Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Dashan is invited. Let's see if he turns up.

Dear Mark,

I trust this is not too presumptuous an email, but I am writing to invite you to my wedding reception on 12 May 2012 in Beijing.

I am getting married on 5 May 2012 in Sydney to my Beijing fiancée. On 12 May 2012 we will be having a small (like, really small - 20 people) family reception at the Grand Hotel in Beijing with her family and some of our Australian friends. We would both like to extend an invitation for you to come along to the Beijing lunch if you are in town and free that day. A plus 1 is also welcome!

We don’t have many friends in Beijing, my fiancée (Shanshan aka Susan) left there over 10 years ago and we both live permanently in Sydney. We were talking about who we could invite to the lunch at Beijing and I said, ‘how about we invite Dashan?’ She was like ‘that’s crazy’. That was the end of that conversation.

Then I was reading your answers on Quora, which are really quite funny. So I go back to Susan and say, ‘read this answer from Mark on Quora, this guy’s alright, he sounds like a funny down to earth kind of guy who would be a great guest’.

Susan said 'who the hell is Mark?'

'Dashan'.

'Dashan's name is Mark? That's so weird. Alright then, if you want to invite him, invite him.’

So here we are! Although I realise that if you do come, I am subjecting myself to a life-time of comments from my in-laws that my Chinese is ‘almost as good as Dashan’s’. All the same, it would be great to see you there.

If you can't make it that day, no problem. Thanks for taking the time to read this missive.