Packages of Hope - China 2005

My time on the 3rd floor was spent taking pictures at all angles, and pacing off the dimensions of the rooms. I wanted to make sure I had as much information as possible for the charity groups that were to come after me, so they would have a good idea for decorating and providing for medical/educational needs of the children.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it to see the children already residing in the old orphanage building.

We had a long afternoon yet ahead of us, which included lunch and a visit to Hannah’s facility in downtown Siping. After a few final photos for the Siemens newsletter, we were once again navigating the potholes of the unpaved road towards the center of town.

I perceived that the spirits of the orphanage staff were lifted at the notion of a restaurant meal. I could sympathize, as imagining the welcomed diversion from the monotony of everyday lunches.

I was becoming familiar with the faces of the staff, such as the orphanage director, Ms. Li, but I had to have Hannah remind me of the names and positions of the other staff members. There was Ms. Zhang Ying Ping, who was the head of the Siping Deaf School. Ms. Zhang Li Ping was a governmental officer. And there was a gentleman named Cin Ji Guang, who was the Dean of the People’s Committee of Siping, another communist party member.

A familiar wave of mild frustration passed over me as we sat down for a meal. I knew that this was a matter of course, and actually a valuable step in what we were trying to accomplish here. A meal was a chance to socialize. This socialization was very important in the Chinese culture. They WANTED to get to know me, and feel more comfortable. This was a necessary part of the process. As much as I just wanted to be with the children, to just spend time in the orphanage and making more observations, I knew that I had to endure this formality.

It was during this meeting, however, that I realized a bit of the impetuousness of my youth, and I learned a valuable lesson of the errors of my perception, all thanks to Hannah.

For as the luncheon wore on, instead of feeling like I was present at a luncheon of business formality, I discovered that the people around me were indeed very kindred spirits.

As I said, my first impression was of mild frustration. Mr. Cin broke out a pack of cigarettes, and offered me a beer, in true masculine fashion of Chinese cordiality. I accepted, as I regarded this Party member as a man who thought in terms of politics, and whom I initially assessed as being a bit cold-hearted to the cause of the children.

Waiters steadily brought trays of food into our rooms, as the toasts got underway. Ms. Li toasted us for our kindness and dedication to the children. I toasted Ms. Li for her fine work and her new orphanage. Both Ms. Zhang’s toasted their colleagues, then me. I toasted Philip for the fine work he had done for the children, and for Siemens. Philip, who was by this time thoroughly astounded and impressed by the demonstration of human spirit, toasted all of us back. I was impressed by Philip’s command of the conversation, and it was clear to me that his career would be long and impressive, given his performance thus far.

Beer, and then wine flowed, and we became more at ease. While this was not an approved practice for business in the USA (at least not for lunch), it was entirely appropriate here. It was, after all, an intimate meal, with old friends welcoming in new friends.

It was then that Hannah told me more about the people seated at the table. She told me about Li Ping (who we had given the English name “Diana”) and Ying Ping (who we had assigned the name “Debbie”). They were both grade school classmates with Hannah, and they remained close throughout these years. The details of their relationship were unimportant, but it was clear that they had seen good times and bad, and that their lives, although leading in very different directions, had still retained a bond of friendship, and a set of shared values. These commonalities brought them together to work together, even though at times they had differences of opinion.

But the most startling revelation came in Hannah’s praise of Mr. Cin (whom I named Antony, reminding me of a film character of an old B-movie Italian mobster flick).

I had judged Antony as a typical political bureaucrat. However, as I watched him smoke and schmooze with his colleagues around the table, Hannah told me that he was a pivotal person in the existence of the ASCCAC. He too was a childhood classmate of Hannah’s, and she and the other girlfriends had been surprised when his life took a turn into politics. Through a number of choices which turned out to cost him dearly in his personal life, he became a person of some influence in the local government.

Hannah told me how he basically put his career on the line at one point and stood singularly against the city council and demanded that Hannah’s center be given an operational charter. Hannah had told me how deeply he cared for the children.

At that moment I was humbled and ashamed for my judgment. “Never judge a man until you walk a mile in his moccasins”, my grandmother always used to say.

Following Hannah’s aside comments, I again toasted the group, thanking them for what they had done – “Luo Ye Gui Gen” – “Falling leaves return to the root”.

I bid goodbye to the wise and venerable orphanage director, Ms. Li (whom we had bestowed the English name “Helen”), and to my newly admired friend, Antony.

Hannah, Debbie, Diana, Philip, and I, sped off to the ASCCAC.