Who?

I guess every foreigner living in China has heard the joke about Chinese president? You know when you ask your friend, preferably a non-chinese, and not living in China: "Who is the president of China?" And when he says "I have no idea" you say: "No, I said Hu is the president of China." Chinese President is, indeed Hu (or who), Hu Jintao. It works the other way around, too. Someone asks you, "Who is the president of China?" And naturally you say:"Yes."

Ok, this may seem like a silly thing. You may think that you wouldn't find it amusing. But when it happens in real life, with no bun intended, I can't help but to crack. Trust me, you would, too.

I had three cases like this, during the week.

Who will be in that meeting? I ask from an invoice handler on Wednesday. "Yes, I think she will." She says. "Yes, but who will be in the meeting?" I try again. "Yes." She looks at me like I am a little slow, propably wondering why on earth they sent such dork from Europe to here. What use can she be?

Another day, another meeting. "And who is responsible for keeping these documens?" I inquire. "No no no, Hu has nothing to do with this process." the controller quickly answers. I try to hide my grin. "Alright, but whoooooo does handle these documents?"

Yet another meeting. "Is everyone here already, can we start?" Asks my colleague from Finland. "Hu is missing." someone says. "Can someone tell me if someone is still coming?"A collague visiting from Finland doesn't realize what is going on. "Hu should still come." someone says. "Who is still coming?" (Hu arrives.) "Hu is here" somesays. It has been rather hectic two weeks, and I could not but crack up. Call me childish. I don't care.

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By the way, it is freeeezing here. The meter shows + 8, forecast says +7, feels like +3, and I swear it feels like -3. It's the quick changes, from +20 to this! I can't keep up!