Today I figured out why most Chinese don’t know how to have a good time.

There is a college nearby our client’s building here. On one corner in the center of the college is a marquee. On the half-broken screen, a number in green and yellow refreshes every two seconds, but the units are obscured by the dying LED screen. Finally, I decided to decipher the mystery by stopping and reading the characters.
Noise in the vicinity shall not exceed 70 decibels at any time!

People around the world learn how to have a good time in College—how to be loud, ridiculous and drunk. Basically, we have permission to make an ass of ourselves for four years, after which we learn to have a good time without embarrassing ourselves.

The Chinese have to be quiet at all time during college. The normal surrounding noise of the campus (cars driving by, people walking) is already 50 decibels. That’s only 20 decibels for screaming and drinking. Generally, they have an 11pm curfew, at which points their dormitories lock the doors and they must wait until 5:30am to come back. They are trained to be lame in college, and when they get out of college they still think being lame is fun.

God I hate China....

I had my ticket changed once again. I come back to Beijing on Friday night, just a little too late to go partying, but just late enough to enjoy the following Saturday.