A Day with a Diplomat

Today was a day of adventure and information. It all started earlier in the trip with a friend request I received on Facebook. It was an unfamiliar lady that came with no message so I had no clue who it was. I was hesitant to accept until a message appeared in my inbox a few days later. She told me who she was in the message and it turns out she used to ride the bus with my dad in middle school back in their hometown of Northwood, ND. I was also informed that her husband was living in Shanghai and working for the United States Department of Agriculture, in the Foreign Agriculture Service office, at the American Consulate, as the Director of the Agricultural Trade office. His name was Keith, and she gave me his contact information so that I may meet up with him to learn more about his work and, more importantly, life in China. I put this plan into action as soon as I could.
After a few emails back and forth, we agreed to meet Saturday (today) at 1:00pm at his house. This meeting area was all the way across the city for me, but our tour guide Joe gave me all the directions I needed to zip across on the metro system. It turned out to be much more economical than a cab, 7 yuan there and back as opposed to 50 yuan just to get there by cab. When I first arrived at his house, my initial reaction was amazement. All I had seen throughout China, up until this point, were apartment buildings. His 3-story house was the first I had seen since leaving the states some 20 days ago. It was a very nice house too, complete with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and an attached garage. We chatted for a while about his family, job, and life growing up before hitting the town. He took me to a wet market, noodle maker, DVD store, Japanese restaurant, Thai restaurant, and a mall. All the while, he talked to me about every aspect of living in China and the importance of learning Mandarin. After the time we spent together and the knowledge I acquired, there's no doubt I want to return to China for work. Whether it's for a few weeks travelling for a company, or a few years with an organization within China, I will come back after my degree.