What motivates this Chinese woman

So what motivates Chinese?

That's the coffee-conversation topic I had with an American-in-China friend. He has worked and traveled in the Land of the Awakening Dragon for quite some time (I forgot exactly, maybe 12 years.) I mentioned the Vineyard Worker who was so friendly and helpful at the Disneyland of Chinese Wineries. That's the lady mentioned in two earlier blogs.

"Be careful of her motivation," he warned.

He went on to explain that the Chinese have a motive for everything that they do. Who knows what it is for my kind Vineyard Worker. She might be looking for some reward in the future from a foreigner.

Being a newbie to the Chinese culture–two trips totaling 6 weeks on the ground–I don't claim to know what motivates a person in China.

But my friend's perspective made me think about what motivates anyone to act in a friendly or kind way? Me, it makes me feel better. I then thought about all of the warm experiences I've had not only in the USA, but traveling around the world: all the people in our church who brought meals when my wife Eddi was sick for years, Mrs. Langly in England, the Tuscany farmer's wife who let my wife and I stay in her best room and the list is long.

Somehow, I just assumed that the Chinese were like the rest of us, motivated by a wide array of reasons.