So about that date. Oh, China you can be oh so different.
So here is how the night went. I was invited to so to a KTV, which is a karaoke place. So, well, to do that as a first date in the States is kinda out there in left field. Unless it’s big in your area I guess.
Anyway, it’s normal I guess here. I mean, at least going singing is. Going on first dates to a singing place, not sure if that’s normal or not.
So, I get there and there are three girls wailing away to some Chinese pop songs. I didn’t know how many people would be there. I met the girl and her friends. Everyone seemed pleasant enough.
We talked a little bit, but sang more. They kept trying to get me to sing, the problem is that I don’t know that many Chinese songs. I know a few, so I sang the ones that I knew. They also figured that I must be able to sing just about ever English song that they had on the computer system. Which I can’t. So that was a little awkward.
A couple hours after that, we bailed and everyone headed home. We didn’t get to talk much. It was more of a meet and greet to feel me out. So that she could get a feel for me and make sure that I wasn’t a murderer or anything.
I did get the usual questions. Do you plan on staying in China, you can’t can you? Which if I say no, then the date is over. Not much of a future in that. So I have to say yes and tip toe around that one.They were pretty relaxed around me. They are a little older, 24 and up. Usually young kids haven’t seem much, or interacted with foreigners so they act all weird. So that’s good, or bad depending on your perspective.
There weren’t that many language issues. They speak standard Mandarin. They aren’t locals so at least I didn’t have understand the studdering that the locals do. With meeting new people, in any country, there is always some getting used to the way they talk, the patterns, their word choice, etc. With meeting them they used some words that I don’t hear often, so, it took me a minute to figure out what they were trying to say. But that leads me to this.
They did do something every other Chinese person does and it drives me absolutely insane. At least this time I didn’t chew their asses for doing it. I was nice and calm. But made sure they knew what was up. I don’t know what to call it, but basically when you don’t understand something you usually would pause. Well, when you think about how to answer something, you also pause. So being a non-native Mandarin speaker, every-time you pause, the locals think that you don’t understand. So one of the girls asked me a question, I took 2 seconds to think about it, that was too long, she told the other girl to translate, and I then tell her I understand and I was thinking about it.
That was slightly awkward.
So really, she seems like a cool girl.
Hopefully we’ll hang again. And to be honest, I always wanted to make out with an art teacher.
So yeah, that is what a date, or first, blind type date is. A feeler. Probably a group date.
Good times