Months ago some coworkers tried to teach Eli & me how to play mahjong. Since then, I’ve played a handful of times and Eli has played tons with his in-laws.
Our coworker Xavier’s apartment building sits atop a mahjong den. A few weeks ago, we crashed the place — walking in with bottles of whiskey and baijiu — and headed to a table in the back corner.
What you can’t see in the picture is the reverse angle where dozens of old and middle-aged Chinese men and women are staring at the crazy 老外, taking pictures of us on their phones, and shouting suggestions on what tiles to play! Eli & I got, like, zero help because they decided we actually knew what we were doing. Xavier, meanwhile, has a bunch of people yelling in his ear in Mandarin and his cell phone out trying to match the traditional Chinese characters on the tiles. We polished off all the alcohol along the way.
The highlight of my time in China thus far.
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