“You Always Say ‘Ni Hao’ to the Pretty Girls”

Posted May 29th, 2010

Snow, who is a pretty girl herself, was my translator and valued assistant during my trip to China for a pipeline conference and exhibition.   ‘Ni Hao” was one of the few Chinese words I could say easily.  It means “hello” or “how are you?”   The pipeline exhibition had several large exhibits of the companies of PetroChina, Inc.  Each of these exhibits were staffed by what I called the women of PetroChina.  All dressed identically and they were the hostesses for the exhibit.   In fact, there were at least four hostesses at every event we attended.  Each time, they were wearing identical red suits.

Snow and I were walking into the exhibition the second day.  Being the friendly person I am, I said “Ni Hao” to the women at one exhibit.  Snow said, “I notice you always say ‘Ni Hao’ to the pretty girls.”  I laughed and told her that I usually said hello to most people. I thought her statement would be a good title for a Country song.

As we walked on through the exhibit, I spoke to a young man we had met the day before.   He spoke English well and we had talked about his company’s products.

When I reminded Snow that I also was speaking to men, she wisely remarked,”You speak to the pretty girls with your inner heart and to others with your outward heart.”   That was an intriguing statement, and I did not have a reply.  There is a lesson in these exchanges.  Perhaps it is to use my inner heart when speaking to anyone.  I did go ahead and get a picture with two of the women of PetroChina.  I think they are used to getting their pictures made, but I do not know which heart they use when posing.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 29th, 2010 at 1:11 pm and is filed under China Travels 2010.