The more anecdotes and short stories about cultural conflicts, the better.

"Cultural Conflicts" Caused by Foreigners in China (2)

_ _ _ _ _ The "crazy" night after an American lost his job in Beijing.

Zhang Fang

I want to tell a series of stories, also called "culture conflict" stories, but what I want to tell, or more accurately, I choose to tell, is not the embarrassing experience of China people in foreign countries, but the story of foreigners encountering "culture conflict" after coming to China.

(The focus of the second story "Cultural Conflict": Think of Beijing as new york, where there is no underground rock music, but all on the ground. The hero in this article is called Greg. )

I lost my job in Beijing. Last night, on the recommendation of my friend, I went to a bar to get rid of my depression. Unexpectedly, this bar is a little far from my residence, and the taxi fare can be said to be very expensive. It is located in front of a drive-in cinema in Beijing. Well, this place should be nice at first glance, right?

The taxi driver took me to that place. I looked up into the distance and saw several gates, giving the impression that ghosts had been to the building. The moon in the sky shines brightly on the earth, and a cold wind blows the road at the foot of the surrounding forest. At the end of the road, there are flashing neon lights. Of course, neon lights are rarely seen flashing in front of haunted buildings. At the entrance of the gate, there was a young man of seventeen or eighteen, standing straight, as if he had a sense of authority. He is a security guard in China. He came up to me, asked me carefully, and told me firmly that that was the bar I was looking for. But he refused to give me a detailed description of which direction to take. Well, I'll wait and see for myself anyway. I decided to walk down this black road, being careful not to be hit by an outgoing car, and thinking to myself, am I a little crazy? It was neither a weekend nor a special day, so on this crazy night, I ran outside the drive-in cinema alone.

A few minutes later, I walked past the first building, which was a restaurant. Thankfully, there are still several people eating there. Walking through a dark road in the Woods, I don't know where I'm going, and when I see someone eating, I suddenly feel at a loss! Then I walked forward and passed a place that looked like a brothel. This place is very classy, but it should be a brothel after all. I even thought about going in, but immediately realized that it was unfair to my girlfriend. So, I walked on. Finally arrived at the gate of the drive-in cinema. I looked around with my eyes. Wow! Sure enough, the bar I was looking for was in a corner. So I turned east and west from the parked cars, avoiding the big hats of the security guards and their oversized clothes, and came to the front of the bar.

My first feeling is: it's fun here. Strictly speaking, this bar is located on a wet pit, just like a long hut. There is a broken car parked outside, which looks like it was put there artificially. There was a dirty clearing in front of the bar, and now no one is there and there is no sound. I understand why this place is loved by underground rock musicians in Beijing. This place gives people the feeling that there is a voice shouting to everyone: "I don't care!" " ""get out of here, all of you! "I have a feeling that I will definitely like this place.

I walked into the door of this cabin-like bar, and there were not many people inside. The whole place is divided into two parts. There are several girls and some confident long-haired men sitting on the sofa in front of the bar or in the corner. Further inside, there is a small stage on one side. Besides, when I saw two western girls, they immediately realized that I was watching them. They are two DJs. It's just that the audience is too small. There are several sound engineers sitting in front of a sound table that looks good. They seem to be playing computer games.

What the hell is going on here? Please let me explain. My friend recommended here is the manager of an Indian bar in Beijing. She has always been a frequent visitor to this underground music venue. From the moment I met her, she gave me a feeling of "musical taste". That's why I came all the way to experience the life of underground music in Beijing. Obviously, this is a place frequented by Beijing rock musicians, so I am naturally excited to come here.

I went to the bar and asked for a wine list. Take a closer look. Wow! I can't believe my eyes. The price of beer here is the same as that of all other bars! There is no price increase at all! I'm glad there is an Asia-Pacific brewery here, instead of Tsingtao beer and Beijing beer, which is good. I don't like Qingdao and Beijing beer. There are too many chemicals in it, and the chemicals are not what I want to pour into my stomach. Besides, Tsingtao beer is not intoxicating, which shows that Tsingtao beer is a failure. Of course, this is my opinion.

I ordered a bottle of Asia-Pacific beer and went to a lower place to sit down. Only then did I know that there was only DJ besides myself. I suddenly feel sick. We all pretended not to notice each other. I'm the only customer in the whole place. I'm here alone.

