lost in translation

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.