While my friends and I were travelling in Beijing we ran into a man who owned a restaurant right outside of Tsinghua University. When we were Tongli he told us to come by and eat at his restaurant because he would give a discount. So tonight we went.

When we arrived the man was outside ready to greet us. I think he had been expecting us since we called and told us we were coming. He welcomed us in and took us upstairs. At this point I was already impressed with how he was treating. It was above and beyond my expectations. So we chatted for a while about our trip and other things. I thought to myself, “alright, this is cool we are just going to eat some food, chat and have a good time”. We had some beers and started eating food.

All of a sudden he brought a bottle of clear alcohol. The label said Northern Tiger. Then I thought to myself, “alright, this isn’t so cool. He brought out the Bai Jiu. This is what all my friends warned me about”. Being a good guests and all myself and all the other ‘men’ at the table had to drink some Bai Jiu. Our friend, the owner, treated the women a little nicer and did not make them drink too much, but he was ready to have all the guys drink. When we first started dinner I thought it was cool that I got to sit next to him, but after the Bai Jiu came out I knew it was not a good place to sit. We made a toast and drank most of our first serving. I thought that if I finished what had been given to me I would not have to worry about being rude and not finishing my drink later. I should have remembered Jesse’s stories about drinking in Japan. Our friend must have been watching my glass because no sooner than I had finished my drink my glass was full again. Darn it!

All in the all the Bai Jiu was alright. I expected a lot worse after the stories I had. I am not saying that I would want to drink it all the time, but every once in a while it is alright. And I certainly could not start the night with Bai Jiu. Bai Jiu has a spicy taste, but it is not spicy like food, but it is like a spicy hot. Maybe similar to the cinnamon red hot candies. Don’t let me fool you though. It does not taste as good as those cinnamon red hots. I think it definitely has a hint of gasoline or something similar to it.

Anyways, after eating our meal and having enough Bai Jiu we left. Before we left the owner’s assistant, I suppose, came by and thanked us for coming. He gave us VIP cards, so next time our dinner will be even cheaper. He even told us to prefix his surname with Xiao. Unfortunately I forget his surname. In any case we were all surprised by this because people usually do this when joking, or making nicknames or calling someone who is younger than them. I thought it was very humbling of him to say that.

After dinner we all went different ways. A few of us accompanied our teachers to the bus stop, so they could catch the bus home. On the way we dou dou feng’d, or rode our bikes down the road letting the wind go through our hair.