My Semester Abroad

Two days ago, my group made what might be our last expedition together. We piled into a rented bus and drove four hours to the Great Wall of China, passing through the city limits out into the dry northern border of Inner Mongolia. We arrived at our nearly deserted hotel before dinner, and, finding nothing else to do with ourselves, took over the karaoke machine in the hotel restaurant.

The sound system was a disaster and the song menu was lacking, but although the Chinese version can't quite compete with the Japanese (who invented it, after all), we have a few singers in our group who can transform even the blandest karaoke setup into a night to remember. I think the two greatest hits of the evening were a solo version of "Stand by Your Man," by Claire and Julia, and "Eye of the Tiger," performed by a chorus of the guys.