Looking for Fun at Night
Every culture has
its own way to have fun with friends, like parties, receptions, picnics, and proms.
I lived in China for twenty-three years, and I have many friends from my
hometown. We always played, ate and drank together, but the best time we had
together was at night. China has a wonderful nightlife, and I used to have a
lot of fun hanging out with my friends. However, things have changed since I came
to the U.S. I lost my favorite things----hanging out at night, barbecue stalls,
and buying alcohol anywhere.
Each moment I spent
with friends, we always stayed out very late. We might go to the KTV to sing,
or just hang out on the street. We played some table games while singing, or we
talked about funny or unhappy things about ourselves on the street, or
sometimes in a quiet park. We always had a lot of fun. We stayed until midnight
or even the whole night. We could go back to home very late or even not to go
home and don’t need to worry about our safety. In the U.S, I haven’t been able
to do that again, because some part of Chicago is so dangerous that I fear
staying outside too late here. There are a lot of guns, robs, and crime. I can
only stay at home or go home early.
Another part of
my nightlife was going for the barbecue stalls or other snacks. There are lot
of stalls and snacks at night in China, like kebabs, fried tofu, and roasted
fish. I could go to the street stalls which have a lot of delicious specialty
food, I could eat and drink here. However, I haven’t found anything like that in
the U.S, no street stalls, no special Chinese food, and even no friends. There
are just indoor restaurants, but they are too quiet and just have small rooms,
and they always close too early.
Chinese people
like drinking while eating with family members or friends. Anyone can buy and
drink alcohol without ID. Even a little boy can buy and drink alcohol. There
are a lot of stores everywhere in China, even a very small store will sell
alcohol, and many of them open all day. I can buy wines and beers wherever and whenever.
However, in the U.S, people can’t buy any alcohol without an ID. I never succeeded
to buy a bottle of beer in the early days I came here. The wine stores are very
few and they are far away from my house. It’s very inconvenient to buy alcohols
without a car and an ID.
I have been in
the U.S for eight months, but I still haven’t found a nightlife culture that I
can be part of. One reason is that I don’t have many friends here, and another
is that I don’t know much about Chicago. I really want to find some places where
I can have fun. I miss my friends, miss the barbecue stalls, and miss the
interesting night life.

I am hungry looking at your barbecue picture...
ReplyDeleteWill you try to do a barbecue with your friends in Chicago?
ReplyDeleteBarbecue is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to have fun because life is too short
ReplyDeleteYour story is really related to my story. It reminds me of the time when i was in Vietnam
ReplyDeleteI know what do you mean. I miss my friends too.
ReplyDelete