Bowled Over

Classic

It's an unassuming bowling alley.  It has lanes, bowling balls, and snacks just like any other.  The shoes still sport that characteristic bowling shoe appearance with the sizes on the back.  However, something important was missing.  Something every bowling alley has was conspicuously absent.  Then I realized that it was much easy to breathe than it should have been.

Me in action

Believe it or not, a bowling alley without the smell of smoke is a troubling thing.  The comfort you get from the smokey smell and your familiarity with it go a long way to making you feel safe.  When it isn't there, something just doesn't feel right.  My trip bowling the other night was a bit of a surreal experience.  After spending my morning watching the Colts get beat down by two guys that are the sports equivalent of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader (Belichick and Brady), I needed to blow off some steam at the lanes.  

Tang Qi ready to roll

Absolutely nothing in the alley gave any indication I was in China.  It was as if someone had picked up a bowling alley from suburban Indiana and dropped into the basement of a Dongzhimen building.  Even the measurements were in Imperial standard.  My shoes said size 11 instead of 46, and the balls proudly featured their weights in pounds instead of kilograms.  Everything was in English.  You often encounter this "copycat" phenomenon in China where their sole goal is to copy something so exactly from America that you can't tell the difference.  This concept certainly extends to the food here too.

Just like in America, it was a great way to spend a night out.  And just like in America, my bowling skills need work.  

In China, a good deal of socializing
is done with your phone