London Olympics in Kunming

The train to Kunming provided the most amazing views of China's countryside when not in a tunnel.  Breath-taking glimpses of endless hills all terraced to more efficiently use the land, the massive Three Gorges Dam, and small villages gave us a radically different view of China than the city life.

Not a single Olympic sport is broadcasted on Chinese television that does not contain a competing Chinese athlete.  Unfortunately that means very few track events, which I usually quite enjoy.  If China gets a gold medal then the moment is sure to be replayed ad nauseaum.  It is such a new perspective that I now wonder if the US employs the same strategy to that same extent.  For example, ping pong and badminton (and female weight-lifting) are rarely on US channels but dominate Chinese stations. (Only Chinese played in both the women's and men's final ping pong matches.)  In the same manner that American commercials for the Olympics and its sponsors feature dramatic shots of basketball, swimming, or running perhaps, Chinese commercials pair the intense music with badminton and ping pong.

A Chinese Specialty

Chinese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today all of the NSLI students performed at a shopping center, in front of reporters and a crowd, the traditional Chinese arts we had been practicing: kung fu tea, traditional tea ceremony, tai chi, and Sichuanese cooking.  I really enjoyed getting to experience kung fu tea; I probably will never have another opportunity to pour tea from a three-foot spout balanced on my head.

My favorite dish that my host family has served me so far consists of a mound of long and thin potatoes cooked in oil (I know it sounds suspiciously like French fries but is actually traditional).  I have had some other tasty treats, but none of the desserts that I have tried have actually been that appetizing.  My host sister generally says our desserts taste too sweet for her (like cotton candy which she was surprised to discover existed in the United States).  Lily and I tried to cook chocolate chip cookies using a bag mix I brought from America.  First we had to substitute for the butter; then we had to substitute for the oven.  Cooking them in a pan on a stove resulted in pancake-like cookies but was much better than the microwave.  The microwave resulted in a single large cookie on the bottom of the plate.

Street vendor making sugar animals

Traditional market in the evening

Tomorrow morning the group of exchange students is leaving via overnight train for Kunming in the province of Yunnan.  I have heard that we may be staying in a mountain resort, cabins, and tents (pretty big difference, but I am bringing my own roll of toilet paper so I will be prepared for anything).  I have very little idea of what to expect, but Internet access and Western toilets are doubtful so I may not be able to post for the two weeks that we will be away.

Ice Age

After school, some friends and I saw Ice Age 4 at a movie theater.  We had been expecting English subtitles but ended up watching the entire film without them.  Seeing as the content was for 10-year-olds and barely had a plot, the context of the movie was very easy to follow, but I only understood about 10% of the dialogue and guessed at the rest.  The sentences that I did understand brought me superb satisfaction, however, especially if containing terminology recently learned.

I am trying to convince my host sister to wake up at 4 am with me tomorrow morning to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but she does not seem particularly interested.  From what I can tell, none of the hype that usually surrounds the Olympics in the US exists here.

Weirdest thing I ate today: pigs' ears.

American Idols

Evidence that the Asian stereotype of taking "selfies" is founded in some truth.

Last night I was trying to sign up for a 微博 (weibo) account, the Chinese version of Twitter, but I was hindered by the requirement of Chinese ID Number (similar to one's Social Security Number) to create an account.  Besides being beyond frustrating for me, the government-mandated requisite removes not only the anonymity of users but also limits foreigners' involvement in the social networking site.  I have found since being here that I took the ease of information access in the United States much for granted.

All of the NSLI students spent the morning teaching Chinese elementary school students English. The kids tended to swarm and were even hopping up and down in front of a window to glimpse into a room where we were.  They all wanted our picture and autograph in a desperate way; the benefit was that by rewriting my Chinese name one hundred times my signature advanced from a carefully constructed beginner's to a realistically expedited version more comparable to a native's.

The mini mob only grew when we students convinced them
that one of  the students in our program was Justin Bieber's little brother.

Weirdest thing I ate today: red bean flavored doughnut (wonderful!)

Kung Fu Tea

Setting for learning kung fu tea, a gorgeous teahouse.

Instead of having class today, groups split off to learn various traditional Chinese talents which we will all perform this Saturday.  My group is learning a routine of kung fu tea, an extraordinarily physical manner of pouring tea using a teapot with an extremely long and thin spout.  Below are clips of the teacher presenting her art.

An elaborate tea ritual for our behalf.

¥3,300 tea (the most expensive offered was ¥350,000 per half kilo)
$516 US Dollars (the most expensive offered was $54,807 per  17.6 ounces)

I wanted to get my ears cleaned for only 3 yuan each, but my host mother decided it was too perilous for my ear drums.

An inflated rat made of sugar bought for me by my host family.

Weirdest thing I ate today: fish eyeballs.  While crunching on my mid-morning snack of chicken fingers (complete with knuckles and nails), I thought it had claimed the daily prize, but then I found a little present of fresh fish eyeballs in my soup at dinner.

Spicy pickled chicken feet

Best Street Vendors

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.

Lake in the middle of the traditional market

Tianfu Square illuminated at nighttime

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.

Lily

I had a really interesting conversation with my host sister tonight about how she is studying for an English exam for foreigners (ILETS) so that she can go to college in the States, particularly UCLA (she says the campus' air is very fresh).  She would like to work in the US but must stay in China to take care of her parents as they grow older, an interesting mindset difference from the rising generation of young adults in the US.

The NSLI-Y group visited the American Consulate in Chengdu yesterday, an experience that convinced me I want to become a foreign service agent and spend my life traveling the world.

I had a wonderful evening the night before with my (American) friends at a Tex-Mex Restaurant.  It was the first "American" food we had had in so long that it made us giddy, and we laughed so hard all night long.  Afterwards we joined a group of women dancing in a park, something I had been wanting to do while in China!

Tonight all the exchange students and some host siblings (not mine; her father recently told her: I work hard, so you will study hard) celebrated one of the American's birthdays at a Chinese barbecue (MSG was served in a bowl for those who wanted to add it to their barbecue).  At one point in the evening a group of us was playing Mafia (杀人游戏 Kill People Game), using a translator for every step of the game, and then it dawned on me how amazing it was to be playing in multiple languages a game I learned on the opposite side of the world.

My favorite cute common phrases (and habits) of Lily:
"I am so clever!"  She means it in the best possible way.
Whenever I say thank you to her, she will respond with, "No thanks" in English.
Every single time we are eating together, she asks, "Dericious, right?"
"I love convenient noodles!". Ramen noodles translated literally are convenient noodles.
She ends every conversation with, "Bye bye!"
She wanted her English name to be Dolphin.
If I buy an outfit, she will buy the exact same one so she can match me.

Weirdest thing I ate today: rabbit head.