An entertaining weekend to say the least

Where to begin?

This weekend began with a serious potential for lameness. I was going to settle into my new apartment, get my books, go to some random parties with my sister. Nothing too thrilling. Apparently the city decided that it was time to get back to business and welcome me with open arms and lots of cocktails.

Friday started out well. I woke up, went for a tour of my new campus, Tsinghua University. Afterwards our teachers dropped us off at this amazing/ridiculous Africa themed bar. There were gazelle heads mounted on the walls (real? unclear), zebra skins on the walls, animal print seat covers, dark wood carvings on the walls, and lots of good Akon playing. Apparently everything is for sale, and my program has an 85% discount for students, booyah! So the alcohol began flowing at 4:30 and went on flowing through the night. Before heading back to my sisters apt I had dinner with some people from my new Chinese program and then went home to shower and change for a night out with The Climber and his fam. We went to this swanky bar/restaurant called Face where papa Climber was picking up the tab and drinks like Jagertini's were settling in my stomach. Just to prove once more to the world that I am less cool than I pretend to be, I agreed to play a few rounds of pool and discovered that my only skill is cheerleading, and helping to point out to my partner exactly where to hit the ball. My own shooting skills leave a lot to be desired, unfortunately for my ego and boundless desire to be a bar sensation. When the bar finally closed, the climber, his sister a friend of theirs and I hopped into a cab and headed to Sanlitun (bar district) to do a little dancing. Though I kept my head above water the drinks took their toll and I am glad its winter because my knees are bruised and hurty.

Saturday started out poorly. I woke up at 1:00pm, hungover and wanting mostly to hide my pounding head under a pillow. I managed to get some food and a mani-pedi before returning home to get ready for the nights festivities. My sister was taking me out to a birthday party and then to a semi-formal holiday party hosted by some people who work for the US Embassy. I prepared myself for lots of talking, little drinking, and unnecessary standing, which sounded good to my aching body. Unfortunately the evening ended up being one of the more fun nights I've had in Beijing since arriving in September. The birthday party was at this Mexican restaurant called Lugo's Villa. Besides the good food and margueritas (which I had plenty of), the place was a little odd but with a cool vibe. There were tv's playing soccer games around the bar, a pool table and lots of good standing room. The music was a little random (Savage Garden, followed by Guns and Roses, followed by Metallica, and then back again). We headed out to the second party at 9:30 and the evening took off from there. Although the party began as a relaxed chatting, standing, introducing and nibbling type event it slowly morphed into what I can safely call a rager. I met a lot of my sisters friends and ended up hanging out with another Class of '08er from Harvard for most of the night. By midnight the previously calm guests were liquored up and in a dancing mood. I watching in amused excitement as girls in cocktails dresses took shots straight from vodka bottles, as men scrambled to grab bottles of vodka, rum and eventually (when the hard stuff ran out) beer, and everyone began dancing, singing loudly and rocking out. I'm not sure how long that lasted (the details are hazy), but eventually the party ended and Harvard and I left with some of his friends to hit up a club. How I managed all of this after my epic hangover is beyond me. But before giving up on the clubbing plan a group of about 6 of us ended up playing an amazing drinking game in the middle of the road called Street Fighter (oh yes, JUST like the video game) that consisted of emphatic gestures and yelling of things like "YOGA FLAME!" and "HARUKEN!"

Needless to say, a wonderful evening.