You are definitely right about that. The key, I think, is being willing to bend but not break.

A true story: the first time I came to China three years ago I was single and I went on a date with a Chinese woman the night before I left to return to the USA. We had corresponded online, but only on this last day would we actually be int he same city at the same time.

She took me to a duck restaurant and I got my first Beijing Duck in Beijing itself. She was and is a delightful lady. After the meal, she asked me how I liked it. I looked at her and said the food was great and the company was even better.

If those damn foreigners hadn't been so loud! Is what I said next. A group at the next table of Americans (I am American, too) were obnoxiously loud. I never realized until several hours later what I had said and the irony of it.

In four months I had started to think like the best of the Chinese. Two years ago I met my wife and now I know exactly how the best of the Chinese thinks every day.

I am blessed.