Adventures in Guangzhou!

Last night the school held a Mid-Autumn festival party which Steven and I were both invited to. We didn't quite know what to expect, but we figured it would be a good time to bond with some of the other teachers and at least put in some solid face time. One of the younger English teachers gave us directions to where the party would be and we set off last night in search of fun. First off, I should explain that the party was held on campus. How convenient! It seemed a bit odd to me to have a party in the main office building, but what do I know? So we took the elevator up to the 5th floor, hung a right, and were met by quite a sight. The "room" for the party was a full-on social hall, complete with two disco lights, enormous loud-speakers, a large bar in the corner, a big dance floor, a stage, a projection screen hooked up for karaoke (obviously), and dozens of tables and chairs with food and drinks set out. Wow! I'm just trying to imagine my old high school having a secret party room where the teachers would go to drink and sing karaoke. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.

They told us 8:30pm for the start of the party so we figured 8:45pm would be a good time to show up. As it turns out we were fashionably early. Oh well. Regardless, they were very excited that we came, judging by their immediate efforts to give us drinks, fruit, and mooncakes. Sure, why not? I was pleasantly surprised to see most of my new football teammates there as well. They managed to inform me that I have a new uniform waiting for me on Monday when I play, which I'm very excited about. At first I thought they were mad that I hadn't washed the one I borrowed yet, but no--apparently since I am on the school team, the school bought me a jersey of my own. Excellent! Anyway, as the party got under way, they started to pressure us to sing karaoke. Steven wasn't that excited about the idea but I was happy to oblige. I mean I don't love karaoke, but when in Rome, right? We perused the list of possibilities and it turns out they had a small number of English standards. Steven and I settled on "Let It Be" and got up to do our best fab four impression. The crowd definitely loved us, simply for the novelty value. I even sang "Yesterday" as an encore.

The next guy that got up to sing started belting out a very somber ballad, featuring disturbing images of World War II on the screen. I asked one of the teachers if it was a famous song and she said yes. After a pause, she went on to explain that this year's Mid Autumn Festival was especially important because they were commemorating the the anniversary of when Japan invaded China in 1937 (or after the Mukden incident of 1931, depending on who you ask). I asked if there was still a bad feeling between the two countries and she responded that many Chinese were still very upset about the actions of Japan during the war. I knew this full well but I wanted to hear it directly. I have a bad feeling that things are going to come to a head again between China and Japan sometime in the not-so-distant future too.

Back to the party, we moved on to a few party games after the first round of karaoke. Steven was bold enough to volunteer to participate in the first contest, which involved trying to cut up the outer skin of some type of citrus fruit as quickly as possible into 5 sections. He put in a valiant effort, but sadly finished last. Have no fear--he has vowed to practice daily in order to represent the USA better next time. After this game there was another round of karaoke, after which one of the older teachers got up and gave a long-winded speech about the history of the school and how teachers are so important to China. I'm sure it was very beautiful but I'd never know because I only understood about six or seven words from his mouth, including "now," "tea," "four," and "a little bit." So basically Steven and I (after he gave up listening) began to make smart-aleck comments to each other about what he could be talking about. What can I say? Sometimes I amuse even myself.

I got the call to participate in the next game which was decidedly easier. This game involved two teams each running over to a bowl on the ground filled with water and ping pong balls. The object is to use chopsticks to pick up a ball and carry it back to your team's plate, relay-style. They were all immensely impressed that I could use chop sticks, and wouldn't ya know it? My team won! It's still a bit funny to me that our ability to use chopsticks is heralded by everyone we encounter. Is it really that big of a deal? Maybe I should put it on my c.v.... Steven and I got to play the last game together which was more or less team charades. One person sat in a chair with the mic (me) and attempted to guess what the other person was acting out (Steven). We made for a very good team, and he impressed them all with his ability to read the cue cards of chinese characters. After a little bit more cheesy techno music, the night came to an end. I think my first Mid-Autumn Festival is off to a great start...