Birthday celebrations are usually very social over here. Just like at home, you gather all of your friends and go out. Sometimes for dinner, sometimes for drinks, sometimes both. The biggest difference is here the birthday boy (or girl) must pay. There are no buying drinks / shots for the birthday boy. So when deciding where to go and who to invite, it's based on how much money you want to spend (or don't want to spend). After changing plans a few times, we met at the Empty Bottle pub around 9 pm. The bus ride back from Xiamen took almost two hours and I thought the bus was going to die a few times on the way home. It was an exhausting and frustrating trip. The bus was like a sauna and traffic was terrible.
Anyways, the turnout for Max's birthday was really great. Jason, Charlotte, Steven and Jody came. A handful of collegues from school came and also some of the friends Max has made here over the last four years - Joe & Tina, Gabriel & Lucy, Tony, Bruce & Lisa (Bruce gave his wife my name b/c he said it was so pretty - poor girl - hahaha). Fellow Canadian Amber came too - she is very funny and entertaining. Mr. Hong (I teach his daughter) and his friend came too. Apparently I am supposed to buy a cake and bring it to the celebration - but since this is all very new to me, Mr. Hong's friend went out and bought a fancy cake. In the picture, the centerpiece on the cake is a large candle that once lit, shoots out a small flame and opens up into a huge flower. It also sings Happy Birthday - the same way some birthday cards do at home. The cake was enormous - more than enough for everyone who came. Somehow it was decided that I should be in charge of cutting and handing out pieces. Just a little messy.
Many beers (and many hours) later, only a handful of people were left. Steven, Gabriel, Lucy, Max and I headed to a bar that is apparently open until 3 am or so. We walked in and not only was it empty, but it smelled like piss. So we left and went to a disco. What a crazy place that was! Terrible music, louder than loud. Not busy, but the people watching was great. Two guys were grinding next to our sofa area. There was a dance floor and a small stage. Steven had his dancing shoes on, so off he. An English song came on, so I went to find him. I'm not sure why, but for some reason he was having a dance off with three Chinese kids - maybe 20-ish. Steven is closing in on 40. It was so funny.
Getting home at 4 am and having to wake up for a 10 am childrens class is nothing short of a rough go. But since it wasn't my birthday, I didn't celebrate too much.
Sunday afternoon, we went to a dinner celebrating Joe & Tina's upcoming wedding (they will be married on the 28th - my first Chinese wedding). There was so much BBQ'd food. Gabriel & Lucy came, but the beer selection was not to Gabriel's liking. They left and came back with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of Jack Daniels for everyone. The restaurant gave us Coke, Orange Juice & ice. Perfect.
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