El bebe

Andy Gong
Alcohol Meeting Follow-Up
Having lived out of the country for several years, I have been exposed to drinking in very causal environments for a while now. There is essentiallyno drinking age in China, so it is simple to just walk into a bar and order a drink. There was a small adjustment period, but this availability of alcohol taught me to drink responsibly andhelped me to learn my limits. During my senior year, I would usually go to bars and clubs and have about 4-5 drinks every other weekend. I always thought this was quite reasonable, and Inever experienced any situations that I thought were “out of control”. I went out to drink because it relaxed me and was part of the clubbing scene, which my friends and I loved.
While I wasvery aware of the drinking age here in America, I took it very lightly because I was not accustomed to the taboo nature of underage drinking. I was definitely too nonchalant about it whiledrinking in the dorm. I do not plan to stop drinking, and I feel like I do not need to change the amount of alcohol I drink. However, I will take certain precautions about when and where Idrink. From now on, when in the U.S., I no longer drink on school property. There is too much risk involved. I will dirnk in more private settings with only my close friends.
My walk withAlex helped me to relate more to the duties of the RA's. It was quite obvious that he didn't enjoy having to tell people to turn their music down, or tell them off in any way. It actuallyseemed to add to his stress levels. That was one aspect of the RA's I hadn't really recognized. They really are not out to punish people; they are just doing their jobs. Rounds are not anenjoyable experience; they are time-consuming and can be stressful. Drinking in the dorms creates stress for everyone, so I will be much more careful about my drinking habits in the future.