I subconsciously took out my mobile phone to cover up my embarrassment. After all, in this case, the DJ can think that I don't have no friends, and I don't go to this bar before the weekend and sit here alone.

I sent a message to my girlfriend, telling her that I was sitting alone in a bar and told her that I had resigned. I regretted it as soon as the news came out. I shouldn't have told her everything so openly. At this time, I began to think, in fact, I have had a good time all night so far. Then text your girlfriend as much as possible, so that I can avoid looking at the DJ's questioning eyes as if I don't have any friends. But I still have to stop texting.

I put my cell phone back in my pocket and looked around. It seems that the wisest choice is to get drunk as soon as possible. So I gulped down the beer, then went to the bar and started reading magazines so as not to embarrass myself. I asked for another bottle of tiger brand, but I still didn't feel drunk after drinking it dry. I had drunk two bottles of Qingdao before I went out. As I said, Tsingtao beer is not intoxicating. ) I picked up a copy of Beijing today and began to read it at will.

As usual, there are many advertisements about massage in Beijing today, some advertisements about recruiting English teachers, and some beautiful ladies China who want to have "cultural exchange". Then there are some photos of celebrities, who try to show their best to tell readers that they really had a very happy time.

At this time, I felt a little drunk. So I started talking to the young man in the bar. Only then did I realize that I had become a sad person who always sat in front of the bar. Those people have no friends and their lives are not satisfactory. As a result, they hung their heads and chatted with the boys in the bar about Hu Kan. But what happened to me? How did I become such a person? "Damn it," I thought, "my life is ok!"

The young man is an energetic man with a round face and a forehead that looks a bit like the lead singer in The Beatles. He is wearing a brown aviation leather jacket, but his clothes look a little too small. Later, I learned that this young man used to be the owner of this bar and was very familiar with the friend who recommended me to come here. He apologized to me for the lack of atmosphere and popularity in the bar that night. And told me that there were many people on Friday and Saturday. I think what he said is quite right.

At this moment, two girls came in. One is a westerner and the other is from China. I didn't see the western girl clearly, but the China girl is very beautiful and tall. Unexpectedly, the western girl also grabbed "Beijing Today" to watch. Looks like I'm in. Because her situation is basically the same as mine. I should at least say something or comment on the cover of Beijing Today. However, I didn't say a word for two minutes. I want to strike up a conversation so badly that I can see that she wants to talk to me, too. The problem is that we are now in a bar in Beijing, and it is not on weekends, in this far parking lot, in the bar in front of this drive-in cinema. Oh, my god. If all this doesn't make me summon up the courage to talk to her, then I'll become a monk. In fact, I have registered and shaved in a temple. )

My brain is blank. The only thing I can remember is "Is this your first time here, too?" It sounds like saying, "Do you come here often?" It seems that my wine is not ready yet, and I can't say, "Hey, are you free tonight?" Or "So, where are you from?" Or "What brings you to Beijing?" When everything sounds like that. As a result, I took another swig of beer in a hurry, hoping it would bring courage and turn my wine words into compliments I wanted to say in my heart.

As a result, the two of them left their seats and the moment when they said the most beautiful words disappeared. They found a table tennis table and played table tennis. But at this time, my subconscious reveals a little relaxation. I'm a little relieved: that western girl is very ugly.

At this time, I turned my face to the DJ. Look, they are a little narcissistic now. Although no one looked at them. I think they are drunk because the bar provides them with free drinks. The music they play is ok, but I really can't compliment their cohesion skills. One piece of music is stuck in another piece of music, regardless of the rhythm. This reminds me that the trust we foreigners get in China is far higher than what we actually deserve.

When I wanted to talk to another person, I suddenly decided that I came to the wrong bar tonight and everything was ruined. I have to find another one for a change. It seems that no matter what you do, you should not blindly follow other people's opinions, but make your own decisions. Besides, I shouldn't go to the bar alone, especially in the bar in front of the drive-in cinema on an inappropriate working night, and the DJs are not in the state, which makes me even more stupid.

In a rage, I ran back to Sanlitun, but I still couldn't find a desirable bar. It's just that the weather in Beijing gets cold at night. It suddenly occurred to me that isn't it the best way to go home and sleep? After going to bed, I was in a good mood, even though I lost my job. In fact, that night was the darkest night of my life. But the pleasure is, "Tomorrow morning, I don't have to get up early for work." Isn't this a beautiful thing? "