圣诞节晚会 - Christmas Party

It's been a while since the last update but our activities continue apace. Rather than an indication of things slowing down, the lack of updates has actually been due to a combination of VPN issues (now resolved, fingers crossed) and new business ventures occupying most of my time. But rest assured, we're still here...

To bring you up to date, I introduce out biggest event yet and, as far as I've been told, the city's first traditional Christmas party! This event was on a different scale to what we've peviously organised and was so popular that we had to limit the amount of attendees; we actually ended up with a waiting list in double figures. It was a great night and, hopefully, we can build on this success and make an event big enough for everyone to attend next year.

With traditional Christmas snacks and drinks, including home made mince pies, mulled wine and cider, peppermint creams, chocolate drops, garlic breadsticks and many more treats, this was many attendees first experience of an English taste of Christmas. The food and drink was prepared over the course of two days by six group members and their efforts were very much appreciated. The mulled wine was a particular success, ensuring evereyone returned home with a merry heart and rosey cheeks.

To add to the Christmas spirit, we spent hours decorating our regular haunt, turning it into an image of Christmas that the locals present couldn't believe. Again, the support of regular group members was essential to making this happen. Throw in a selection of Christmas tunes, including classics like Stay Another Day by East17, All I Want for Christmas is You by Marah Carey and that really odd song by Bowie and Bing Crosby, and the scene was set.

For many, the highlight of the night was some festive themed games, including 'Dress the Santa' and 'Shaving Santa's Beard'. Games were requested by many of our Chinese members, for whom the idealised image of Christmas extends beyond drinking and eating excessively before passing out in front of the Queeen's speech. Dress the santa lead to some spectacular failures and, thus, the best picture from the night, with poor father Christmas looking like he's been subject to an Extraordinary Rendition by the US Government.

We hope to welcome even more people to next Christmas' follow up so, as ever, if you're in Liuzhou for a visit or a longer stay, contact us via email to get involved in future events. And if you fancy a change of scenery, there are plenty of jobs available in the city now at competitive salaries - get in touch!

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...

KTV

Everyone loves KTV. Everyone. If you don't like sitting in a dark, enclosed space, listening to your friends murdering classic mandopop hits at ear splitting volume, there has to be something wrong with you. I've heard people ask what the point of learning to read Chinese is, what with the use of pinyin as a phonetic system, and the ability to use your phone to translate text. The answer is obvious: if you can't read characters, how will you sing Chinese songs at KTV? In China, and across Asia, KTV culture is huge and, if you want to engage with life here, learning to sing a couple of songs in the local language will get you a lot of kudos. At Liuzhou Meet & Learn, we organise regular KTV evenings, and I'm always surprised by how good people are at singing, particularly our local Chinese members - unfortunately, us foreigners don't always hold up our end of the bargain and I've witnessed some performances that made my ears bleed. I admit to bei...

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...

Liuzhou Meet & Learn

Search This Blog