The day started off like any other general, "Here, let's give you a tour of a campus!" kind of tour-a-campus day. We met up with the directors of the programs in this nice little meeting space where they told us their names, we told them ours, we all said nice, brief introductions, Dr. Kung made his speeches, we all said what we were looking to gain from the experience, etc, etc. Not that any of that is bad, mind you. I love listening to the different things each student is studying and why each person decided to come to China. It's really interesting to me how the relationships between the two schools are forged. As well as, the benefits that students in the future will receive from that exchange of knowledge and good will. But, either way, it all started off the same way any other college tour would go.
Setting up for the meeting
Then we took a tour of Hubei's museum of Chinese history. They had soooo many different exhibits that really spanned the entirety of China's history and covered everything from coins to handcrafted bowls, plates and statues from different eras. We also had great tour guides and were able to see a collection of insects from the area and then this beautiful work of art made completely out of butterfly wings.
Intro to the museum
Talking about paintings and artwork
Pottery
Pottery
Moving to another area
Old school coins
Buddha statue
Picture made of butterfly wings
Group shot
Me with Eric (Mr. Money) and Vendula
Superstaaaaaah. We were being silly.
After that, we went to lunch, which was fun. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but when you eat dinner (or even lunch!) with your host, you have to go up to them and toast. We had the pleasure of experiencing this for the first time at a dinner with the Director of the the program in Nanjing. There is some kind of rice liquor that they drink--that is supposed to be sipped, but that we somehow got coerced into shooting with our hosts. So here we are, college kids from a dry campus coming up to these guests and taking shots of what we dubbed "fire water" and also wine....at lunch! Dr. Kung told us that the whole goal of each of these lunches and dinners was to get the hosts drunk. If we could do this...we won! Man, gotta love China! Haha.
Anyway, so we finished eating and moved onto the part of the tour that this post is titled after. We got to walk around and talk to the students. It. Was. Epic! So....what are all the things you should teach a Chinese college kid?
1. Musical exchange that involves dance is always a good move. (Haha! Get the pun?? :D ) That said...we taught them the Soulja Boy dance, how to dougie...and also the stanky legg. It was great. We exchanged music and found out all of the artists they liked. (I just wish the Creep had come out before we left...)
2. Teach them some slang. You never know when it might come in handy. Key phrases to propose: "Let's do this!" "That place looks like it's under lock-down." "Watch out, you might get shanked." All phrases that refer to individuals as "home-slice" and "G-Dogg." Does it matter if their name actually starts with a G? Nah. They're just a G in general.
3. Show them that catcalling guys is socially acceptable when you plan on being a dominant female, or when they can't speak the same language as you. To do this, be sure to know how to reference a man's ability to play sports and then follow with words of encouragement or heckling as needed.
4. Teach them how to sorority pose for photos with numerous people. Also show them that hugging and throwing your head backwards in happiness is an okay pose for showing that you're having a good time.
5. Say hello to everyone you pass, even if they look like they're sad and sulking, or if they're a grumpy security guard. It will make their day...no matter what language you're speaking in.
There were many more...and of course I can't remember all of them. But we had a great time and even got to see the dorms the girls lived in. It was amazing to see the difference in their living quality versus ours here. It probably seems great to move into Carpenter as an exchange student from China. They didn't have any hot running water, so if they wanted to shower they had to go to a different building. They don't have high enough power outlets in their rooms to dry or straighten their hair, so they have to do that downstairs. There isn't any heat in their rooms, so they sleep with water heaters under their blankets. It sounds like a rough life, but they all seem so happy and excited about their days and everything they're doing. They seem hungry for life, which is something I think a lot of American students are lacking.
Dorm room
More dorm room
Getting hot chocolate...it was coooold!
We convened in a warm library area where students were studying and passing their time by covering material for classes, which struck me as interesting since it was a Saturday and the day after New Year's Eve. Weren't these kids supposed to be enjoying their time? Or at least recuperating? Guess not...? Either way, our guides gave us a chance to relax and then we went to see everything Chinese culture offered. It encompassed a tea ceremony, calligraphy writing demonstration and then numerous theatre performances by local troupes. It was fabulous!
Tea ceremony. (I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to take pictures. o.o)
With Conrad right before the performances
Ka-chow!
Eat your heart out, Kill Bill.
Strike a pose. --Cue Madonna music--
I only got videos of the performances. No photos. Sorry :/. If you want to see more pictures of me and other students with silly poses, you can check out my Facebook page and see the tagged photos of me. Until then, enjoy the photos here and know that Wuhan is where it's at!
I miss you guys! (not that you can read this... :/)
Whitney
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