When it comes to hospitality, the Chinese are in a class by themselves.
It’s our first night in China, and we’re having a get together with our colleagues at Tongji University.
Gang Pei, Ph.D., president of Tongji University, gets the festivities rolling by offering a toast to the more than 20 UNMC people who came to Shanghai to participate in the Fourth Annual Shanghai Sino-U.S. Family Medicine Symposium & Faculty Training Session.
He then goes around the room and offers a separate toast at every table.
Talk about an icebreaker.
 |
Tammy Kielian, Ph.D. |
Within 10 minutes, the room is charged with energy. Complete strangers are soon clanking glasses doing their own toasts.
It’s incredible.
Following the toasts, a talent show begins. A young Chinese student kicks it off with a song from Bon Jovi.
Next, Nate Falk, M.D., a UNMC family medicine assistant professor, starts the ball rolling for UNMC. He’s playing keyboard and belting out a song I don’t recognize.
The man is good. I’m trying to capture it on a flip cam, but something is seriously wrong – Nate’s head is completely blurry in the viewfinder.
I get back to my table and figure out what went wrong. Somehow I’ve managed to dip the flip cam’s lens into some sort of greasy concoction. Sorry, Nate.
I frantically wipe off the lens just in time to catch the next UNMC participant, Tammy Kielian, Ph.D, professor, pathology/microbiology, perform “Dancing Queen” by Abba.
As she sings, she’s holding her cell phone at arm’s length with the lyrics on the screen.
It’s a show stealing performance. “I’m not sure what got into me,” Dr. Kielian said. “I hadn’t even had a drink.”
Welcome to China, Tammy, and the most hospitable people in the world.