What I Learned in China This Weekend

It's been an eventful weekend. It was a bit of a blast from the plast in a really odd, disconnected way.

It was kind of like a dream. You know how sometimes you'll have a dream and there will be other people that you know from your real life, but they don't look or act or sound like the real person and yet you just know who they really are? And sometimes it will be a really bizarre combination of persons and bodies? Like the person you are shopping with (in your dream) is most certainly your Mom but she just happens to look and sound exactly like Oprah. And it's perfectly normal and logical that your Mom should happen to inhabit Oprah's body, and you don't question or doubt it all. And the mall you're shopping at is most certainly the exact mall you bought your prom dress at, but instead of being in B-town or even Canada, it's in Russia - but you don't question this incontinuity either.

That's exactly what this weekend was like.

It was a blast from the past because I went out clubbing just like I did way back in the day. Y'know, like a good, whole entire 4 or 5 months ago.

In this particular case, my clubbing ended up being an educational experience as well. This is what I learned:

1. Hangovers are just as annoying and uncomfortable in China as they are in Canada.
2. The alcohol level of Chinese beer is 3.1%
3. The Chinese are lightweights and don't generally make it past midnight.
4. As a foreigner you can get the entire night for free when it could have easily cost approximately $180-200CAD (including drinks and a fruit platter - which is bar finger food out here, by the way)
5. No matter how badly you dance or how cheesy and circa 1993 your moves are, the Chinese will still think you're the best dancer there.
6. Anyone you meet who can speak any English at all will declare you their best friend and/or future wife.