Last night my work had a dinner for all of the staff. It was my first authentic chinese eating experience. These kind of dinners are very important in Chinese culture, they are a time for socializing, well wishing and most of all... drinking.
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| They like to eat things still in the shell |
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| the spread |
Each table has a large "lazy susan" in the middle, food it placed around the edge and everyone eat straight from the same dish. So if you don't like sharing food, don't come to China. Fish, crab, prawns, soup, pumpkin and noodles. I stuck to the vegetables, noodles and lots and lots of Sprite. I'm still not used to eating things that still have their limbs and eye attached. Also, It a lot of effort to crack a crab or de-limb a shrimp for the small amount of meat they have.
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| fish: bone and all |
Toasting is the most important activity of the night. The person with the highest status (manager or boss) opens the evening with a toast for everyone. After that it is customary for people to go around and toast each other individually, especially the lower employees toasting those above them. So you can imagine after a few rounds of toast that those with most authority are often the ones who are the most drunk.
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| the broccoli that I ate mostly |
After dinner we hit up KTV (karaoke) in true Chinese fashion. The regional manager and the branch manager were both visually drunk. The regional manager, Coco took every opportunity she could find to give me a big hug, this was the first time I ever met her. I became her best friend in the room. I sang a couple songs, gave a few (too many) hugs and then called it a night. Being Chinese wears you out.
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