Chionggirl in Shanghai

I had my first drinking session with the folks of my division last night.

I have been pre-warned in my previous trips to Shanghai, and was part of it on one occasion. I was witnessing it all as a guest with my other colleagues, hence we were spared. But this time, I was there as part of the team, and the tradition kicked in.

It was an innocent round of Qingdao beer for everyone initially, and it was a very normal thing for someone to toast to anyone who is new to the team. There were 4 of us then, so each of us were given a toast. Then, people start to find reasons to toast to one another, and the drinking began.

My superior got the most, since he is pretty beloved in the team, and one of the guys kept asking him to drink. All this was ok, until my boss decided to let us try the 白酒, white wine. I don't know exactly what it is, but it was served in small glasses, like shots. I wasn't spared of being asked to take a shot of it, as with the new colleagues.

I have always had the habit of visiiting the toilet soon after drinking any kind of beverages, and I had to excuse myself in one of the session. When i return, I took a sip of my beer and realised that it had the white wine added to it. I don't know how much they had put in there, but it taste ... ewww. And it is said that when beer is mixed with the white wine, it is volatile, and the effect will comes on slowly.

I think I managed well with the amount of alchohol dunked so far. I have problem with beer because alot of time, it fills up the stomach and I can't take it in further. Thankfully, the amount was manageable... in the restaurant.

When I reached home, I was pretty floaty and had to empty the remnants into the toilet bowl. Yeah, that's right, I threw up. The potent mix was really something and if you have a chance to try it, or are invited to try it in Shanghai, be ready.

Actually our session was a rather mild one compared to the regular drinking sessions in China. I am just thankful that I didn't make a fool of myself in the restaurant. Haha :) The hangover though, was pretty bad. And I had to run some errands and I went around with a pretty groggy head. The effect is really... something.

Well, I am sure this will not be the last of it. If there are more interesting future sessions, I will be sure to update!