Mooncakes and Shrieking Executives

The Chinese holiday / festival of "Zhongqiujie" or Mid-Autumn Festival is almost upon us. The traffic in and around Shanghai was worse than usual today. It wasn't until I asked the taxi driver why the traffic was so bad that I made the connection. "Everyone is out ether buying mooncakes or going to dinner", he said. Tomorrow is actually the festival day so I expect the traffic to be particularly bad on the way home from work tomorrow. Most people don't get the day off for Mid-Autumn Festival but many offices close early so workers can get home for family festivities.

I spent much of the day going to, and coming from, Nanjing. I was there to attend a company grand opening that featured Chinese, Japanese and American executives giving speeches. The difference in presentation styles of the three nationalities were on display - capturing the cultural stereotypes well. The stentorian formality of the Chinese executive that nearly shrieked into the unbearably amplified sound system. The quiet, humble obliqueness of the Japanese company patriarch. The chatty informality of the jacket-clad American.