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

the "cultural conflict" caused by foreigners in China (II)

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

Zhang Fang

I want to tell a series of stories, also known as "cultural conflict" stories, but what I want to tell, or more accurately, I choose to tell them.

(The focus of the "cultural conflict" in the second story: Think of Beijing as new york, and there is no underground rock music, but it is all on the ground. The hero's name in this article is Greg. )

I lost my job in Beijing. Last night, recommended by a friend, I went to a bar to get rid of my depression. Unexpectedly, this bar is a little far from my residence, so 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 very nice at first sight, isn't it?

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

a few minutes later, I walked past the first building, which was a restaurant. Thank god, there are still a few people eating there. After walking through a dark road in the Woods, and not knowing where I was going, I saw someone eating, and my heart suddenly had a bottom! I then 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 in my mind that I wanted to go in and have a look, but I immediately realized that it was unfair to my girlfriend. So, I continued to walk forward. Finally arrived at the entrance 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 between the parked cars, avoiding the big caps 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, which is like a long cabin. There is a broken car parked outside, which looks like it was put there artificially. There was a dirty empty space in front of the bar, and now no one is there and there is no sound. I can see 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-looking men with long hair sitting in front of the bar or on the sofa in the corner. Further inside, there is a small stage on one side. In addition, I saw two western girls who 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 decent-looking sound desk. It seems that they are playing computer games.

what the hell is going on here? Please let me explain a little. The friend who recommended me 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 here to experience the life of underground musicians in Beijing. Obviously, this is the place frequented by Beijing rock musicians, so I am naturally excited when I come here.

I walked over to the bar and asked for the wine list, so I took a closer look. Wow！ I can't believe my eyes. The price of beer here is the same as that in all other bars! There is no price increase at all! I am glad that there is asia pacific breweries here, instead of Tsingtao and Beijing beer, which is good. I don't like Qingdao and Beijing beer. There are too many chemicals in it, and chemicals are not something 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 breweries, walked to a lower place and sat down. At this time, I realized that there was only DJ except myself. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. We both pretended not to notice each other. I'm the only customer in the whole place, and I'm here alone.

I subconsciously took out my mobile phone to hide 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 short message to my girlfriend, telling her that I was sitting alone in a bar and that I had quit my job. As soon as the message was sent, I regretted it. I shouldn't have told her everything so openly. At this time, I began to think, in fact, I have been having 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 inquiring eyes as if I don't have any friends. But I still have to stop sending text messages.

I put my mobile phone back in my pocket and looked around. It seems that the wisest choice is to get drunk as quickly as possible. So I gulped down the beer and went to the bar to start reading magazines so as not to embarrass myself. I asked for another bottle of tiger brand, but after drinking it dry, I still didn't feel drunk. I had already 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 flip through it at random.

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

at this time, I feel a little drunk. So, I began to talk to the young man in the bar. Only then did I realize that I had become one of the sad people who always sat in front of the bar. Those people have no friends and their lives are not satisfactory. As a result, they hang their heads and chat with the boys in the bar about Hu Kan. But what is wrong with me? How did I become such a person? "Hell," I thought, "my life is ok!"

The young man is a cheerful person, 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. Then I learned that this young man used to be the owner of this bar, and he was very familiar with my friend who recommended me to come here. He apologized to me for the lack of bar atmosphere and popularity 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 read. Looks like I'm in. Because her situation is basically the same as mine. I should at least go forward and say a word, or comment on the cover content of Beijing Today. However, I didn't say a word for two minutes. I wanted to strike up a conversation so badly that I could see that she wanted to talk to me, too. The problem is that we are now in a bar in Beijing, and it is not a weekend time, in this far-off parking lot, in this bar in front of the drive-in cinema. Oh my god! If all these can't make me get up the courage to talk to her, I'll just become a monk. As a matter of fact, I have registered and shaved in a temple. )

My mind is blank. The only thing I can remember is "Is this your first time here, too?" This 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 that 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 bit of relaxation. I am somewhat relieved: that western girl is very unattractive.

at this moment, I turned my face to the DJ. Look, they're a little narcissistic now. Although no one is watching them. I think they are intoxicated because the bar provides them with free drinks. The music they play is ok, but I really can't compliment them on their cohesion skills. One piece of music is abruptly 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 someone again, I suddenly decided that I had come 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 should make your own decisions. Besides, I shouldn't go to a bar or anything by myself, especially when I go to a bar in front of a drive-in movie theater on an improper working night, and the DJs are not in the state, which makes me more stupid.

I ran back to Sanlitun in a rage, but I still couldn't find a pleasant bar. It's just that the weather in Beijing becomes colder at night, and it suddenly occurred to me that isn't it the best idea to go home and sleep? After I went to bed, I was in a good mood, even though I lost my job. In fact, that whole 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? "