Karaoke Television (KTV)

The most fun I have had in China so far is not at the fancy schmanzy expat parties, but rather when I am able to mix and mingle with the Chinese. They are so unexpected and it's a really thrill to get to know them. As you saw from a previous post, we attended an ice-breaker with the other MBA students, and as you might recall, I mentioned I made Chinese friends and we said we would do Karaoke. Well, if there's one thing that the Germans actually taught me it's about keeping true to your word. So, Karaoke we did! The Chinese really prepared a nice evening for us girls. Sophie brought a picnic of food including dumplings! We ordered some beer and we were soon ready to go. The key difference here is: there's no chance to drink a few beers in order to gain that extra confidence one might require before publicly humiliating him/herself, I mean, *cough*, before singing. The Chinese immediately turned on the equipment, picked a song, shoved me a microphone and instructed me to sing AND dance. What am I a monkey? Um yes, yes I am, because I am unable to say no and I have no sense of shame at all. So sang and dance I did and I had a fantastic time. Mostly because I was able to fulfill my month-long dream of singing Abba's Chiquitita. I had practiced many nights and to my roommate Lara's relief, I finally got it out of my system....or so I have attempted to promise her. 

In the end, ANYONE can sing Karaoke in China. It doesn't matter if you have a nice voice, it's all about having fun. In fact, as I mentioned before, the Chinese really enjoy embarrassing each other so what better way than with singing? But, for those of you still weary, don't worry, there are actual controls to turn down the sound of your microphone and turn up the sound of the music--so everyone can be a star. I think the star of the night was Simon. He was able to hit notes I think only dogs are able to hear. Now that's skill!