Today is my birthday. I think thirty-two is going to be a good year for me, and since this is my last birthday before I dedicate my evenings to Dr. Seuss and the Velveteen Rabbit, I thought I ought to celebrate. So I did. We had a party at our apartment last night that lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

Here is what happens when you tell guests from around the world to show up for a party at seven o'clock: The Chinese arrive at 6:50, the Koreans arrive at 7:00 on the nose, the Americans show up 9:00, and the Germans come in at midnight. We had eleven guests all together, but because of their scattered comings and goings there were never more than seven people in our place at any one time.

I think next time I will tell people to come at different times depending on their nationality. On the other hand, if I perfectly schedule everyone for degrees of fashionable lateness, I won't have enough chairs and I will have to serve drinks in plastic cups. Having guests come in shifts means I will never have to buy service for twelve, I just need to keep washing glasses throughout the night.

From last night's party, I can say there are several points of agreement for people around the world: Chicken wings are great. The classic American bar food works just fine coming out of a wok. Americans eat them with their fingers, Chinese eat them with chop sticks, but everyone likes them, regardless of their national palate.

Everyone also likes deviled eggs and chocolate chip cookies. As if there were ever any doubt.

I received a few gifts for my birthday, and I waited until the party was over to open them, as is customary in China. I like that tradition much better than the American one. Opening presents is fun for the birthday girl, but not really for the guests, so why put them through it? One of my Chinese friends bought me two books from Book City, the only bookstore in Qingdao with a good English language section. Bundled together in wrapping paper were Chicken Soup to Inspire the Body and Soul and the Tao Te Ching.

Comparing East and West is one thing, but packaging those two volumes together is stacking the deck.