Karaoke

After the coffee break on Sunday, David joined me and we chatted for most of the afternoon. He has an immense interest in all things Western so we looked at some of my photos and talked about the differences in our language and culture. He said he learned a lot and I certainly did.

He then suggested we go out to walk around the campus. The woman in charge of all the meals joined us. She is so beautiful, much like Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, the older woman in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She had wanted to talk after coffee break but her English is limited. I felt hampered, too and when we return to Harbin, I will know more Chinese. Through sign language, though, she showed me how she loved the way Glen and I held hands saying she and her husband didn’t. I assured her that it was unusual among older couples in Canada, too.

It began to rain as I was photographing the campus so we ran back to the conference building. The meeting went overtime and supper was not until 6:30 but after such a big lunch, no one seemed to mind. We ate again in the ballroom and the beer glasses overflowed (Shu-Lin’s female grad students seemed honoured to keep our glasses full) as did the Chinese liquor. I’ve tasted this before and it is potent stuff so was amazed at how Shu-Lin and another could drink so much and not fall flat on their faces.

In the afternoon, David and I had discussed social life in China and he told me that they often go to karaoke bars (these rarely serve beer) to sing and enjoy each other’s company. I told him I had only done it once before. Little did I know that our evening’s entertainment would involved karaoke. The photo shows Shu-Lin's research group with David in front of the monitor and Shu-Lin second on David's left.

I thought I’d not have to sing because all the songs would be in Chinese but one man was determined to have Glen and me perform. He found Get Down Tonight by KC and the Sunshine Band so we sang that. Well, we tried. Obviously we lacked the expertise of the Chinese. What really threw me off was the background pictures as they featured Canadian scenes of Niagara Falls and kids playing hockey.

When the song ended, I thought we were done but our determined friend found Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof so we had to sing that as well. The other North American, Robert, was then pressed to sing. He stuttered so I wondered how he’d handle it but he rose to the occasion with a wonderful singing voice. He sang Edelweiss from The Sound of Music and we all joined in. It was a moving experience and I was thrilled we contributed to what is an important part of Chinese culture.

The evening ended at precisely nine (Shu-Lin always announced 'Bottoms Up' at the end of a meal). We piled into the buses and went back to the hotel. We were not in our room five minutes when there was a knock on the door. Shu-Lin, the Associate Dean of Research, the meal co-ordinator, and a student came in bearing gifts (it’s a good thing I keep our room tidy).

Earlier in the evening, when Shu-Lin stood to thank everyone for attending the conference, he went on at length about how Glen had supported him during his tenure in Canada and had continued to be his advocate at the University of Calgary (he is an adjunct professor). He then asked Glen to say a few words which Glen did telling the group how well we had been treated and how good the science was. He then presented Shu-Lin with our thank you gift--a copper plate of West Coast Indian design but I've learned that the Chinese love giving presents so wasn't surprised when Shu-Lin showed up at our door with gifts. He and the other people we met in Harbin were so warm and generous, it made our first visit to this incredible country memorable.