Ping Guo and Karaoke

So it is Friday, I have a whole list of things I would like to get done, before the school bus returns home... Off I go to Carrefour the big (french) grocery store. On my list are a few basic items such as fruit to stock up for the weekend. My kids have been on an apple kick lately... You know, I am not a big fan of shopping in China as there are different procedures here, like waiting in line to weigh you produce. So it was no surprise that my blood pressure shot up as I approached the produce section.... There was a sea of black heads, all pushing toward the fruit. In fact it was apples that they were clambering for. As far as I know there is no special event or holiday requiring a large amount of apples. The site was amazing. The workers were pouring new apples, wrapped in squishy paper, into to the bin, and the people were just grabbing them. I even saw a worker bark at an older woman who was grabbing too aggressively.... I looked at my list...Apples and bananas...there was little thought in my head... "abort mission now, get out...." There is no sale on produce that I can imagine that would make me climb over other people, push and shove to get the deal. I guess it was a little like shopping at 4 AM on black Friday in the US. Just substitute apples (or Ping Guo in Chinese) for home electronics.

On a more adventurous note. I did get a night on the town that night. The hubby happens to be in the US, luckily a fellow American expat included me with a group of women for a night of margarita's and karaoke. I have heard that it is a must to check out a local karaoke establishment. It is where the Chinese go to relax and let go. So this is how it works. First we went to a western bar for dinner, drinks, and a little live music. Then off to the karaoke place. You arrive and it smells like a movie theater with popcorn brewing at a counter. You buy your drinks and snacks before entering. They had everything..... canned Chardonnay and Rose.... bacardi breezers, beer. I was able to find a feeble bottle of wine and some perrier to share because I was fearful of the other stuff. So off we go, ushered into room 515. No, we don't have to sing in front of people we don't know, we get to make fools of our selves in private. It is a wonderful thing.

Despite the fact that I had laryngitis, we had a blast. Actually the laryngitis was probably a good thing. I didn't have to pretend that I could sing or not. I just barked like seal all evening.

Girlfriends, you know who you are!!!!!! This is a must do, especially in China. Some of the videos were western, i.e. Lady Gaga (I am not sure I appreciate her quest for shock value, one of her videos was on the verge of soft porn) others were western songs with a cheesy asian influence. We had some Chinese women with us who sang the Chinese pop songs beautifully. It is interesting to compare the different cultures. I would say Chinese pop reminds me of MTV in the 80's. We seriously sang for 3 hours (you rent the room by the hour). I was out later than I had been in years. Being honest, I am getting too old for late nights and drinking.... But it felt great to be out with a group of women from all over the globe for a ladies night out.