Monday, January 29, 2007

I just returned from dueling underground dance parties for middle aged Chinese people. I was led to this event by the school's cook who told me that she often goes to "underground dance parties." She did not mention that she only watches (never dances), but that I suppose is a minor detail. There were plenty of 50 year old ladies happy to dance with me, which was cute at first, but not so much by the end. Perhaps I will explain this phenomenon better.

In the 60's and 70's, Mao decided that China needed a huge underground city, so construction was obviously started. The whole Cultural Revolution thing derailed plans a bit, so they "city" was never finished into the metropolis it was to be. Now there are ramps and stairs leading down underground, where there are some cheap markets. The ramps are key, because they allow three wheeled bicycles down. The bicycles are key because the come equipped with speakers, a subwoofer, a car battery, an MP3 player and an old man. The old man, in this case two old men, setup their speakers, connect the car battery, and then begin the dueling dance party. Everyone starts dancing, and wahlah: a night to remember.