The Universal Language

Kelby

Today was a very special day for me. The morning started off slowly, but the afternoon and evening were fast-paced and exhilarating.

Today was the day the Sisterhood would visit Hangzhou High School’s new campus, located more on the outskirts of the city. Before going to the new campus, Liz, Iona, and I all went to class with our host sibling. Henry (my host brother), took me to his chemistry. I could understand the elements the teacher wrote on the board, but I completely forgot how to solve the types of problems written on the board. Once the class was over, the Sisterhood was off to the new campus.

The new campus finished construction in 2015, is consisted on an international school (150 students) and boarding school (400 students per grade), and is an extension of the downtown campus. I was very impressed by what I saw. The international school alone was larger than our high school, and the school campus was twice the size of ours (which I would expect considering the amount of students that go there). However, on the tour we were given, we were brought to an astronomy building which had a room that displayed the constellations above our heads. As a reference, the room was similar to the astronomy tower in the museum of science.

We were then taken to the work out facility, where they have basketball courts, weight rooms, badminton courts, and ballet studios. Naturally, my favorite aspect of the facility were the basketball courts. In the court farthest to the left of the gymnasium there was a group of guys ready to play a pick-up game. I knew I had to get into the game and play. Iona was willing to come with me and join the game, but all the guys looked at us as if to say, “Are you sure you want to play?”. Part of it was that we were girls, the other is that we were foreign and couldn’t communicate very well (for me at least). Anyway, the game began and the nous were stunned. After hitting a few layups, draining two threes far away from the basket, and stealing the ball a few times, I had solidified a respectable status on he court. Iona did as well. She was able to make 3 shots in a row over the tallest kid on the court, and was a pesky defender too (she stole the ball from be once or twice). Seeing that I was unable to play basketball this year in order to participate in the Exchange Program, this afternoon was extremely fun for me.

After basketball, Liz went to a few English classes, Iona, Mrs. Waterman and I got lunch, and then we went back to the downtown campus. From there, we all went home to our host families.

The best part about any activity is that it can be a language of its own. Throughout the trip, we’ve all learned that body language is as important to a language as the words themselves. In the beginning of the trip, I thought of basketball as an activity which required certain vocabulary to understand the game. After today, I now understand basketball does not simply consist of language: basketball is a language. Any sport or activity is. Iona and I were able to make 8 new friends by passing a ball, pointing to spots on the court when wanting someone to go there, and putting our arms up when we wanted the ball. For the first time in my life, I was able to use basketball, and not let basketball use me. As cliche as that may sound, it’s true and utterly satisfying. I sit here writing this blog, attempting to understand the significance of this day in my life, knowing it will be important someday. While I ponder over my basketball career, the life choices I have made up until this point, and all the deep, intellectual, philosophical thoughts that enter people’s minds that lead to epiphanies, I pose an even harder question to my reader: how on earth did Iona make 3 shots in a row?