Toga! Toga!
That’s right. The fraternity boy brought a time-honored American tradition to Xi’an, China. A tradition immortalized by a classic movie. A perfect excuse to wrap yourself up in a bed sheet (as silly as it may seem) and drink a beer (or five, or ten) in a half-realized, beer-soaked attempt at reenacting one of American university students’ greatest pastimes: Animal House.
Each floor of the foreign expert’s residence building has two apartments. My neighbor is a 25 year old doctorate student named Brittany. Being that I am in a fraternity I brought several of my favorite shirts from my university days that proudly and prominently display my letters. Brittany got very excited when she saw me wearing my fraternity shirt. She wanted to throw a party. For some reason she immediately assumed that I was the “party expert.” Because I am in a fraternity, I know everything there is to know about throwing a good party. Stereotyping and whitewashing are not exactly on my list of nice or open-minded things to do, but I certainly wouldn’t let it bother me. Besides, it’s mostly true.
So, as I’m sure you’ve already concluded by now, we threw a toga party. It was awesome, to say the least. We even had a beer bong fashioned out of a vacuum cleaner tube. I mean, we were slumming like I did so many times back in college. Cheap booze, half-baked party implements, you name it. It brought back memories. So here you go, just a few pictures from a great night. My school’s first ever toga party. I’m proud to say that I was a part of this momentous occasion.
Just a couple more things. As you can probably guess everyone was taking pictures all night. At one point, our Chinese guests wanted to take pictures with some people present at the party. They wanted to take a picture with me. What they said is, and I quote, “we want to have a picture with the guy who really looks like a roman.” Also at one point I was told that I look like Jesus. Honestly, I don’t see it. What do you think?
Note: I have uploaded more pictures from the night here.
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I am so sorry for stereotyping you. Its never right, and I should lead a better example for others to follow. You’re a quiet, down home kind of boy who prefers a cup of earl gray & the New York Review of Books, and one who listens to a recording on NPR all before tucking in at 9. I hoped I kept my wild child PhD student antics down for you- I am such a bad influence!
britt- coffee totally just shot out my nose. on my monitor. it was the NPR/ bed at 9 comment.