Well, we might as well talk about the elephant in the room – or, I should say - the elephant that has just left: the US elections. For the past months, Beijing’s expats have tirelessly attended (Obama) campaign fundraisers, organized voter registration drives, and helped Americans apply for absentee ballots. Even those less committed among us have wasted hours upon hours endlessly tracking poll numbers and punditry.

One might expect a student of American government to know that winning the presidency requires 270 electoral votes. However, when the majority of social outcasts at the Bookworm’s trivia night - your humble columnist included - can name McCain’s rallies (Road to Victory Rallies), his energy plan (The Lexington Project) and the rate by which he would cut the corporate tax rate (from 35% to 25%), interest has turned to obsession.

The morning of the 5th, therefore, was the climax of a terrific stockpiling of energy and emotion. From crisply dressed officials at the American embassy to the disheveled masses huddled around breakfast beers at The Rickshaw to the thousands pretending to work as they repeatedly pressed “refresh” at their office computers, the city waited. And, then, when west coast polling closed and Barack Hussein Obama was declared the victor, Beijing’s internationals had their first collective orgasm.

If Beijing is host to disappointed McCain supporters, they were too gracious (or too scared) to let that disappointment be known. From the moment that the election was called, Obamania reigned supreme. “For the first time since I left, feelings of genuine pride, and clichéd as it is, hope, make me wish I was back home,” remarked Josh Stephens, a New Yorker working in Beijing. The feeling was shared by many others. At the close of Obama’s Grant Park acceptance speech in Chicago, one American at the Rickshaw downed double shots of Jager, before falling over and screaming “I am not ashamed anymore.”

The general sense of euphoria spilled over to Beijing’s international schools. “Working at an international school, it was especially exciting watching the results coming in. I had colleagues from New Zealand, Canada and China phoning after each new wave of results poured in,” said Kate Mitchell of the Western Academy of Beijing. “When McCain conceded, the entire Grade 4 wing at WAB erupted into cheers. It was fun watching the kids, most of whom were not even American, get so excited.”

“This is happening everywhere,” said Irish national, Colin Saunders of the celebrations. “They are partying all over Dublin tonight. The world is relieved. We might not be able to vote, but the US election is not just for Americans.”

Nor was the bacchanalia that followed. The parties may end up being the culmination of a movement in Beijing, rather than the start of one. Still, the palpable and profound joy throughout the city on the 5th is well worth noting. Next month may be less grand and hopeful, but, for now, it’s nice to see us again touched by better angels.