Different Culture

Thursday May 15, 2014

Class was overly frustrating today. Probably primarily on account that our culture teacher was under the impression that all of us were fourth year Chinese students. The content was way over my head. He was telling us about dragon boat festivals and racing--most of which I only understood after spending about 20 minutes trying to translate a few sentences of the handout he gave us. Haha...

Things got a little better when we later had instruction on the art of Chinese paper cutting. After learning a brief history of the art we started with very simple shapes. It was similar to making snowflakes, but not. It's very similar to projects I've done at home in the states but much more elaborate.

We went on a field trip around 6:00 pm. Taking a bus to the second to last stop, we went to the “E People” village. The E People is the best name for them in English. The first character for the name of this particular group is “E” pronounced more like “uh” while the second character means people. Anyway, this particular group tends to live less modern than the remainder of society. I would say they are kind of similar to the Hutterites or the Amish but this isn't quite accurate either. Also, despite choosing not to live a more modern life style, this village is a thriving hotspot for tourists. Primarily tourists from many other places in China. We were the only foreigners from elsewhere.

Some of the women in the area were dressed in traditional performance clothing, like the lady next to me.

This lady made me laugh. As we were watching people dance around a fire pit (which was at the time unlit) she came up to me, handed me her hat, and told me to wear it. So naturally, even though she weakly protested otherwise, I wanted to get a picture with her. After the picture some of the other kids in the group and I joined the dance around the campfire.

It was a simple dance--a left, right step with a rocking back step as the group revolved around the fire pit. It was really fun. Most people in the circle were thrilled some crazy foreigners joined in, and many people were taking pictures. Haha... We were quite the spectacle.

Along the street were many vendors of different sorts. If you wanted small weapons, you could get them here. If you wanted jewelry or other hand made crafts you could get them here.

If you wanted fresh food, including meat recently carved off of a pig, you could get it here.

When the city lit up later it was really pretty. That was a really fun excursion.

Saturday May 17, 2014

We went with both professors Zhang (no relation) on a hike up to an observation point that overlooked the city. This was only a small “hike”. It was uphill, and took some stamina, but it wasn't very long and the whole way was paved.

It was fun though. On our way back down, we went along another path which led to a monument for the Korean war. It was really cool. Various emotions and events were carved into a stone wall.

It was very impressive.

There was also something kind of like a zoo, but not really.

At least the peacocks were pretty.

Afterward we went another direction up to a nearby Buddhist temple. That was also all up hill, but with more stairs.

It was a nice temple, very Chinese, and they all kind of look the same after a while, but they're always fun to see and appreciate the architecture.

It gets quite hot here in the middle of the day, the area has mostly red, iron rich soil that is common to southern Utah. Except, it's considerably greener here than in southern Utah. It gets up into the high 80s and 90s. However, I still think Utah's temperature is more severe because, despite as hot as it gets outside, I can leave my window open all day and my dorm room remains a pleasant temperature.

So, without much notice, we were informed that we were going to be performing in the foreign language singing competition. We sang as the intermission, essentially. Some of the kids were really good in their pronunciation. Others... others were very incoherent, and it almost sounded like they were singing in some other language, but they were trying to sing in English. Haha.... It was really fun, even if the girl directly behind me kept yelling and screaming for her friends.

Moral of the Story: Even if you're afraid you'll look like an idiot, it's more fun to join in sometimes than to simply observe.

The Beginning

Firstly, let me note- the internet here is very unpredictable so I will update as I can. I had intended to post this on Sunday, however, as my situation is, this entry has now become a compilation of entries for multiple days.

Sunday May 11, 2014

My first full day in Chuxiong. Some of our Chinese tutors accompanied us to Walmart. Yes, a Walmart. And Walmart it is, although, you find people dressed in normal clothes at this one, unlike many of the stores in the U.S. Haha... It had all kinds of great stuff, and the fresh food section had all kinds of meats provided in ways one would never see in the U.S. A very clean Chinese market. I like this city.

Shanghai was fun, we saw many sights on the first day. We went to a museum, a historic area rebuilt to look like parts of Shanghai did, took a river cruise at night to see the newer part of the city lit up. I liked it. :) However, Chuxiong is much smaller by comparison, and subsequently feels more relaxed. So far I have yet to see any other foreigners outside of our group. I have heard that a few of the teachers here are from Europe or the U.S., but as stated earlier, I've just heard rumor.

Our first day of classes begins tomorrow. We're going to participate in the opening ceremonies, so we need to look very professional. I look forward to working with my tutor to improve my conversational skills.

