in the center of the villas. Here, the place was bustling with guests from all walks of life. Strangely enough, the demographics of those in attendance was 30% Foreign and 70% Chinese! 
o get up and start talking. David and I took the stage, and I delivered a speech in English followed by the Chinese translations read by David. Everyone stood for the American National Anthem, which was sung by a governor of AmCham. She was extremely talented. I found it to be quite the phenomenon that two Canadians were leading the AmCham celebration. This was also the first time I have ever stood to join in the American Anthem! 
bout business in 
I gave speeches for the first set of draws for the evening. The prizes up for grabs were incredible, ranging from a year’s membership at the Margaux Manor, to Digital Cameras and Barbeques! 
ogether how he pulled it off. I was completely baffled though when he approached me to shake my hand and his mask changed right before my eyes at a rate too fast to even see. The great thing about this performance is only the performers know the trick, unlike so much of the well-known western magic. This is a closely guarded secret that only a few know, hopefully, I can learn a bit more about this in my lifetime! He ended his colourful performance by blowing fire across the stage - I was blown away.
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