Karaoke Anyone?

I don't know about you but I love a good Karaoke night! I have been secretly hoping to be invited to Karaoke with friends since we moved here, put a mic in my hands...I'm ready to go. After all, this is how I was raised. :)

Finally...Sunday night, Rob and I were invited by some friends to Karaoke with a big group of people they know. YES!!! My friend made me promise Rob and I would sing, no matter what. When we arrived, they were playing an "ice-breaker" game....in their language. We sat down and listened, quickly realizing we had better figure it out because our turn was coming. It seemed they were introducing themselves then singing a line from a song....then the next person had to tell the previous person's name, sing their song and then introduce themselves and their song. YIKES!!! I could feel myself sweating......this was going to be bad. 3 names to listen for and a song. Then it was my turn. I stood up and said "hello", said the girl's name on my left, and butchered her song (she helped me a little), shared my Asianese name and sang a line from an Asianese song I know, then....it was Rob's turn. Boy did he luck out sitting next to me. He didn't butcher either of my names or my song. Shared his name and sang the ever popular song, "I love you like a rat loves rice" (not kidding, a big hit here) Everyone clapped and cheered......I guess we were able to play our first "ice breaker" game in another language.....PHEW!

Karaoke is a BIG deal here. It is quite the popular pasttime. You get a bunch of friends together, rent a room at a KTV place and spend your evening. For most people....add some alcohol or actually a lot of alcohol, and you have quite an exciting night. Our party, however, was alcohol-free.....and we STILL had quite a fun time.

Rob and I sang our standard Karaoke song "When I Fall in Love".... then the English songs just kept coming and they kept handing over the mics. "Hey Jude", "Yesterday once More" by Karen Carpenter (needed my mom for that one), "I Can Show you the World" LOTS of Backstreet Boys, then......"Cinderella" by the Cheetah Girls came on!! YEAH! I grabbed the mic and belted it out. Once we finished, Rob asked how I knew this song.....I reminded him we have a 10 yr old daughter (almost).

All in all it was quite a fun night. Definitely a cultural experience, one you should try sometime. I was reminded of my sweet friend Maggi Nash......she is the all-time Karaoke Queen, KTV parties at her house ALMOST measure up to the ones here!