American in Shanghai

Letter to the Boss: Thanksgiving Day "Work from Home" Dear Laoban, Thursday, November 25th is Thanksgiving Day, a very special holiday for Americans. Even though I am (insert nationality), Thanksgiving still represents a time of gathering among friends and families and celebrating what's important, the food in our bellies and the people we share it with. As you may not celebrate this holiday in your Glorious Nation, you might be unaware of its importance thus not understanding why granting my request to "work from home" a significant gift. Please, allow me to share the history of this important holiday. In 1620, some religious separatists ("The Pilgrims") left England in search for new land and religious freedom. They found themselves in present-day Massachusetts where they set up a town called Plymouth. However due to lack of experience with the foreign soil and a bad growing season, they spent th

I was recently a fly on the wall listening to a conversation between three men from three foreign countries. It went something like this...   "How about all the company dinner banquets we have to deal with; how do you stand the constant toasting of 'baijiu' that horrible stuff!" "Oh that stuff is so nasty! It's not only bad to drink its bad effect stays with you the next day and it stinks too!" "I have found a way to get by and it works for me:  I will take a sip of the baijiu for one drink, and then take only red wine after that. I inform my hosts at the beginning that I will only have one drink of baijiu. This gets me through many nights of this torture!"