By far, last night was one of the greatest nights we’ve had in China. The school treated us to a going away/Christmas dinner. We went to Golden Hans, a Brazilian style buffet. Chinese women were dressed in German attire serving German beers (not for us) while the men walked by every table offering different meats on Brazilian style skewers. Culturally confusing but nonetheless delicious. After we stuffed ourselves with delicious barbecue, we headed to 88 Bar (pronounced Ba Ba Ba) to do some karaoke. Alastair and I have wanted to do karaoke for quite some time, and tonight our moment had finally arrived.
Karaoke bars can run from 100 Yuan per hour or up to 2,000
Yuan per hour. The place the school chose was definitely on the high end. Our
group had our own private karaoke room filled with fruit and colas and our own
waitress who would clap after every performance. The room was decorated with
every shiny thing they could get their hands on. There were tambourines and
maracas to shake and... gas masks. Nobody was too sure why there were gas
masks…
Alastair and I started the night by singing a song from
Gotye and then followed some Chinese performances, rock and roll, country, hip
hop, techno, and power ballads. Everybody was so into it, which made it very
enjoyable. Alastair and I aren’t the best singers, but we had a great time
belting out songs from La Roux, Kings of Leon, Johnny Cash, Mumford and Sons, and even Miley
Cyrus. Yes, I actually sang a Miley Cyrus song. Everybody was dancing,
clapping, and singing their hearts out; we sure went with a great group!
Tonight made me realize how thankful I am for having been
able to work with an amazing group of people. I’ve never seen a school with a
real sense of unity like this school; it’s as if they’re really a family.
During our stay in Luoyang, they’ve taken good care of us and they’ve made sure
that we’ve fully enjoyed it here. I hope I will always remember them and this
wonderful night.