Monthly Archives: February 2011

the cheap stuff

Last night we went out to the type of dinner that starts at 6 and ends after 11. I’m traditionally a big fan of 4 hour dinners, because they usually involve a lot of amazing food, but in my experience they’ve never involved 2 large handles of Baijiu (a clear liquor that is made from sorghum, often mistakenly translated as “white wine”…. it’s not). Chinese drinking culture is an interesting thing, especially to me because I love culture. And I love drinking.

I was discussing this at dinner last night with my (Chinese) friend Jenny. She asked me (for the 4th of 5th time) why foreigners like drinking alcohol so much. She gathers this impression from the movies, from her limited interaction with foreigners, and from the fact that during our week long China road trip back in October, once 5 pm rolled around Jeff and I always were asking for or already carrying a beer (it was vacation!).

the post-"gan bei"-expression

In China, the consumption of alcohol is much less of a normal, social thing and more traditionally tied to business – the theory exists that you can’t truly trust your business associates or potential clients until you’ve all gotten sufficiently wasted. So, Chinese business dinners often turn into 3 or 4 hour sessions of “Gan Bei”-ing with your Baijiu glass (informal translation: “Cheers”; direct translation: “Drink it all”) And they mean it – if you’re going to “Gan Bei,” it’s disrespectful to not finish what your holding. We explained last night that calling it a toast isn’t very accurate, because in America  a toast is not always about emptying your shot glass of 140 proof alcohol, it’s usually about taking a good sip of whatever it is you feel like drinking, in honor of whatever it is you feel like toasting to. It’s not obligatory, and it’s not repeated over and over throughout the meal. And while alcohol is certainly tied to business in America in some ways, it’s not usually a part of the business process, or exclusive to it. You get drunk after the deal is done, not as a prerequisite to the signing.

I was also reminded after my 2nd shot of baijiu that women are not expected and rarely do participate in the baijiu bingeing (for the record, it is a truly nasty tasting liquor and we were drinking one of the best bottles of it). It’s strange to me because when Jenny was asking me about foreigners affection for alcohol she was implying (in a curious, not mean way)  that we have much more of a problem with or dependence on alcohol which, in a certain sense, we do. But as Jeff and I reflected this morning – our heads aching just thinking about the Baijiu –   when the Chinese do drink they binge drink – the exact type of drinking we are taught in school and implored by our parents in America not to do. Basically Chinese dinner drinking could be compared to frat party drinking, or the general college mentality of getting completely smashed. I can’t count on two hands the number of times we’ve been walking down the street and watched a grown man in a suit, balancing on the arms of his colleagues or friends, puking his brains out into a garbage can or even better right on the sidewalk. Of course, young people drink here too, but even that is a more recent generational trend and arguably not as common as it is for young people in America. It’s an interesting contrast, and these are just my observations, based on limited experience and what’s been relayed to me by my Chinese friends. I am no authority on the topic, and to become one I’d have to suffer through a lot more Baijiu.

my FAVORITE dish ... fresh, meaty walnuts with chives

At any rate, last night was hilarious and so much fun - it was to celebrate introducing our (Chinese) friends Jenny and H with our (American) friend Walter, who amazes them with his Chinese language ability. They took us to a really traditional, famous Sichuan restaurant in Chengdu and while the food was very, very good it was the company and the experience that had most of my attention. We are so lucky to have met Jenny and H, and though it was admittedly initially exhausting for me to be friends with a couple we had such communication problems with, after 5 months we’ve all gotten to know each other so well – somehow defying the serious language and cultural barriers that seemed so imposing at first.

At the end of the night, I had Walter ask H if I had offended him with my karaoke skills last weekend because I distincly remember glancing over at H throughout the night, his face frozen in surprise?/ embarassment?/ awe? when I was dancing around and singing (like most of my friends would do in the same situation). The answer H gave Walter was not directly yes or no, and the translation relayed back to me went something like this… Well, Clara, it is true that you are unlike most Chinese girls, because most Chinese girls would not get up and jump around on the couches while singing karaoke. But we are friends, and I have known you a long time, and I know you are a liberal (read: wild), open (read: crazy) girl and I know you were just having a good time. As hard as we all laughed after his diplomatic response, it made me reflect on the significance of our close friendship with two people raised so differently from us, used to such different types of people, ways of life, and views on the world:  as much of a difference as Jenny and H are making in our lives here in Chengdu, we are changing theirs as well – just by being unlike anyone else they’ve ever known.