Feb 2nd - Dinner & Drinks On Who?

We went out for dinner tonight, but things were a little different from our Eateries back home. We got our own private dining room with a personal server who stood there most of the time, topping up our plates and glasses. Now, I've had experience with food pushers before, but my wife's family friends take it to a new level. I gave the name Pushy Galore to the woman sitting on my right. I don't even know her name, yet she seemed to be in total control of my dietary needs.

My wife just stopped eating altogether just to spite them. I asked her if she had enough and she said "So-so". I guess she was partaking in some sort of revolt against the evil food pusher empire. I didn't really mind though. I was like one of those baby eagle chicks waiting for mama eagle to swoop in with a fresh kill. Heck, I didn't even know what half of the dishes were, but I'll eat anything. It's one benefit of growing up a fatty. You learn to harness food. I am not afraid of any food you set in front of me. Apparently this is a very good quality to have in Chinese culture. Well, I guess if you swooped in with some regurgitated rat innards, I might politely squawk in decline.

Apparently drinking beer is some sort of religious ritual here in Harbin. They have the oldest brewery in the country here in Harbin, coicidentally called Harbin Beer. Since I come from the home of Canada's oldest independent brewery (Moosehead), naturally I would enjoy a bit of the local malt liquor. Well, I did, and I do! The only strange thing was the number of "Cheers" moments. There was a big group Cheers at the start, but then one person would cheers just me, or just another guest, sort of like a one-on-one drinking partnership. Since I was the newcomer, everyone at the table had to have a drink with me. I ended up drinking twice as much as everyone else. I think the whole group was surprised that I was still sober at the end of the night. Takes more than that to get a Maritimer drunk! I do have to pee like a dog in uncharted territory though...

Afterthought - I saw a donkey chained to a bike rack today. I think he was a 10-speed.