When I Met My World of Warcraft Guild for the First Time—In Shanghai

“We should all meet up during Chinese National Holiday,” said Huan Cha, our twenty-nine-year-old guild leader. “Yeah! Let’s bring everyone from Eternal Weekend,” replied Lazy Pig, “and any other girls.” As I read the lime green text in the guild chat, a mixture of excitement and anxiety boiled within me.

I was living in China at the time and was attending an international high school. International schools are meant for students whose parents had to relocate for work. Only those with foreign passports are admitted to international schools, and everything is taught in English. It’s also very expensive.

At the time of the story, I was part of a guild in an online game called World of Warcraft, and the guild name was Eternal Weekend. There were over five hundred people in the guild, and together we raided every weekend, played battlegrounds, chatted over the microphone, and so on. Despite the amount of time we spent talking and playing, I never considered meeting these people, in real life.

Since most guild members live in Shanghai, the invitation was for everyone who could make it. That included me. As I contemplated the offer, I realized my flawed Chinese would be a problem; My Chinese skills are limited and they know no English. I’ve been able to cover it up pretty well all…