In our evening in Xuelin (雪林鄉), we were treated to dinner by a group of teachers from the local elementary school. Two were ethnic Wa (佤族) while the other was Dai (傣族). As part of their local Wa drinking customs, one person toasts another by standing up and singing a rhythmic song while the others clap and sing along if they know the words. Then the "toaster" downs his glass, fills it up again and passes it on to the "toastee" (me), who then chooses another person to serenade and toast. Rinse, repeat. For our part, we sang whatever songs to which we could remember the lyrics, including "I Would Walk 500 Miles," "It's a Small World," "I Will Survive" and the Portrait of an LBX classic, "Sixteen Tons."
