St. Patty's Day in Dalian!

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't written anything in the last couple of days. I've been busy! Work is starting to show some real progress. I had a great meeting with the Plant Manager today. We were scheduled for 1/2 an hour, we talked for 1-1/2. His name is Rick, he's an Ex-Pat from Chicago. He's very supportive of my visit to Dalian and wants to help in anyway. He's having me do an interview with the plant Newsletter so that I can explain what our company does and why we are at Goodyear. It was REALLY a good meeting.

Also, I was able to secure a copy of the entire storeroom inventory for the plant. This is a HUGE win for Rockwell. Now I have to work with our local team to show them the significance of the list, and how we can help Goodyear....could be interesting! Stay tuned!

So enough about work! I have had a couple interesting events the last couple of days.

First, now that I switched hotels my new one is a little harder to find for the Cab Drivers. I think it's because it's new. They haven't had a lot of traffic there yet. So Monday when I get in the cab, I hand him a business card with the address on it. He shakes his head yes and peels out like a bat out of hell....all pretty standard for a trip. I put on my IPOD and zone out. All of the sudden I look up and the driver is turned staring at me saying something (As he continues to drive). I turn off the IPOD and point ahead saying, "Keep your eyes on the road man!"

He grabs the card off the front seat, points at it, shrugs his shoulders and says, "Don't know?" Just to add to the excitement, I forgot my cell phone at the hotel. So I can't call the guy I'm training to have him explain.

I look at him again and say, "Well it's just you and me pal" So I start trying to figure out where we are at....I actually have some idea, so I start trying to direct him. Talk about the blind leading the blind! It was hilarious! I said turn right (And pointed), he turns left! Every time I point or say something, he starts to turn around to look at me...In the middle of RUSH HOUR! I keep going, "Dat, dut, dut, dut, dut" and motion to turn around, he would lift his hand and say, "Sorry". When I say that he would turn around, I don't mean- kind of look over his shoulder, I mean- he turned his whole body around in the seat trying to give me his undivided attention, as we are driving.

After a while we started to work like a team! We started hitting our groove (We'll build him better, stronger, faster!). Finally we reached the hotel! He got a big smile on his face and said, "OK?"

I said, "OK"

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day! I was pumped to find an Ex-Pat's bar and enjoy a little St. Patrick's Day fun.....DENIED! The Chinese don't have a clue about St. Patrick's day. I mean not a clue! I asked Jerry (Guy I'm training) if he knew what it was about, he said, "Huh?!"

So I decided to make my own St. Patrick's day fun! I told Jerry we were going out to celebrate! He said he didn't understand the custom. I told him it'll be easy.

We went to dinner first. He took me to a Chinese BBQ place. You walk in the door and there are two cages on the ground. One has two giant, fat rabbits in it. The other one has 6 or 7 Doves in it. I ask Jerry if this is a pet store too? He laughs and says you can pick one for dinner if you want. They will kill it and bring it out for you......."Alrighty then!" I started singing the old Loony Toons bit where Elmer Fudd is singing opera, "Kill Da Wabbit! Kill Da Wabbit!!" (Jerry is lost on that one, but I thought it was funny.) I pass on my choice of live animal and we sit down.

The table has a small pit in the middle of it. I'm not sure what's going on, but what the heck. The waitress brings over a menu, Jerry starts to pa rose it. He's smoking a cigarette and asking me questions, here's how it went.

"Do you like Cow Stomach?"

"No"

"Do you like Pigs Testicles?"

"God No!"

"Do you like Lamb testicles?"

"Jerry, I don't like any testicles"

"Oh, OK"

"Do you like Chicken feet?"

"No, no"

"Do you like cow's tongues?"

"I've had it, but I don't want any tonight"

Finally we get to regular food and order some chicken, lamb, and beef. Jerry asks if I like Chicken wings. I told him I love Chicken wings! He said he will order. So finally the food starts coming but it's raw. They bring out a bowl of hot coals and set them into the pit on the table. They then put a grill over top of that and you cook your own food. Jerry starts to cook a bunch of meat...He was doing it really weird, so I grabbed the tongs from him and said, "Let me show you how Daddy walks".

He stared confused for a minute then said, "You know how to BBQ?"

I looked at him and said, "Does a Panda eat Bamboo?"

He started cracking up. So we ate dinner and it was really good. They season the meat well...OH! The chicken wing! Half way through the meal, Jerry looks around, "They forgot your chicken wing!"

I looked at him quizzically, "A chicken wing?"

Jerry signals the waitress and she shuffles off to the kitchen. She comes back with this massive chicken wing. It's the entire wing intact! From the socket to the tip! I just started cracking up! I looked at Jerry, "I guess your right, that is a chicken wing"

He then told me that the most expensive part of a chicken wing in China is the very tip of it. The part with almost no meat. We throw that part away. They prize that more than any other part.

I let Jerry have the chicken wing.

After that we went to a couple bars in Dalian to celebrate St. Patty's Day.

So I tell Jerry that it's time to celebrate. He looks at me strange and says, "I don't know this custom?"

I say, "It's really easy, we are going to have a drink, then another, and another, and another, and another, and another- then we will go to a different bar."

He looks at me, "Wow, that is custom?"

"You betcha!"

The bar had Guinness (Which shocked me!) and Jameson whiskey. So Jerry and I started to celebrate. After a couple drinks Jerry really loosened up. He told me he REALLY likes the Backstreet Boys! He starts to break into a Backstreet Boys song! I was trying my best not to crack up. I stopped him and said, "Jerry, don't ever tell anyone that again." He looked at me confused, and I told him I was just kidding.

After a few beers Jerry tells me how much he likes St. Patrick's day! He has now decided that he will start the holiday in Dalian. He wrote down March 17th on a piece of paper. We'll see how that goes.

I decide it's time to go to another bar, so we go to a place called "The Meeting Place". It's a cool bar. They are friendly, they usually have a singer or band that plays both Chinese and American music. Sometimes they are singing an American song in Chinese. I figured out last night that they were singing Shai, "If I Ever Fall In Love Again". Jerry thought that it was amazing that I could figure out what the song was....."That's how I roll Jerry".

The bar has a bunch of Harley Davidson design stuff hanging around. So I told Jerry to tell the bartender that I live in Milwaukee, home of Harley Davidson. Jerry does this and the bartenders eyes get as big as saucers! He says something in Chinese to the other two bartenders, the next thing you know they all have pictures of motorcycles on their phones and want to know what kind they are. Now I can only tell you that a Harley is a Harley by site. That's it. The first bartender shows me a picture, I shrug. He shows me a second picture, I shrug. Jerry then tells me they want to know what kind of Harley's these are....now the fun begins. I start making up names for the pictures.

"That's the Twin Meat and Heat Special"

"That's the Turbo Twin Nanny Buster"

"Ah, my favorite, The Rattle 650"

Every time I said a name they just go, "Ah!" and point at another. They didn't understand English anyways. I must have made up 10 different names. They like Harley's!

After that one we called it a night.

Happy St. Patty's Day!