Yesterday was the day full of meetings with the Taiwanese community.
The first meeting was the official establishment of the North Carolina Taiwanese American Chamber of Commerce (NCTACC) chapter of the North American Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce (NATCC). I arrived to find the meeting in progress and totally in Chinese. This was a part of the meeting I was not invited to (for obvious reasons) but it had run late, so I arrived to hear something I found quite interesting as I always love listening to other languages - I cannot understand the words, but to me it is kind of like listening to a song.
Once the first part of the meeting ended, there was lunch and at that point, the discussions were mostly in English, or in a dual format, so this is the part of the meeting that I and a few other non-chinese speakers were invited. I was seated at the VIP table and was identified as a representative of the Sister Cities of Cary, The Cary Chamber and the Economic Development Commitee for the Town of Cary. I was asked to give a few words of introduction which I did not expect and was not prepared for, but managed to link our sister cities mission as similar to those identified for the new Chamber of Commerce, and wished the group good fortune in their new venture from the 3 organizations I represented at the meeting. Carlotta Ungaro, the President of the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce was recognized/spoke after I did.
Too bad this meeting was scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend, as many of our business leaders who should have attended were out of town. There were representatives from the National organization and Taiwanese business leaders from around the state, including Charlotte and Winston-Salem, etc.
An interesting fact mentioned was that Taiwan is the #6 trading partner with the US. Another was that many Chinese companies are owned by Taiwanese. This is an important and influential group for us to keep connected with!
The next event was the Da-Guan Dance Theater performance of Fantastic Taiwan 101 at the Cary Arts Center. We (Sister Cities) had arranged for a proclamation and gifts for the visiting foreign dignitaries. Kris Carmichael was efficient as always and had everything ready and available. As usual, we were trying to figure out just what would be the protocol, etc just before the performance. Since there was no rehersal it always feel like you are flying by the seat of your pants... I was not supposed to have anything to do but watch, but found I had to step in to cover the reading of the Proclamation as our Councilor Jack Smith had a family emergency. I was so glad that I had dressed up for the Business Meeting (and that I had bought new dress clothes a few days before) since I had to go on stage, read the proclamation and present it to TECO Director General Ms. Anna Kao. I did ok, except had difficulty in the date, I started out saying May 27th 19..., and in pronouncing Mayor Weinbrecht's last name (sorry Harold). Both gaffes brought a chuckle from the crowd.
The performances were absolutely spectacular. The dancing was very professional (we found out that the performers were all graduating Seniors from the program), and the dancers somehow changed outfits very, very quickly and often and the girls could just glide over the floor. I had the feeling like I was watching the final of a "Taiwan's Got Talent" production, as each dance was so different. The staging was also minimal, but they used a backdrop that changed colors to set the mood, and spotlights were used frequently to stage the stories that were being told by the dances. I was so glad to have been able to see this performance. There literally is enough to say to fill pages and pages but I won't bore you. If you have a chance, you must see this performance if it ever comes back.
The last event of the day was a BBQ reception for the dance company, the busienss leaders and TECO representatives, VIP's, etc. from the day's events. I was able to meet up with Jack Smith and we arrived at the BBQ during a heavy rain storm and just in time to present the gifts from the Town of Cary. There were rounds and rounds of recognitions and gift giving during the evening and really good food. Jack and I discussed that we really enjoyed the event as it had a much more informal feel and we got a chance to know some of the people much better.
Jack and I ended the evening with one of the famous sister cities after meeting meetings at Mahoney's Pub. What a tiring and rewarding day!