Chuxiong claims to be the Land of the Dinosaurs. As we took a shuttle (bus) from Kunming to get here, I saw many older houses along the way with dinosaur illustrations painted on their walls. I'm excited to visit the archaeological museum they have in the city. The dinosaurs, mountains and red rocks around here remind me very much of home. It is crazy how many similarities I've noticed. Granted, it is much greener here and slightly more humid, and while it's hot in the sun, it is considerably cooler than Utah in the shade or in a building with its windows open.

Wow, my brain is everywhere today.

Monday May 12, 2014

Today, we had orientation and the opening ceremonies. We were introduced to the teachers for our classes, and all of our tutors. I really like my tutor. Her name is Zhou Qian, or she goes by her English name Lucy. She doesn't speak a large amount of English, but she understands more than I understand Chinese. I am excited. The language barrier will help me work to learn how to speak and understand more.

After introductions we had a small test to assess our Chinese comprehension level. We had a list of characters to translate, after which we were to give a short three minute introduction of ourselves and why we desire to learn Chinese. I think I got a majority of the characters I answered correct, but the second part was more concerning. However, as I wrote up what I wanted to say, I remembered the presentation I had given in the end of class last semester. That gave me plenty of content.

Later, we went down to another part of the city today, in an effort to get additional pictures taken for some documentation, We later found out the endeavor had been unnecessary, as Yuan Laoshi had already obtained digital copies of our visa photos. However, I loved the whole thing. We went to a city center with a large pond, many flowers, trees and some monument-like statues.

The best thing about this place was how many old people there were there. Many were playing Mahjong, or card games. Others were singing or playing musical instruments together, others were dancing. Many people stared at us as we passed by, or when we were standing around as we were asking for directions. Some came and talked with us or asked us questions. One lady invited us to come back to watch (or participate in, I'm not sure which) a dance later at 8:30. A handful of people took pictures of us. Haha.... Such is life in China when you're a foreigner.

We got a new book today, so I've been reading over the first few chapters in preparation for tomorrow. I don't know how much we're going to cover, but much of what I read was review, with some vocabulary here and there that I didn't know. I figure there is no such thing as studying too much when I want to learn as much as I can during this experience abroad.

I'm excited to see what the first day of class is like tomorrow. I look forward to it.

Tuesday May 13, 2014

First day of actual class. The first part was really boring. The content is very basic, a majority of which we have already learned. (I can only imagine how bored the advanced students were.) While the content is something I'm very familiar with, I still have difficulty understanding my teacher when she speaks. She speaks quickly, even when she tries to slow down. But it's okay. I know I'll start picking up on it soon enough. It's kinda funny though. My reading comprehension is perfectly sufficient for the material we are covering- though my pronunciation can always use improvement here and there- but I think my inability to understand verbal questions causes my teacher to wonder if I understand anything at all.

I am getting a little ahead on the homework. I intend to work hard and stay ahead in order to learn as much as I can while I'm here. While my understanding in class seems unbalanced, I enjoy working with my tutor. Her English is very limited, so she explains grammatical concepts and tonal concepts in Chinese. Some of the vocabulary she uses are words that I am unfamiliar with, and many times we have difficulty conveying and understanding the ideas we are trying to explain to each other. However, while it was a little overwhelming for a brief period today, and while thinking so much in Chinese made my brain feel like it was melting, today's language learning has been very satisfying.

Melissa, Scott and I went out to shop a little again. Without fail, many people stared and gawked as we went around town. Some people are shameless. They stare as they're right next to you, or the group, and then walk a circle around as they continue to stare. It's quite comical. I love how many people react with smiles and a laugh when we say hi. Children are my favorite. Many of them are shy and don't know how to react when we start talking with them. Others, like a group of boys from the neighboring elementary waved and shouted things like “Nice to meet you”, “Hello”, and “How are you?” laughing and giggling as they went along.

The Moral of the Story: If you inadvertently draw attention to yourself, be friendly. You'll probably cause someone to smile, even if it's because you're funny looking. The worst thing that could happen is someone may be less than interested, and they'll just walk away.

Day One

The long awaited time has come. It's crazy. I feel like I've been anticipating this for longer than a year. (It's really only been about nine months since I began planning.) Everything has fallen into place for this to happen, for which, I am very grateful. 

A new adventure is to be had. One with all kinds of unpredictable things. That causes me to worry a little, as I'm prone to do. However, as a wise friend reminded me in a recent conversation "it would be a rather boring trip if you had already experienced everything that is going to happen and already learned everything you're going to learn".

I'll keep plugging along and doing my best, but in the mean time, I will enjoy the ride. It's not everyday a white girl gets to study in China. 


Moral of the Story: Don't worry so much about the things that are not in your ability to control or influence. Do the best with what you have, and things will always, ultimately work out for the best.