公园的白酒

Every other week here at Beijing Institute of Education, we have what are called practicums.  These are chances for us to get out in the world and use our Chinese skills to talk with real Chinese speakers.  Yesterday, our practicum found us in the nearby park, hoping to chat with Chinese about the 改革开放, "Opening Up and Reforming," that has taken place in China over the past 30 years.  I was partnered with my friend Nick, who, thankfully, as a sense of humor as well.  Normally in these cases you try to find the person that looks like they will speak the slowest and clearest.  So, why on earth, you might ask, did we choose the two old men sitting next to the empty bottle of 白酒, a white liquor that tastes like a mixture of gasoline and grapes, and warms your throat like whiskey never could.  What followed was 30 minutes of beautiful drunken rambling, of which we understood very little, and wrote down even less.  As it turns out, they had actually finished two bottles of liquor, the other being behind the bench where we couldn't see it.  This would explain why one declared, through the few teeth he had left in his mouth, that the opening up and reforming of China was a huge success because they could do exactly what they were doing then, sitting in a park and drinking.  It was hilarious.  We only escaped because our teachers came over and distracted them long enough for us to get away.  The best part is, I saw them in the park today, sitting on the same bench as before.  Apparently, they are there every day.  I'm looking forward to finishing our conversation soon.