It could almost have been Iowa...

On a recent Saturday we attended a John Deere Family Day, to celebrate the opening of the new factory and allow family members their one opportunity to tour the facilities and see where their parent or spouse works.                                     The day was clear and not too hot, a perfect day for the fun. The sky looked like it could have been in Iowa...

However, I don't think I've ever seen the blow-up celebratory arches anywhere but here in good ole' China.

To greet us, there were several gold-painted figures from American history (I think). Still not sureexactly who they were representing, but they were good at standing motionless!

There were also life-sized cartoon characters, including the beloved lamb (I do not know it's name) that

has adventures outsmarting a wolf--akin to the Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote.  About this time, I was beginning to wonder if this was a John Deere factory or Disneyland.

Kevin explained that the local managers didn't do all the planning, they just hired a

celebrations company.  So, I guess we got the generic party. 

 I have to admit it was pretty nice seeing the facilities, though I would have been just as happy after seeing one engine, one tractor, and one transmission (instead of touring the 3 different factories)

 Still, it was an almost patriotic feeling that came upon me as we saw the rows of John Deere-green tractors and equipment lined up.  

As one of the main managers, Kevin was one of four to give a welcoming speech (which he did in Chinese!), and they also cut a ribbon.  It didn't actually go anywhere--just symbolic, I suppose.

 The big backdrop showed a rural setting with a happy family (with THREE children) and a windmill--probably to show the Chinese how environmentally-conscious the company is.  I don't recall John Deere being involved with windmills, but the sign must have been approved.  And the Chinese ARE becoming concerned about air pollution. 

We ended with an interesting sack lunch--chicken nuggets and two different sandwiches on hamburger buns:  one was a shrimp patty and the other was a very spicy chicken.  Way too much food for me!

We keep reminding Alice that events like this show just how fun it is

to still be part of our family here in China!