Playing with the Chinese Teachers

So the Chinese teachers at my school are always asking me to “play” with them. That is what they call it when they go out dancing and singing. The Courtney’s say that it is one hell of an experience, and I always wanted to, but I was never able to go until this weekend. Both Courtney’s were away for the weekend, so I was excited when Ms. Qian (my Chinese assistant teacher – phonetically Ms. Chian) asked me to come play with her. So I meet up with her around 10 and she took me to 03 VIP Disco Dance Club in Qibao.

Remember how I told you before that we refer to things as “very Chinese” when it is all Chinese and no expats?? Well the Qibao Dance Club was very Chinese! Although, the Chinese teachers say that it is “very country” – that is the term that they use to describe things that are kind of ghetto or not very trendy per say (they use that term a lot). So anyway… it is VERY CHINESE.

Chinese dance clubs are interesting in the way that they are set up. There are a lot of tables, booths and couches set up everywhere, but you have to pay to sit down. After you pay for a table, you get a server who brings you a pitcher of water and a large plate or basket of assorted fruits, some popcorn and other snacks. There is not a bar that you can just walk up to – you have to sit at a table to get drinks. You can’t just order one drink either; you have to buy a bottle of liquor or a pitcher of beer. I guess that’s how they keep people there longer. There is a big dance floor in the middle with a DJ and a bunch of random stages and polls throughout the bar where guys and girls dance and pole dance. The Chinese teachers call the dancers, “sexy girls” and “sexy boy” although I must admit that I did not find them very sexy…

So anyway, as soon as we get there, we head straight for the dance floor. The actually floor was crazy! It was almost like a trampoline or something, but it bounced and moved as the people danced! It kind of reminded me of the floors in a gymnasium for tumbling… the ones that absorb the shock and make you jump higher, but much more dramatic. It was impossible to stand still while on the dance floor. Anyway, it was soooo weird at first and it kind of took me a minute to get used to it. I think that if I was drunk and in heels, I am not sure if I would be balance. The dance floor was jam packed with people, and honestly, more guys than girls (which is different from American dance clubs usually). It seemed like everyone was just dancing by themselves, not really any groups or couples, and everyone was dancing in the same way – two-steppin and swinging their heads back and forth. There were tons of lights and chandeliers and disco balls and such covering the bar, and big TV screens everywhere playing videos

As the only foreigner in the whole club, guys were coming up to me none stop, getting right in my face trying to say stuff to me, but Ms. Qian would just tell them to go away. It is actually hysterical how fascinated Chinese people are with foreigners. You would have thought I was a green alien in the middle of the club. The music selection was interesting, too. They played both Chinese and English songs but everything with a techno remix (Chinese just love techno). My personal favorite was probably the Titanic song with a techno remix… can you imagine?

So sexy boys and girls get up on the stages periodically and dance for a song or two. They all wear interesting costumers or just skanky little clothes (like a stripper outfit, but they don’t strip). Some of them just dance with the pole and some of them actually pole dance. My favorite was sexy boy! Let me tell you about sexy boy… he was wearing tiny little black leather underwear with a belt, a black boa around his neck, black leather gloves (without the fingers), sunglasses and lace-up, knee high, black leather platform boots (do you have a good picture of this?). His hair was spiked in a faux-hawk but the hair was longer in the front than in the back, so it progressively got taller (like 6 inches). Let me tell you, although I did not find his outfit sexy, he did things on that pole that girls would never be able to do, yet he was bending and rolling around as flexible as a girl. I stared at him for the longest time mesmerized.

Another teacher, Ms Zhou (Ms. Jo) met up with us at the dance club for a little bit, then the three of us headed downstairs to KTV. Now, last time I went to KTV I LOVED it, however, we had twenty plus people and we were all drinking/drunk and we were all singing and dancing and having a grand ol’ time! I was not sure how it was going to be with just three people, but they really wanted to go so we went. Like I told you before, when we go to KTV, it is like Karaoke in a personal room. There is a large TV that shows the lyrics and a little video, and then there are couches and tables and a computer to pick your songs. You can buy pop or drinks to bring in the room with you and you just hangout and sing until 5:00 am. It was kind of weird though. Both of them were tired, so they wanted me to just pick songs and sing them while they rested. That is not exactly my idea of Karaoke though… I do love singing and all, but I love Karaoke because I like singing with people and dancing and whatnot. Ms. Qian can read a little bit of English so she could sing a couple songs with me, but Ms. Zhou cannot read at all.

I mean, I made the best of it and I sang my little heart out for several hours, but by 4:00 am I was cashed out and decided to leave a little early. Luckily it was only about a mile or so walk back to my apartment. The whole night was kind of weird I think because it was just me with the Chinese teachers, but I think I would go again and have more fun if more of the teachers came out or if the Courtneys went too. We will see...