(Nik)
My morning consisted of two periods of English (I followed one former exchange teacher, Derrick, around to his classes) where I read aloud from the English textbook. A read a passage about "Freddy the Frog," a newly adult frog who follows a sound he hears and ends up becoming the lead singer in what can only be described as an Elvis cover-band made up entirely of frogs. Unfortunately, the students found the sound of my voice trying to pronounce the words slowly and clearly more entertaining than the text itself and didn't actually understand the point of the story, and honestly, that's for the best. I think the students are entitled to something a bit more mature and engrossing than Freddy.
After class, we had "PE." I'm not sure if this was planned from the beginning, but the teacher arrived in the gym with Pom-Poms and a video of Caitlin (an exchange student from last year) cheerleading to Ke$ha's hit song "Die Young." For an hour we sweated on the mat, jumping and rolling and bouncing our Pom-Poms, and then, we kindly suggested our two translators, Reason and 710, join us. They begrudgingly complied. This made the already hilarious experience about ten-thousand times funnier due to Reason's six-foot wingspan and 710's flannel sweater which became a super fashionable belt and whipped around with the Pom-Poms. We were more graceful than swans.
Today was our "Welcome Lunch" which meant several administrators and most of the English department at Hanggao took us out for a delicious meal at a nice hotel near campus. Over lunch, LV and some other teachers tested my knowledge of Chinese idioms. I'd like to share a few:
- Wanshui qianshan (10,000 rivers and 1,000 mountains): an arduous task
- Wu yan liu se (five and six colors): very colorful
- Shi nian hanchuang (ten years studying by a cold window): working very hard to achieve academically
- Qiling-Baluo (seven pieces eight strikes): scattered and disorderly
- Hao hao xue, tian tian shang: if you study well, every day you will rise higher
- Shan gao, Huangdi yuan (the mountains are high, and the Emperor is far away): we are separated from authority and can be independent.
After lunch our translators took us shopping and we had bubble tea. How they can drink hot bubble tea in the sweltering sun while wearing wool sweaters without a bead of sweat on their forehead is beyond me; I was drenched in sweat, which really made me excited for "social practice," where I assumed that my sweat and I would be meeting many new people. Instead I watched a presentation about a girl's recent trip to Germany. The photos and written parts I could understand were very interesting, and they took her to a cabaret while she was there, videos of which provoked laughter and extreme confusion from the class.
My host family is fascinated by the American diet and during meals I am asked many questions about the availability of certain foods and what dishes are made when. I have so far explained peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, how and when to apply certain salad dressings (vinegar based typically in summer or with fruit, if it's just lettuce and/or vegetables, the thick opaque dressings are your friends), and where carbohydrates come from in different seasons. They are good listeners with very expressive faces!
Also, their coffee table is a fish tank. It's really cool.
7 comments:
Hi Nik! From what you said about the video of the girl's trip to Germany, I gather that you all are learning about many cultures other than China's. This is interesting because it shows how the countries of the world influence each other, or simply just how they are different in lifestyles. Also, your host family's fascination with the American diet shows the differences between Chinese food and American food. Since America is struggling with eating healthy and keeping down obesity levels, maybe we could learn from the Chinese eating styles and try to mimic them a little bit. Finally, the fish tank coffee table is pretty awesome. You would rarely see that in America, even though it is a relatively simple concept. I hope the rest of the exchange trip is as exciting as it seems to be now!
Hey Nick, you said your translators names were Reason and 710, I was wondering, are these nickname you guys gave them, or are these their real names, I suppose it would seem weird to Americans to have names like that, but the names could just be normal there, you never know.
Hey Nik!! Hope all is well abroad in China!! The trip looks like so much fun, and I can't tell you how jealous I am. I really like how you tried to teach us readers some Chinese idioms. That being said, I will not be able to pronounce (or remember them!). I think it is funny that they were so obsessed with the way you pronounced certain words - I had a similar experience while studying Arabic in Jordan. Isn't studying abroad so great? How do you like the experience? Can't wait to talk to you more about it when you get home. Say hi to everyone for me and enjoy the rest of your time!! :)
Hey Nik, I found it very interesting that they were curious about our American diet. I was wondering if their portion sizes in china were smaller than ours. Also how different are the meals from ours.
Hey Nik, I found it very intresting to learn about what they eat for breakfast in china.
The host family there seems very nice. Love it how she makes you guys breakfast and seems like a much more nutritious and delicious diet compared to the cereal I eat.
I'm so jealous of all the exciting things you and the other exchange students have been doing. Your host family seems very nice and it sounds like your having fun at the school as well. I have a question though, do you take any classes in Chinese? And are your translators real names Reason and 710 or are those nicknames?
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