Halloween again.

So events conspired to make a liar out of me. I ended up going out with some friends who I ran into in the hotel lobby.

This is the sign in front of Broadie's... I was not prepared to be impressed -- although they had a mini-haunted house in the front, with a strobe light and fog and big hairy spiders and people dressed up making scream-like-you're-in-hell noises.

Once through that, I'd say that the place had about 80 people in it -- just about enough for all the tables to be filled, without too many having to stand. And about half the guests were expats of one stripe or another -- from all over. I heard Korean, Spanish, and German, and caught an English accent from a girl who was almost too drunk to stand unaided. About half of the expats, and all of the staff, were dressed up in one capacity or another.

There was live music, and the band was pretty decent. All Chinese including the singer (who had legitimate stage presence and a great set of pipes), they did jazz interpretations of popular songs from the last, well, 60 years or so. From Buddy Holly onward, including a surprisingly decent version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. But no Thriller, despite the fact that there were zombies on staff.

I mean, there were people on the staff dressed as zombies. Not actual zombies. Sorry, The Warden, you'll have to save that plan of yours for another day.

Anyway, I don't think we could have gotten them to dance properly. They were clearly having fun, but not THAT much fun. So anyway, the music was good, the company was good, the beer was imported, and the food was -- get this -- actually good. I mean, Western-style food, actually tasting good here in China? The mind boggles. I had a hamburger that was recognizable as such, with mushrooms (actually sauteed before being put on the burger) and cheese that was no worse than what I'd expect from pub grub in the US. (Although definitely processed cheese food, not actual cheese.) And bacon, also decent, and fries that did the potatoes credit. The folks who had pizza were also impressed -- again with the processed-looking cheese, and the crust had that funky curled-up edge that you get when the pan's sides are too high and the yeast isn't really active enough, but I'll stop geeking over the food science and say that the food was expensive, but decent enough for a splurge. I mean, I spent 100元 on two 500 ml Carlsbergs and a burger. That's my food cost for about four or five days normally, but, you know, maybe $15 US in the grand scheme of things. I've spent more on that in the US and gotten the same result, only without the live music (no cover charge).

So -- pop quiz! Guess the nationalities of the folks around the table. These were my companions last night -- folks I'd seen around the school and hotel, but last night was the first time I'd really gotten to know any of them. Prizes and adulation to the one who guesses the most correctly. One hint -- there's only one American at the table besides me, and I'm not pictured.

Along those lines, I have to say that my experiences of the worldwide expatriate community have been amazing. I don't know what it is -- maybe the psychological makeup of people who leave home for work or study, maybe just the shared experience of an unfamiliar culture -- but the expats I meet are almost invariably good people. One of my friends from last night also mentioned that people who study TCM seem to share a common bond, and are generally good people. I tend to agree.

One last picture, for those of you who know the pubs along Clement Street in San Francisco. I couldn't help myself -- although the small print underneath says "Tianjin's only Irish band", it still reminded me of home. Since the banner was left over from St. Patrick's Day, I didn't figure I was going to get any more information.

All in all, it was a decent way to spend a Halloween night, considering that I was half a world away from the usual haunts. I wish I could be there tonight with some of you guys, but that's the way things go.... I wouldn't miss this experience for the world.