partying, chinese style

at mizzou i was a volunteer at the asian affairs center. doing this work afforded me an opportunity to travel to china. i met a man there named bill, who was from chongqing. a few days ago we finally got to see each other again. he took me to his hood to show me around and meet his colleagues. as soon as we get there, we go into a banquet room of this restaurant. food is being served on a table that has a huge circular plate. you just spin this plate around and grab whatever looks delicious. it is all chinese food, some that looks familiar, and some i have no clue what it is. i try it anyway. i figure i might as well enjoy china and what it has to offer. even if i do end up with a tapeworm or something. while the servers are bringing out the food, i notice they began to open bottles of this clear liquid. i think to myself, here we go, out comes the baijiu (bye-joe). baijiu is this alchohol that chinese men love to drink. the women do not really drink it, and if you are a man and do not drink, it is considered disrespectful. one of the americans i have met claims she can use it to clean off the paint on her windows. and i am putting this down my throat. so at this dinner the men toast everyone and anyone with shots of baijiu, constantly. after about an hour of this, we leave to meet bill's wife. his wife has a friend with her, who i think bill is trying to set me up with. she was not bad looking and her english was really good. one think i have noticed about chinese women is most do not really shave and they will wear the same outfit over and over again. it is like they are wearing a superhero costume, or maybe they are just on the cusp of the new wash cycle. so as of yet, i am not really into them. after we meet up with the women, we all go to get massages, the legitimate kind. the massage takes about an hour. they actually wash your feet, and they end with rubbing a bag of hot rocks all over your back. it was very nice. my feet have never been so clean. when the massage was over, what happened next? you guessed it, more food and baijiu. i am thinking, we just ate two hours ago!! of course it is another huge meal that consists of many more dishes. also at both meals, they hand out packs of cigs. i have finally run out of camels, and i think certain types of chinese smokes are making me feel like shit. all the drinking is not helping. after this we all go home and pass out. the next day we get up and eat breakfast. i am wearing my same clothes because i stayed over, but so is everyone else. the men and the women. they are all superheroes. after breakfast we walk along the river. bill lives near the yangtze river. the longest river in china. it is a nice walk, but i am feeling really crappy because of the chinese squares, and the last thing i want is more chinese food. of course before i leave to go back home, we eat a huge lunch. we just ate breakfast two hours ago!! i can barely eat, i just pick at the rice to satisfy my new group of very hospitable, chinese friends. sometimes i long for chinese food from home, like the kung pao chicken. ed likes his chicken spicy. i have not been able to find that here. anyway i get home and sleep the day away. i felt much, much better, when i awoke.