Well. I am not really sure if this is something that I have written about before or not. I’m too lazy to really check. But any who, drinking in China. Oh yeah I remember what I wanted to say. Girls get judged on how good they look. Other girls look at other girls and think, am I hotter than she is? Guys on the other hand judge each other on drinking. Yes guys do think, can I beat this guy up, but really in business it comes down to drinking. When you do business here or anywhere for that matter you better know how to drink and get good at hiding trying not to drink. I went out to a place that young socialites like myself usually frequent. I met a friend and we sat and drank a little. Girls in China traditionally don’t really drink. This girl does. But we weren’t really getting what some would call “ham boned.” Some of her friends arrived. This got interesting. My friend is Chinese, her friends are Korean and learning Chinese. Why was this interesting? Because these dudes were pretty friendly and spoke Chinese really clearly. Perfect for trying to listen and learn. That night I learned a lot….. and ate chicken heart.. It’s a little chewy. But more importantly I made some new friends. Their English sucks but their drinking was admirable.
This is not the girl that I was with, but, rather a random Chinese girl I work with.. Thought you might like to see what Chinese people look like up close..
So to make some sort of point, guys base respect on how much you can drink. Not all respect but some yes. Business, new friends, friends of friends, if you can’t drink we are going to have some issues. It’s sad to say but hey.. I didn’t invent this social construct. So when in China drink.. If you can drink more then your host. Not so much to put them to shame but enough to let them know that you mean business.
Now a few tips if this gets out of hand. Water looks like Bajiu, drink water, puke and then drink more (don’t make it obvious), throw shots under the table, over the shoulder, mix shots with other liquids, spit it out. My advice is to think outside the box when trying to dodge drinking. But remember to not let your host know what is going on.. If they catch you all hell will break loose as well as you losing a s ton of face, and in China you want to lose a limb, rather than lots of face..
The moral of the story is…
Everyone worldwide will be your friend if you drink with them. It’s pretty much law. It will always be this way. Who am I to argue with this? I’m just along for the ride.
This guy sleeps here every night.. No I am not kidding..