Amant was backfor GEMs and he looked much thinner than he was before. We were all wondering what had happened, but no one asked. The lesson was basically on Chinese business etiquette and there were interesting facts like that the Chinese do not normally adhere to contracts but merely treat it as an object which marks progress. They do not like their business partners to be late but they have a habit of taking a long time to close deals, mostly only after they have feel that they have forged a close relationship or a bond of trust with you. A number of deals are closed over a meal and they do have several customs when it comes to food- the arrangement of guests, the order of the food and cultural happenings- when it comes to fish in Dalian, guests are not allowed to touch the dish before the host; if they do, they will be punished to drink 3 cups of beer. Strangely in a country where there are so many people starving, food is pretty much wasted over the dinner table as it is customary to leave food behind to show that the host has provided enough food and has not skimped on the food portions.
After gems, we had our second porridge dinner. Fantastic simple home cooked meals… =DD
