Today the class of exchange students split into the same teams from last Friday's Amazing Race competition to endeavor to earn the most money selling street-side. Seeing as at least five times a day I turn around to find someone taking a close range picture of me, my group decided to use the "crazy American right here, only 5¥ for a photo I'm actually expecting" strategy to make money. And it worked! We had decorated a huge poster board to say "American Friends" in Chinese and then approached pedestrians of the crowded square about if they wanted to sign their name on the board and take a picture. We would sometimes have a small crowd gathered waiting for photos with us and our poster. Several times parents sent their tiny toddlers into the midst of the American teenagers for an adorable photo where we all crouched next to the child. The adults would actually teach the children to hold up what Americans consider the peace sign in pictures but rather means victory for them. Other teams tried selling water bottles, playing guitar, wearing masks, and offering hugs, but our team won with 362¥! The challenge ceased around lunchtime so for the rest of the day a group of friends and I enjoyed ourselves around the city. The afternoon we spent at a traditional Chinese goods market and the evening in the beautiful central downtown plaza.
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| Lake in the middle of the traditional market |
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| Tianfu Square illuminated at nighttime |
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| Statue of Chairman Mao in the center of the city |
I recently discovered that whom I thought was my host aunt is actually just a live-in maid for my host family! Chinese people tend to call everyone family names whether they are related or not; for example any guests to the house automatically become Aunt and Uncle, their kids Brother or Sister. There are 18 different terms for the nomenclature of two generations alone, all depending on which side of the family, gender, relative age and last name compared to you.
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