Arriving at the restaurant fifteen minutes late and heading straight to the table, I quickly dashed to the bathroom which to my surprise was a porcelain bowl planted into the ground. Luckily there was not a need to perform a number two of the bowels.
Back at the table finishing doing the round of welcome to everyone, I new that I was on the one the hand the new guy with uncertainty in store and on the other side having the look of everyone’s eyes focusing and saying ‘you are part of the Chinese economy now’.

The food began to fill up the table of eight people and all eyes on me to see if I could use chopsticks, everyone smiled and tucked into the delicious plates of Chinese–Chinese food and not the usual plate of western Chinese full of onion.

The colors and aroma over took the uncertainty to a new level of thinking that I had made the correct decision. The food was arriving in a fantastic order and I was thinking the thought of ‘the Chinese know how to cook’. Tasting the dishes that contained sliced donkey, which tastes like corn beef to dumplings filled with meat, everyone chatted and gave me some small advice that I was trying to store in the aroma of Chinese flavors.

Within minutes the beer was flowing and a glass of clear liquid known as Chinese white wine tasted my lips leaving a sweet pleasant aromatic flavor. I learnt my very first of many Chinese words GANBEI and drinking the whole glass; everyone was questioning with their thoughts whether I would be ill the next day or shocked to see the new guy drink. During the course of the evening I noticed that the beautiful mixture of aromas were being distracted by the aroma of men smoking, and the battle of which aroma shall win was about to take its course.

But knowing what would really happen was not a mystery, as both aromas would combine with the holding of a white peace flag and forming friendships.

After several ganbeis’ later, I asked exactly what the translation was and felt very happy with all my worries disappearing to another place. We all toasted the last drink of the dinner and began to proceed to a small but noisy bar with local sightseeing thrown in at no extra charge.

At the bar, I didn’t know what to expect and how I would go trying to order without speaking any Chinese. The question was ‘could this waitress speak English?’ as she moved around the floor decked out in a plastic outfit, advertising the bars head beer while looking if she was attending a Mardi Gras Parade.

A few minutes later and after some short introductions again, the beer arrived as well as the popcorn too. We proceeded to the upstairs area where the noise was not so loud and we all could chat and play a game of pool at the same time. Hearing the sound of foreigners talking, gave me a greater sense of ease and I was beginning to let more of the emotions and feelings disappear. Many of the teachers said that they had been in China for more than two years and also they were enjoying it enormously. I on the other hand was the new kid on the block and knew it even though I was ready for the uncertainty to begin. The alcohol had eased the emotions more and more.

By the time the last game was played it was midnight and I was proceeding to the taxi with the company family tree members and heading back to the hotel for some earned rest.

* * * * *

Pulling up the hotel lobby entrance feeling a little drunk, tired and with a head slightly filling with images of Beijing. I again proceeded to the reception area, just like I did in the afternoon but this time I was given a warm hello and the key arriving into my hand without fuss. The foyer area was brighter with the ambience of soft lighting and the tune of soft elevator music playing over head in the air.

Wanting to sleep as it had been a long full filling day that consisted of many sights and sounds, my bed was calling in a soft telepathy way through the door and down the corridor as I approached my room. Walking quickly with my feet and having my mind walking slowly, I couldn’t wait to get to bed. Opening the door and standing still glancing at the interior, I was taken back by the décor of mismatch furniture. It was like looking at the insides of a 70’s house filled with grandma’s hidden treasures and the odor of stale air flowing around and around while waiting for the door to open so that it can escape.

Touring the room was quick and easy with the highlight being the bathroom consisting of a running tap in the sink, a dripping shower head rusting the tap nozzles and the color of dark green walls with splashes of dirt. Positioning nicely on the bed was the first introduction to hard sleeper. The bed linen was clean and smelling fresh while the pillow was like a sack filled with rice.
After several minutes the groove in the pillow made my mind drift away into the land of blackness and silence.