I was recently going through these old pictures from Chile in 2005 and I stumbled across one that was taken of Karina, myself, and some morning TV host that did a brief show at estacion central. You had to eat some CRAZY food that wasn't revealed to you until after, and hesitantly I took a bite. It ended up being silk worms, but in retrospect, after being in China, there's nothing I wouldn't eat. Hell, silk worms dipped in la jiao sauce are appetizers here. I've had pig brain, cow stomach, duck intestine, just to name a few (countless times). Silk worms?? Don't make me laugh, Chile...Meanwhile in Nanchong, we've recently become stars at the new local club Tian Shang Ren Jian (a piece of heaven). We're pampered and attention is lavished on us by the staff. Oh, but how can we ever repay them for such a service? We dance around on the lighted stage for ten minutes, then return to the bar and resume being pampered. It's a tough, tough life.
-The circle: The circle isn't bad. I shouldn't badmouth the circle. It's just when a few people hold hands and awkwardly raise their hands up and
down not even in sync with the rhythm, it can get old quite fast. It's incredibly popular though, perhaps because you're there with your friends and no one is really sure what to do or how to act.-The rock: I think the rock is perhaps most popular with the girls. I see a few guys doing it occasionally, but the rock is much more common with the female clubbers. It basically entails a girl with hands clenched, arms unextended, head shaking back and forth, hips moving ever so slightly. If you can imagine one of those boxing puppets that kids play with just sort of jerking from side to side, you've got the rock.
-The punch: The punch is the rock's younger sibling. It's the same body stance as the rock with fists clenched, but instead of keeping the arms stationary, they extend outwards in a punching motion. It's not a full punch either, it's just a casual half-uppercut. Right hand goes out on the up beat, left on the down beat and so on.
The whole club scene is different to begin with, too. I mean most people in the US go to the club to meet new people, have some drinks, etc... In China, the club is a place you go with some close friends, largely stick to yourself, most likely not dance, and leave before 12:00. Now, I should mention this is Nanchong, Sichuan province, not Shanghai. It's even different in Chengdu where clubs stay open until 4 or 5:00. It's not uncommon though here to see a group of guys sleeping on the couches or looking bored while observing the other people. I think KTV is still the predominant choice in terms of late night entertainment where you go with a small group of friends and get a private room where socialization with the unknown is kept to a minimum. With the birth of Tian Shang Ren Jian, the club scene in Eastern Sichuan takes a dramatic step in the right direction. Or perhaps it's westernization that's taking a step forward... Whether or not it's in the right direction is up for debate. I believe it is...
