Breaking the ice

I am going to tell a history of mine about an experience that I had when I joined my father to a business travel to China like 4 years ago. He worked in a renewable energy company from Spain, andthe goal of the visit was to try to sell them solar panels for heating water in the houses. Logically, it was my first experience in business circles so I was lost.

My idea of a business travel is,obviously, make business, so I thought that it would be land, go to the hotel, leave the luggage, go to an office, make business, come back to the hotel, sleep and go back to Spain. But in fact,nothing was like that.

They same people that my father wanted to make deals with, had gone to the airport to receive us. After the greetings and hugs, they took us to the hotel. During the route, wetalked with them (of course with an interpreter) about everything unless business. Once we arrived to the hotel, they told that, because the travel had been too long and heavy, that we could stay inour rooms to rest and that we had a dinner scheduled at 8pm. For the time being, it was more like a pleasure trip than a business one.

And now, DINNER TIME!!! I promised you that I drink that Idrank more alcohol that night that during spring break. Just I was sitting on the table, I could observe a little cute mini cup (like a shot I thought) by the glass of wine. For what use? I would guesssoon. They drink some type of anisette made of rice really strong, and they drink it as shots, for them, campeis (I will never forget that word). And everyone had to take one shot with the rest, witheach one. That was the purpose for those mini cute cups… They were shots!!!

So imagine if we were 20 people at the table, 20 shots, and the “welcome” shot, 21, the “thank you for the reception”shot, 22, the “the pleasure is ours” shot, 23, the “for the success on the negotiations” shot, 24 ,and the “everything was delicious and thank you for everything” shot, 25. TWENTY FIVE SHOTS IN 90...