Today we had our first lecture by a professor from Nankai Business School. His english was pretty good and his lecture provided some more insight into Chinese business culture and communication styles. We were shocked to learn just how much of a difference there was between American and Chinese business practices. Things that seem trivial end up meaning quite a bit more we seem to think. I would love to see some of the things discussed in practice just for some perspective, and we may yet see that on this trip when we visit other businesses. We had lunch on campus today and I got to sit with two chinese students whose English skills were better than I ever would have imagined seeing in China. Had I not known they had never lived in America, I would have taken them as American students. It was actually kind of scary to see how well they know our language and culture, and embarrassing because most Americans seem to know so little of theirs. Myself included. We toured Dynasty Wine's headquarters today as well. Their cellars were amazing, but the wine was mediocre to average at best. Apparently the company is thriving over here though and their joint venture with a French firm is giving them leverage in Europe as well. I would not be surprised to see the wine in America in the next few years either.
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