This alone was daunting, but it was made even tenser by the attendance of my girlfriend's grandpa. Unlike the others, grandpa had actually seen Americans before - 60 years ago in Korea, on the opposite side of a battlefield.

Grandpa must have gotten wind of my anxiety, because as soon as I walked in he shouted, "Who brought this American devil?" The family erupted in laughter. Good one, gramps.

In the end, my anxiety was for nothing. The family's "grilling" consisted of asking which dishes I liked best and if I'm used to the cultural differences. In a token homage to the tradition, grandpa said, "I hope you can return every year!"

Mission accomplished.

Aside from a few different customs and the language barrier, the whole week was hardly discernable from holiday gatherings back home. It gave great hope to someone who's generally quite cynical about the future of world affairs.

A generation ago it would have been unimaginable for a family in China to treat an American who intended to marry their daughter with such warmth, even with a little good-natured ribbing.

Whatever petty differences our leaders and media tout, it's the people of our countries who will ultimately realize that our similarities are overwhelmingly more significant. So I hope stories like mine will continue to be less and less unique on both sides of the Pacific in the Year of the Rabbit.

The author is a master's candidate of Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University. His blog: sinostand.com. ericfish85@gmail.com