Earthquakes, English Corner, and Eating Out

Much has happened since Tibet, so I figure now is the time to get you all up-to-date...

At Sichuan University there is a weekly event called English corner. Chinese and English-speaking students gather outside the gymnasium at the flagpole, and it gives Chinese students an opportunity to practice their English. Last Friday was the first time I attended and I will have you know that it was quite an interesting experience! But nonetheless I still had fun. I was unable to persuade any of my classmates to come, so I went by myself. I must admit that initially I thought I would have a hard time finding people to talk to. However, that changed after the first ten seconds when some 20 people crowded around me and started asking me different questions. I kid you not here are some actual questions I was asked:

"Do you know about Area 51? So what about the aliens?"

"How do you spay or neuter a cat?"

"Has the U.S. economy affected you in any way?"

"Is your hair real?"

So as you can probably infer, I was a bit overwhelmed. I found many of these questions quite amusing and it was strange feeling like a celebrity just because I can speak English. I talked for 4 hours in what felt like an hour and a half. Chinese people are very friendly and have a great yearning for knowledge about Western life and culture. Needless to say that I made an exponential number of new Chinese friends. I think I'm going back next week.... :)

On Saturday I went with my classmates to the epicenter of the deadly earthquake that occurred on May 12 of this year. It was pretty devastating to see all the ruble and garbage still around. However, I was glad to see that the Chinese government has done a lot to help these people who were so greatly affected by this tragedy. They had planted some beautiful gardens along the road. Also, no one was homeless! The government had built tens of thousands of temporary housing units so everyone could live in a giant community (convenience stores and all) until houses were rebuilt. One thing that struck me was the high level of moral that existed amongst them. Although many of them had lost everything- including loved ones, they seemed generally happy with their lives at hand.
We had the opportunity to visit a high school and middle school and interact a little bit with the students there. Many of them were victims of the earthquake and much of the ruin of their old school was still around. We set up different stations and our class split up to help lead each one. We had basketball, frisbee, capture the flag, friendship bracelet-making, and a song station. I, of course, helped teach them English songs which included: "You Are My Sunshine," "Jingle Bells," "A Hard Day's Night," "We Will Rock You," and "Hit Me Baby One More Time." We had tons of fun! Afterwards, many of the students came up wanting my autograph and picture! It was kinda funny. The kids in China are great though! They are just like every other kid around the world. It was cool to get to hang out with them.

On Sunday I got to spend the day with my host family. I went to a little Tibetan area of Chengdu and tried some of the many snacks they had to offer. I got to visit a place where they made silk. It was pretty cool! They had the actual silk worms and everything. It is the believed that the craft of silk making goes back as far as 6000 B.C. That is a pretty long time. I wonder how anyone thought to use a worm to make fabric?? After little Tibet we visited a coffee house and then a tea house. I enjoyed it very much. Then we went back to their house for dinner. We had yak! :p It was made in the crockpot and was very tender and delicious! Better than regular beef. But yeah, my family is really cool. They are from Kang Ding and Jiu Long which is in western China. My host father and his sister and parents all live in the same apartment complex. Family in China seems tighter than in America (which would suck if you got unlucky in-laws :) They had a niece who was two-years-old and really cute. They also had a nephew who was 5 and had more energy than anyone knew how to handle. I had a really good time.


Bible Verse of the Day:
Romans 5:3-4 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Chinese Word of the Day:

Xingfen 兴奋 "Excited"