Opening Day at YZU

Disaster stuck this morning...when I opened my contact lens case, I only had the right contact lens. This is after washing the dishes in the sink, removing the rugs in order to take a shower, and using the squeegee to mop the floor. I am quite certain the left contact is down one of the drains, despite my blindly touching and feeling and looking at the rugs and the mopped floor. Lots of tears and self-recriminations later (another TM...I don't even know how it happened), I give up and put on my glasses for the day in the office. I am SO VAIN there are many of you who have never seen me in my glasses, and here I am going to my first official day in the office. Most of the time this is not a problem as most professors do not seem to be on campus very much. Then Dr. Lay, my wonderful chair person, asked me to the College of Business Chinese New Year dinner/banquet. Ahhh, humility...off I go to the dinner with my glasses on...

The banquet was so much fun for me! (See my limited pictures...I felt I could not stand up and take pictures...too inappropriate) I have not been to a CNY banquet since we left Singapore, low those many years ago. Everyone is given a lottery ticket. Names are drawn by the Chairs and the Dean at 4-5 different intervals, and each one receives a red envelope with NY cash. The later your name is drawn, the higher the value in each envelope. I received NT$3500 when my name was drawn, almost US$120. What a treat, but how embarrassing when it is my first time to meet everyone. Everyone at my table kept saying I was a very lucky person. The last person drawn received $NT10000. Fortunately, it was a member of the staff who received it.

Games were played throughout the night, and karaoke turns are taken. Even though the Dean asks if I will sing, I say "NO...thank you!" Consequently, it is quite loud and exciting the entire time we are eating more than a dozen courses. We start with smoked meat slices and soup. We go through shrimp, beef, pork, and veggie stir fried dishes, whole steamed fish, dumplings, another soup, and three kinds of dessert, ending with the traditional fruit plate. Everything was very, very good, and I ate some of every single dish, thanks to Dr. Lay who was kind enough to serve me off the lazy susan as each dish went around. And always, always, there are lots and lots of toasts, whether it be with the red wine or the orange juice. Thank goodness my chopsticks worked for me. And that I was not driving!

Dr. Lay and I started at the management table, so I got to meet many of my colleagues for the first time. One is a very distinguished professor who has taught at many important US and China universities. Retirement is mandatory at 65 when you teach in a public university, so he is retired but now teaches for this private university. Others are quite young as over the past 3 years, the COB has grown from about 30 profs to 75 profs. They are now trying to restructure, and are in the third year of AACSB accreditation...lots and lots of meetings, none of which I am required to attend. We ended up at the head table with the Dean (our first meeting) and the other chairs, a very, very humorous and friendly group. Two of the people sitting at my table were vegetarians. The prof right next to me was a Buddhist who followed even stricter food rules. He cannot have garlic or onions as they can cause an internal imbalance. I am going to follow up in order to learn more about his dietary rules.

This party is given every year by the Dean as a thank you to the COB. None of the other colleges do this, or are able to afford it. It is possible because the COB earns extra $ through some of their consulting work. I have yet to find out what these projects are. The Dean and some of the chairs toasted with wine and also sang Karaoke...hard to imagine at TAMUCC!

I rode home with 4 other profs that I had just met. We talked about the seminar in which I will be teaching 6 classes. I just found out today that I will be teaching 6 3-hour classes with 50 students, AND giving them their mid-term grades. Oh well...I will be introduced to the class today. This week-end I will be VERY busy prepping. The 3 others are hoping that I will invite some of the expat managers that I have met to speak to the class. Guess who is the first one invited? I am hoping that Kevin will come and talk about managing in Taiwan and Shanghai, and his expat living experience. Speakers usually talk about an hour, then the Q&A session begins...if they even ask any questions. The stereotype is that Taiwanese students just sit and stare at you...we shall see. Anytime I have a speaker, I am off the hook for presenting and teaching. I wish I knew MANY MORE expat managers!


A MIRACLE HAPPENED THE MORNING AFTER THE BANQUET! As I put the rugs back on the floor for the second time since losing my left contact, it bounced off onto the floor! YAH HOO! I don't have to find a contact dispenser! I don't have to pay for a new contact lense! I am, indeed, very lucky after all!

I met the Dean in his office to thank him for the banquet, and to finally present him with the Lammes' Longhorn candies brought all the way from Texas. He is very worried that the students will not meet my expectations. Dr. Shih (the retired professor) said many came to this private university when they could not meet the requirements for the large public universities. Yet I am used to teaching English in my business classes. I was told that the MBA finance majors were required to sign up for my MBA Strategy class, an elective course at that level. I am looking forward to working with them, and consider myself lucky again that they were required to take the class.

I just got an e-mail from one of my students that says the book I ordered for one of my classes over three months ago will not be available for 1-3 months. She forgot to tell me which class! The best laid plans...