Trivia Night at Lush: Tsinghua University

What does a 21 year old really do in Beijing on Wednesday nights? Study, library, cafes, nah… She goes to trivia with her close group of seven friends to try and beat our ultimate foe: FIZZY WIZZY LETS GET QUIZZY.

I had been attending trivia each Wednesday since week 1 at a popular Western bar, Lush. It happens every Wednesday at 8:00PM. Be there or be square.

Lush sits on top of a newly opened bakery that smells of delicious breads and pastries. Once you open that hefty wooden door (I can never open it myself), you hear the sound of classic rock permeating throughout the bar. Its jade lathered walls hardened by beer stains and hollowed by fist holes invoke a bittersweet sense of home.

The smell of sizzling burgers, melting American cheese, and buckets of beer send me home to hot July evenings at my grandparents’ house. The hearty aroma of chicken and rice soup and fiery tortilla soup entwined with the knocking clamor of lazy hardwood floors reminds me of my friend’s Edwardian graced home in December.

Lush is the kind of place you’ll make memories in, along with meeting new people, spending the night in an environment of friendly competitiveness with 3-4 beers rushing down your throat.

My team is made of 7 other members:

Owen the mechanical-engineering-genius-who-knows-everything-about-everything. Loves to call things ‘darksided’ and claps his hands like a baby seal. A North Carolina boy who dreams of owning a pet raccoon and giving it cotton candy. He’s the unforgivable nerdy type that will make you swoon over his height of 192 cm. (~oh I mean 6’3″~).

Lucia the love-able Swiss whose high crackly voice sometimes makes me cringe with happiness. Her Swiss honesty and undeniable love of gossiping makes her the type of sister a gal loves to talk with at the edge of the table. From her golden hair to her soft shoulders make her the kind of friend you can always lean on.

Harrison the tall smoldering ‘Prince Charming’ blond Aussie. He can tell you everything about beer, even if they’re not Australian brews. He will lecture you about sports and players, and Australian wildlife. In American media, he’d be a kind of stud, maybe the hottest football player, the bad boy in pink… but deep inside made of strawberries and cream, soft and sweet. 

Thomas the sweetest boy-next-door type with the biggest brownest eyes of honesty you will ever fall into. Well versed in classic rock, ancient war lords, oldies albums, movies from even before his birth. He’s an All-American blue jean-wearin’ boy from Wisconsin, reminds me of my grandpa-type, dedicated to practicing his Chinese skills during the trivia game.

Alex (a.k.a A-SLICE) the bubbly  type of a friend who will violently haul a laugh out of your diaphragm. Her bright feathery voice fills the room with witty comments and  heart-wrenching jokes, to deep conversations about fixing world hunger, avoiding WWIII, and American politics. From the pointy tip of her nose to her large swaying hips, many memories have been made singing Carrie Underwood at karaoke.

Nikola (a.k.a THE SLAV) the original bad boy originating from Bulgaria, the all-knowing of former Yugoslavia and USSR. He is another big burly man of 193 centimeters, with luscious dark hair, and even greater darker eyes that add to his sense of mysteriousness. He’s the type of guy who will happily spend hours trying to lecture you on everything Marvel. Did I mention he speaks 6 languages and swears mostly in Russian?

Lucas the undeniable and self-proclaimed ‘stereotypical white boy’ from Germany. With a toppling height of 200 centimeters (~oh I mean 6’6″~) this friendly giant contributes to everything Germany related, beer, business and economics, and current events related. If you need to call someone over, just ask him and his booming low voice to grab their attention.

All together, these guys are some of my closest friends I’ve made at Tsinghua. We’ve had some good nights and some bad nights at trivia. Recently, winning 2nd place in the 10-week trivia tournament. An accomplishment we’ve made together.

After a long day of sight seeing we found a hot dog stand and enjoyed some Western food for a change.