Houhi

Warning: This is not a "parent friendly" blog entry. Skip if you are not comfortable with discussion of young people partying if China.


A few thoughts about Houhi (pronounced Ho-Hi):
It is what I imagine Donkey Island from Pinnochio to be like. Disneyland for "grown-ups", it is built like Epcot around a lake. Instead of different stops for countries, the lake is surrounded by bars, clubs, restaurants, and shops. My favorite is this strip club called "Sex and Da' City". At night it is magical all lit up.


We went there the first night for Joe's birthday. None of us were that enthusiastic about going out, but 4 cabs worth made the trek out to celebrate with him. The cab ride was 20 min long and around 20 yuan (about 3 dollars). In Boston it costs that much just to get in the cab.
3 cabs met up, 1 did not. Long story short-we lost the birthday boy. We never found him and the other people he was with until we came back to the dorm that night, but judging from their stories, they had a good time too.
We stepped into some bars with live music, but after cringing at the prices of everything (which was still cheap by US standards, but crazy for China) we saw a man who was holding cheap beer and I found out he got it in a store in a shady alley. We got 6 yuan (one dollar) half liter beers and walked around watching the nightlife.


I found some pop art that I went back and got the next day. Only people on the trip will understand my "NEED TO GET ART!"
One of the kids I was with always drinks this awful cheap Chinese liquor. It smells like nail polish remover and the smell makes me want to vomit.
"Hey can you help me drink this?"
"Oh, I don't like that. No thanks."
"No I mean, can you pour it into my mouth? My hands are full."
He woke up still drunk which made for a hilarious 8 am. Chinese class the next day. I can barely do Chinese sober. More about Chinese later.

Last night we went out again. A bunch of us went this time including my TA and our 70-80 year old friend Ma. It was awesome. We went to a club called "Club". On a Tuesday night at 9 p.m. the place was bumping. Live music turned into a DJ and we danced. Even Ma danced and our TA had drinks with us. It was a good time and some really fun bonding.
Highlights: Someone drank something called the "Screaming Orgasm" that tasted like chocolate milk. Ma dancing on the floor to our cheers. Dancing with old Asian men and teaching them moves such as the shopping cart, the snorkel, the twist, and the sprinkler. Dancing on a platform with Dave. Watching Joe dance. Apologizing to Edek for being white. Going to buy art with Alex and getting really lost after buying 50 cent bubble tea. Every time a select member of our group danced on the stripper pole.


It was a funny time. I'm the worst dancer ever (think epilepsy) and even I was on the dance floor.

I FINALLY got to see how the Chinese dance-something I was curious about.
I consider going out doing research.

I leave you with these signs found on the street yesterday:
(One of the only signs I've seen with no spelling errors)