Other Waiguoren

The first few months here, I was always excited to see other foreigners.  But now when I see them, there is a moment of "What are you doing here... here in my part of China?"  I am not sure when this shift happened.  I think it happened when I started to see tons of foreigners, and not just regular foreigners.  The foreigners who have Chinese girlfriends they treat like crap, the ones who clearly couldn't get a girlfriend in the states.  This is not to say that all foreigners in China are like that.  My fellow volunteers clearly don't fit into this group!  All my foreign friends do not fit into this group.

But as I may or may not have mentioned, I have become friends with the International Department teachers and students.  I was thrilled when I was invited to go to dinner in the country for a student's birthday party.  The whole department, teachers and students, went to this student's family's villa.  It was amazing!  Huge!  All the houses in that area screamed money, and were based off western designs.  Terrible for the rain though, slippery ass stairs on a rainy day.  They had tons of Shaokao (BBQ) for us to BBQ.  The students went crazy and cooking my own food quickly became impossible.  But if I hung around the students who were having more fun cooking than eating would give me food.  The parents immediately supplied the two foreign teachers, Nick and Lawrence, and me with cognac.  Very pleasant cognac.  The students went crazy 'toasting' Lawrence with Budwisers (expensive imported beer) that has materialized.  Lawrence was mostly saying no, but drinking a bit.
*Sidebar about drinking in China.  It is not really socially acceptable to just drink, people toast each other or play games*
Soon enough though both teachers were smashed, embarrassingly smashed.  I was mortified listening to them howl the Beatles and putting their arms around everyone.  Everyone else was just calmly watching and chuckling shaking their heads.  How do you not feel like Chinese people judge you based on the few drunken foreigners?

Liao and a student!

The evening was fun, the ride home with Liao was interesting.  He was quite drunk, sitting in the back seat with me.  Trying to get me to come work for his department next year.  Nice guy, I don't think I could cut it!  Too much work.  As he himself said "Right now you are free."