Billo Rani

So you wanna know one of the best things about being a red-headed expat in Beijing?

You lose any shreds of self-consciousness you may have somehow retained after years of theatre and choir and general making-a-fool-of-yourself-in-public-ness.  After all, you're a travelling freak show anyway, you might as well do whatever you want.

And you think to yourself, hey, you know what I would really like to take? Bollywood dance lessons! That seems like it would be incredibly fun. And so you do. And you join in, with two weeks to learn a number that has taken 5 months for everyone else to perfect. And you practice 4 hours a day. And you put on see-through harem pants and what your Italian friend calls "busom stickers" and you go out into the very public venue of your next-door-neighborhood Christmas party, and you rock that joint.

And you know what? It IS incredibly fun. And you're pretty stinkin' good at it, if you do say so yourself.