礼拜六的聚会－ Saturday Night Meetup

Ephesians 5:18 says: "and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit." If you've ever been drinking in China, you'll likely doubt the word of god here and agree that it's best to stay away from the spirits - they're almost certainly fake! Actually, and as if you needed another excuse to hit the beers, remember that wine in China is generally fake as well. I'm not sure where I was going with that quote.

Anyway, founded around 4 months ago, Liuzhou Meet & Learn has quickly become the biggest and liveliest social event in Liuzhou. Whilst definitely not debaucherous, there are certainly some drinks to be had every Saturday night at our regular meeting. We have over 30 attendees every week, and a total membership of nearly 100 people, ready to meet new local and foreign friends, to share their language, their thoughts and more.

When we first arrived in the city, we found there wasn't really an opportunity for the expat and local communities to mix in a casual, but organised and regular, way. Whilst it's great to 干杯 (literally "dry glass" or down drinks) with farmers at the roadside BBQ restaurants, the conversation never really extends beyond the locals expressing their amazement at a foreigner's ability to use chopsticks and eat spicy food. So, with that in mind, and a wish to break away from the more negative elements of the expat community in the city, we started a meetup at our favourite bar. Things caught on fast, and our membership continues to grow.

We welcome visitors to Liuzhou, and any locals of course, to join the party. All we ask is that you bring a positive attitude and that you socialise with other attendees in Chinese or English (or any other language, for that matter) - please don't play with your phone for the whole evening! We get together from 8pm every Saturday night and we're always happy to welcome new members.

Here are some pictures from our recent meetups; if you fancy joining in, send us a message to get the location.

Comments

烧烤 - BBQ

Whilst Brits tend towards pubs and bars for their evening socialising, the locals in Liuzhou go to the 烧烤 BBQ to chat and drink late into the night. These restaurants are on roadsides throughout the city and, given the great weather in summer here, provide the best opportunity for some al fresco dining with Chinese characteristics. By all means go to the BBQ for your main meal but many locals, after having dinner at home or elsewhere, descend on these restaurants for 宵夜, which roughly translates as a "midnight snack". Sitting outside on benches or yellow plastic chairs, you'll see dozens of tables packed with people eating 烤鱼 BBQ fish, 串 skewers of meat and veg, 炒米粉 fried rice noodles and other specialities. As well as the regular BBQ stalls, there are also some speciality places, including our favourite Mongolian style restaurant which serves up the most amazing lamb legs and ribs. Sitting in 30 degree heat at 11pm, eating amazing food, drinking cold, cheap, wate

Potluck Lunch

To welcome everyone back from the winter vacation in February, we put our cooking skills to the test, ate far too much and, as far as I'm aware, avoided giving each other food poisoning. The Chinese are obsessed with food and, if you spend much time in the country, you'll find yourself following suit. We certainly have. The food was as varied in its origins as the chefs themselves, ranging from a Denver omelette, fishcakes, fried rice, steak, quiche, sushi, popcorn chicken and the biggest 粽子 (a type of glutinous rice dumpling) I've ever seen! There were also the obligatory 番茄炒蛋 tomato with scrambled eggs and 可乐鸡翅 cola chicken wings; the two dishes that always make an appearance as all 1.4 billion Chinese are able to cook them. I was amazed at the culinary skills on display, even from those who claimed not to know what they were doing. This is an event that we'll definitely hold again, especially when the weather improves and we can make use of one of the man

春节 - Chinese New Year

Undoubtedly the biggest week of the year in China is nearly over, and the year of the pig is upon us. Here's a short update on how we've been celebrating... There are a lot of misconceptions about how China does Chinese New Year, often exemplified by confused visitors to Beijing and other big cities wondering why there's nobody there and why anything of interest has shut up shop for the week. "But where are all the fireworks and dragon dances", they cry forlornly into the empty void. Unlike our new year celebrations in the west, this is very much a family affair and, owing to the movement of people from the countryside to cities during the last 30 years, the need to spend time with family explains the mass exodus from urban centres as everyone heads back to their 老家 family home in the village. We were very lucky to be invited by friends we know through Liuzhou Meet & Learn to celebrate with their families. So we headed off, accompanied by unseasonably

Liuzhou Meet & Learn

Search This Blog