It’s strange how numbers can tell different stories.  By brochure count, today was as bad as yesterday.  We had half the brochures left over, and two thirds of that half had gone the first day (not a surprise to alert readers with a mathematical mind).  By visitor count, although I don’t have numbers, it felt similar.  But if I count the name cards I received, today scored 50% better than the first day.  The overall count is still low and a number of things need to change for me to consider exhibiting again, but it wasn’t a total waste. 

During the dead times, I got reading and writing done, instead of just loitering about.  I also sat in some sessions, though in the one I visited today half the speakers had bailed out.  The lure of the beach must have been stronger. 

My Chinese partner talked to one of the girls that work for the conference organizers.  Apparently, the company managing the event asked a local company for cute girls that speak English, or so, and this local company sourced them from a school where they are studying to become flight attendants.  That explains a number of things: their terminal cuteness, their eagerness to speak with foreign me, and why they’re not really local.  He said they’re being paid 100 RMB per day for this job.  That makes me think I should perhaps have hired a booth girl.  You never know what draws the customer.  (Although, that said, I didn’t see many delegates hanging out at the registration counter, so if you’re boring, all the cute girls in the world don’t help squat.)  He said her study book was on Karl Marx. 

For lunch I had a local specialty, Dongshan goat.  It was deep fried with cardamom.  I tasted of my partner’s local specialty, Wenchang chicken, and regretted my choice.  Although not bad, the goat didn’t hold a candle to the chicken and its sweet lemon sauce, perfect for a warm day.  We shared rice and stewed veggies with papaya along with our meats.  They seem to like papaya a lot here. 

One Russian researcher stopped at the booth when I talked to him about his shape memory alloy talk from yesterday.  He showed me another material he was working on that was interesting and could have potential for use with an AFM, but it looked like a lot of work is still needed to get the idea to cheap series production. 

After the afternoon coffee break I took everything down as quickly as possible, so that I’d get some time in the water.  The ocean was warm enough to swim in, but far from exciting, with waves rarely exceeding twenty centimeters in height.  I soon got out and switched to the pool with the water slides.  It’s been a while since I’ve been down one, and I enjoyed it, although I wasn’t able to dam some water for a quicker ride as I would have liked to because the rides were being watched. 

On the way back to my room I met a family of five that looked Chinese.  I asked one of the little boys if he was Chinese, and when he didn’t answer right away, I said Nihao.  I thought that was the end of it and walked out of the elevator before them and down the hall, when I heard from behind me: “We are from New Zealand.”  It took me half a second to realize I’d really heard that, and then I turned around and waited for them.  They were Chinese, originally, living in Auckland, and on their summer vacation, though I don’t quite understand taking a long flight to flee your summer for what is essentially also summer. 

I dried off, changed, and headed over to the farewell celebration.  My food intake was limited to a little snack sandwich and a baby pizza, along with a Hainan beer (ordinary) and a coke (coke), because I spent most my time chatting with Vishnu, Ayse, and Birgit, when we could hear each other over the resident band.  Soon everyone wanted to take a picture of the band, so I joined in. 

Look at that band!

I forgot to ask if they could use an oboist.

With the cameras out, there was no stopping: all the reception desk girls and other helpers wanted to have their picture taken with me and other foreigners.  I had none taken with my camera, because I alread take too many pictures, but if they make good on their promises my work e-mail should soon be overflowing with the ones they took. 

Vishnu and I got to talking to Wendy, and Vishnu asked who picks the English names the Chinese have.  Wendy said she’d picked hers herself at the beginning of college, when her teacher said they all needed to have one, and she picked hers because of Peter Pan, even though (to her regret) Wendy and Peter don’t end up together.  We told her now all she had to do was find herself a Peter, to which she replied she already had one, but his name wasn’t Peter.  It turned out he had no English name, so we urged her to give him the name of Peter. 

Vishnu turned away for something, and Wendy said to me: “You are human!”  I must have looked puzzled, because she repeated it: “You are human!”  I must still have looked puzzled, because she rephrased it: “You are humorous.  At the booth you are very serious.  Now I get to know real you.”  I thanked her and told her selling microscopes was serious business, but now I wonder if I would have had more people at my booth with a juggling act…

I have a note that says “important information,” but I can’t remember what I wanted myself to remember to write.  I guess it was less important than I thought. 

I also have next to me the laundry bill.  I’d given my pyjamas to be laundered, but they didn’t recognize them as such and split them into a T-shirt and underpants, which actually saved me 2 RMB.  Now that’s serving the customer!