Chinese New Year is huge in China - the biggest holiday of their year. This year was the transition from a Dragon year to the Snake Year. The Dragon is the best year out of the 12-year cycle so if you are going to have your baby then this is the year the Chinese do it (God permitting). This entry is about the party that the company held for it's employees and spouses. The company is up to about 300ish employees in Shanghai, and there was a 90% attendance rate (in the US it is typically less than 50%). So the Marriott, where it was held, had about 500 people for dinner then the entertainment put on by the employees. It was a fun concept since it built some fun relationships in the process.
I was asked to by one of the four Master of Ceremonies (MCs) - That's me in the tux below. The presentation was done half in Mandarin and half in English. Overall, the crowd really liked the show and I had much more fun than I thought I would have.
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| I introduced myself as Bond...Jame Bond - one of the funny points of the show. |
Top 10 Best Things about 2013 Chinese New Year
10. It’s the only time of the year when you can get a taxi, even when its raining
9. A second chance for a new year's resolution since you already blew your one from Jan 1st.
8. Expats get to work another weekend.
7. A week of no sleep from the non-stop fireworks
6. A week of visiting relatives at ‘home’ will remind you of why you moved to Shanghai
5. A week off to catch up on episodes of your favorite TV show
4. No more stress about the world ending in 2012.
3. Sex can be fun again since there is no more pressure to have a ‘Dragon’ baby!
2. Snakes are less scary than Dragons.
1. This year we will sign the Master Contract with COMAC.
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| Belly Dancers, there were quite talented in their art. |
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| A great show called 'Expat Style' based off of Gangnam Style. It was a great show that had the crowd roaring. |
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| Chinese singing - the tree is for where you put wishes for the new year. |
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| Brown-eyed Girl solo - very awesome |
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| The leadership team entered the dinner with a lit up Dragon and Snake. There was a beating drum - very Chinese. |
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| 1930s song |
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| My Favorite Things sung by a young girl. |
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| Piano solo - a good time to take a rest. |
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| Three guys on my team (Gary, Zong and Simon) doing a couple songs. After some technical difficulties in practice the result turned out to be very good. |
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| After the show my team gathered in the lobby for a fun photo under the snake. |
