Day 132 - Arrow Factory Brewery

Saturday, June 18th, 2016

Smog Level: 0/3 Mountain

Dating Foreigners

I was thinking about something Bunny said yesterday, about how Chinese women will date foreigners - even if they don’t speak english - just because they want the trophy. Dating a non-chinese person is chic, oh-so vogue. It seems pretty clearly skewed toward white people being the desired, though they don’t really comment on other races very much. Then again, while I’m a minority here, caucasian still is the largest minority. Shimou echoed the sentiment, but first wanting to know why I wanted to know. Totally because I want to take advantage of it, duh. Eye roll

Chinese Man "Bikini" Tan

Something I haven’t mentioned is the Beijing/Chinese man bikini tan. When it’s hot, the guys take the bottom of their t-shirt and fold it upward onto their chest, baring their belly from ribs to belt. These aren’t super-fit men, either, but average dudes with pot bellies. They’re so smooth and hairless. I’m a little jealous because this hair is like wearing a sweater. Only one solution.

Shedding the Sweater

I sheared it off. Now I’m one itchy mofo, but at least I’m cool. The bathroom floor looked like I had shaved the head of a young boy. Wearing a shirt post-shave feels similar to the feeling of the wind on your head after buzzing it. If you’ve ever done it, you probably know what I’m talking about.

Westernized China

In their Washroom

It’s been said that modern war is both a cultural and an economic one. If that’s the case, then the West appears to be winning the cultural one. Chinese mainstream TV is laden with Chinese versions of Western shows. Their most used internet websites and devices are Chinese versions of Western sites. 

It’s a really easy way to make money, if you think about it. It worked for millions of people in one area, chances are the same underlying psychology will work elsewhere. Of course, this thinking has lead to a lot of crashing and burning. But with Chinese Youtube (youku), Google (baidu), Twitter (sina weibo), Messenger (Wechat), Facebook (rén rén) and popular television shows like “The Voice,” it’s clear that North America is having a greater influence here than vice versa. That is, assuming, we didn’t steal it from them in the first place. I haven’t seen many Chinese brands make the leap to North America, though there are many Western shops here.* 

Nice British Reference**

Brewery

Bunny had invited Shimou and I to check out this brewery/restaurant where her friend was DJing. He’s proudly American, she tells me, to the point that he's proud that he never learned any Chinese in his 4+ years living in China. No comment...

The food was good, and had 2 things I had been craving lately: Dijon mustard and a reuben sandwich. You better believe I ate fries with dijon, and loaded my sandwich up more than any reasonable person should. Don’t worry, it wasn’t hot. Too bad...

They also had a brew called “Double Vision IPA,” weighing in at 7.9% and earning its name. If you’re familiar with IPAs (Indian Pale Ales), they’re extremely hoppy, which is a biting, bitter flavor. Hiding that much alcohol behind the hops was a good idea, leading the drinker to misattribute the bite.

While waiting for the cheque, the power goes out. It reminded me of one of the first times I waited tables and the same had happened. It was nerve racking then, but bemusing now. The same questions came to mind: how will we pay with a card? How will they print our bills? Eventually the power came back on and those problems were solved.

BMW's Nickname

Yeah, he has a rat tail.

We passed a few BMWs and they told me that their joke name in China is “Biè Mō Wǒ,” which means “Don’t touch me.” I like it. Also, it might work for the Chinese catchphrase I’ve been searching for. The other contender is “wǒ fēng le!” which means “I’m crazy!” or “I’m going crazy!” One more: “Biè kàn wǒ!” (don’t look at me!) which makes me laugh because yelling such a phrase is bound to get the opposite result.

MADO Bar

The bar where the quiz is held every other week got word this morning that they will be torn down next Friday. So much notice! As such, several friends are going there to commemorate their last MADO Saturday. Drinks are half price, which Mary and Ashton seem to have been taking advantage of before we arrived. I have a couple drinks, but Bunny and Shimou aren’t feeling it. They’re kind of bored. Bunny teaches me the basic of the Chinese dice gambling game. I would explain it, but I’m still not sure I understand it.

Dessert

Since they were bored, we wandered off to nan lu guo xiang in search of a dessert. We stopped at “Ice Story,” which had decent ice cream. I tested the vanilla with chocolate sauce and salt. Salted ice cream is an interesting combo, and easy enough to do at home. Give it a shot, you may like it. Now I want to hit up a Dairy Queen (they have them here) and try their outlandish blizzards.

Salted, dark chocolate is badass, too.

*“Long time, no see” is from Chinese, in case you weren’t aware, so they have that.
**It's rumored that when the British would capture enemy longbowmen, they didn't want to kill them. They did still want to make it so they couldn't come back and fight again, if freed. The solution? Cutting off the fore- and middle-fingers, which were essential to using their bows. This is also rumored to be the origin of the "F you" two-finger gesture in the UK.

Words of the Day

English - Mandarin [pronunciation]

Hair
tóufǎ
[toe-fah]
Shirt

chènshān
[chen-shawn]

Editing Music
Blues en mineur
Andgelo Debarre