Banquets

We've had our fair share of banquets here. They follow the same basic set-up: the dean of whichever college (they use the word college to mean 'department') is hosting will be there, maybe a party member or "spiritual leader", various teachers of the department, and us. Because we're foreign teachers, we're special. So we're not ignored. The other teachers often are, and left to their own discussions. Everyone is expected to drink and participate in the numerous toasts to the college, our teaching, our futures, thanks, etc. The dean or highest honored guest will make the regular three toasts, and then it moves down by rank. The next highest person can either make a toast to everyone, or begin walking around the table (usually literally a round table) and drinking with each person in turn. Normally this includes finishing the drink you have already, and they fill it with bai jiu. Though by this point, I've learned to ask if they have hong jiu, red wine, instead. This has worked out SO much better for me, because red wine is actually drinkable and somewhat ENJOYABLE. Sometimes they make you finish the full glass (especially if it's a man), and then you both clink glasses, seeing who can clink with their glass lower. I forget what it means to have the lower glass, but it's what you want. Sometimes I try, sometimes I don't care. Then you usually say "ganbei" which is the same as "Bottom's Up" and you should finish your glass. (Gan bei means dry cup, if it's the "gan" I think it is.) They'll fill your glass once more, and you can sit down and they move to the next person.

So this process can be repeated AT LEAST 6 times, so it's a lot of alcohol drank among everyone at these banquets. And sometimes KTV/karaoke will follow. But that's only happened to me twice. We never have to pay for anything, and we're not expected to.

These banquets don't happen randomly. The first round was at the beginning, welcoming us to Henan University. I suppose there could have been some around National Days, but we were traveling. And we had our most recent around Christmas for both the Winter Solstice and the end of the semester nearing.

I've had more fun at the banquets hosted by my own department, the college English department (for non-English majors). My dean is female, her name is Patricia, and she's a lot of fun to be around. There are also more people in my department since it includes EVERYONE else at the school involved in English, and it's more lively. Puppy is also always there too, whereas Jackie is not always invited to the other since he's part of the International Affairs Office, and not the foreign language department (what the other teachers are part of).

These are just a few pictures from the Solstice Banquet with my department. I'd just gotten a haircut (very little off- I just wanted to get rid of split ends) so my hair was straight because of that. They tried to brush and dry it into a very Chinese looking do, which I don't think suited me well. But I wasn't going to do anything with it cause I'm lazy. The older man you see was the retired president of the department... I think? I've forgotten now, but he was a lot of fun to talk to. And he was a tank-- he had more glasses of bai jiu than I could count and he was still going. That night ended in KTV.









I'll add more as I can-- uploading photos takes longer than writing the entries...