The Best Night (so far).

Friday, July 11

So we were told months before that part of working at the schools would mean accepting invitations from students' families to visit their homes or go out to dinner etc. We were explicitly told that we could not refuse, as it was disrespectful to the family and their culture. I was incredibly nervous about this, for several reasons. First, after a full day of teaching I am exhausted. It's very difficult for me to be polite and fun and nice when I'm so tired. I was worried it might not go well. Secondly, since I don't speak ANY Chinese I couldn't imagine how I could get through the night very easily. My students speak decent english, but we've been told that their parents probably speak almost none. AND finally, in the USA we don't socialize with our students and their families. It's not professional and would actually be frowned upon, not encouraged. It felt awkward. However, little did I know that I would have the most amazing time! It was such a great night :)

I was invited to go out with Alinda and her father, as well as Cherry. (Aren't these awesome "English" names?) These two girls are super sweet and precious and I was really happy to go out with them. Here we are later in the evening:

Cherry, me, and Alinda

Right after school was over, I gathered my things and headed downstairs to find the girls. Alinda introduced me to her father - which was quite interesting. First, he obviously works-out regularly. He was pretty muscular and fit. I only really noticed because this is so weird in China. It is trendy and "desirable" for men to be thin and pale and lanky. Almost exactly what we don't like in the USA. So this caught my attention right away. Secondly, he was dressed to show it off. He was wearing a VERY tight Armani Exchange t-shirt with aviator sunglasses. He was trying really hard :) Not what you expect from some cute little Chinese girl's dad. We said our hellos, although he didn't speak English and I don't speak Chinese. Then we loaded up in his car, a brand new Mercedes SUV. It was super nice and not at all what I was expecting. You know, a fancy expensive car is not what I had in my mind when I thought of China. Turns out he is a very successful businessman who works in construction and building development.

He drove us a few minutes down the road to a famous lotus pond and garden in Baoding (http://www.chinahighlights.com/baoding/attraction/ancient-lotus-flower-pond.htm). He dropped me and the girls off and we went inside. Right away we saw a couple taking engagement photos in traditional Chinese clothing :

Me interrupting the couple as they take their engagement photos. Most Chinese couples take engagement photos in traditional Chinese clothing (in red) instead of modern clothing.

Next we walked around the pond. Here are the pics: 

Me and Alinda

Me and Cherry

The view across the pond. All that green in the foreground are Lotus plants/flowers growing on top of the water from the pond. It is quite amazing.

After the ponds and garden, we headed to dinner. Alinda's dad took us to a very fancy and expensive Chinese restaurant. He insisted I sit in the seat of honor - which is the one facing the door. Next was the most stressful part of the night: I was handed a huge menu and asked to order for everyone. I immediately went into a panic. Chinese food can be kind of strange. It's so hard to tell what you're ordering. And, it almost never tastes how I expected it would. I was overwhelmed and panicking. I chose a few dishes and then the dad told the translator that I shouldn't pick all the inexpensive dishes and that I should order whatever I would like. Normally this would be so nice - but instead this made my situation worse. I would love to order whatever I like - but I can't. I have no idea what this stuff is. I can't read the menu. I begged him, the translator, and the girls to help me decide, to no avail. Finally I just picked stuff and hoped for the best. We got some weird food, like a soup with a whole fish floating in it. And WHOLE friend shrimp - legs, eyes and all. But I found some things to eat and all was good.

After dinner, we stopped at a "square". This is where the night got good! Alinda's dad parked and we all got out. It was dark, so we couldn't see much, but I could hear all the people and music and fun. It was exhilarating. Alinda stopped and bought herself and Cherry and me some glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces. Then we went over to a large group of dancers.

If I haven't already, let me tell you about this Chinese group dancing: In almost every open public area Chinese men and women will gather to dance, in the evenings, when it's cool. There are a couple leaders who bring music and speakers and who teach the dance. I've seen groups as small as 5-6 people, and as a large as more than 100 people. They do a line dance for recreation and exercise and anyone is allowed to jump in and try. And so I did!

After an attempt at Chinese line dancing, we walked a little further into the square and found a group of old men playing traditional Chinese music.

When they stopped I asked the translator if she would ask the old man playing the drums to take a picture with me:

me and the old man drummer

And then it got crazy.

As soon as I stepped out to take my picture with the drummer a crowd started to form around me. It felt like hundreds of people, but probably only 50 or so. They were watching, and taking pictures of me. I was the center of attention. Before I realized what was happening, the drummer handed me his drumsticks and was gesturing for me to play. I tried to refuse, but couldn't get out of it. So I beat on the drum a few times and but the sticks down. As I was trying to get away, the cymbal player next to him handed me his cymbals and tried to show me the proper way to hold them. But it was hard. I did my best. By this time a huge crowd had gathered around me. It was kinda scary.

getting a lesson on how to hold the cymbals

me trying to playing the cymbals and not doing very well.

I quickly handed them back and got away. The attention is nice but it's a lot to handle. I'm not used to people noticing me at all. It's hard to be the center of attention - especially since I don't usually like drawing lots of attention to myself. What a fun experience, though!

On our way out of the square we stopped to watch a group of Latin dancers. Apparently Latin ballroom dance is becoming very popular in China, as we saw it several times, in several places. The dancers were quite good. During one of their breaks the girls got the instructor to take a picture with me.

So far, this is the most fun time I've had in China. I really felt like a got a feel of local culture, interacted with the locals, and did some things WAY out of my comfort zone. I came back to our hotel exhausted, but so happy. This is the trip of a lifetime and I'm so happy I came!

Now off to bed - another day of teaching tomorrow!!!