Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

I know I haven't been posting that many pictures. This is due to the fact that I haven't been taking any pictures, which is in turn due to the fact that nothing has happened which was sufficiently different from last year to warrant taking pictures.

That changed this week, however, with our trip to Laixi, a "small town" of "only" 700,000 people.



The goal of the trip was to introduce us to the urban-rural differences in China. To this end, we visited two elementary schools and a factory, as well as participating in town-square activities.




At the first school, all the children ran to the windows to watch us arrive, waving and smiling excitedly. You'd think we were rockstars or something, but the reality is just that "Waiguoren", or foreigners, are a spectacle just about anywhere you go here. It's good to be interesting for a change.





Immediately after we arrived, we were treated to a series of presentations by the students, showcasing elements of Chinese traditional culture. Or so I'm told -- I understood about 1% of what the kids were saying. It's depressing to realize that after spending most of my time for the past two years on studying this language, I'm still getting completely schooled (literally) by little kids. I mean, even their handwriting is better than mine.

Then again, that's probably true in America too.

We were paired off with the students to make crafts. My "little friend" (a literal translation of how elementary students are referred to here):




And the crafts he gave to me:



Incidentally, he was also better at these things (calligraphy-style painting and decorative knot-tying) than I am. Apparently, Chinese kids just win everything.

To further prove this point, we went out to the schoolyard and played various games. The first of these games was something like a cross between Musical Chairs and Hot Potato. One player would sit in the middle of the circle and play a drum while the other players passed around an embarrassingly pink bouquet of flowers. When the drum stopped, whoever held the flowers had to sing a song or dance a little.



Oh, the shame of defeat. Poor Miles. On the plus side, we did manage to win a game of netless volleyball. There are nasty rumors circulating that this victory was due to our team being composed entirely of male college students and the only boy from the elementary school, versus a bunch of 4th-grade girls. These rumors are, of course, entirely true unfounded.

For the remainder of the day, we just wandered around the town, experiencing daily life there. We learned a few things:

1. Goats are disapproving of people, generally speaking.



2. Laixi is not a good place to look for a girlfriend.



These two signs declare that it is the entire society's responsibility to be aware of AIDS, and to take steps to combat it. The signs were hanging from a lightpole on a busy street. Apparently Laixi is a dirty place in more ways than one.

(We ate dinner right under these signs.)

3. The only thing more interesting than Waiguoren is Waiguoren dancing. Or maybe a bear-sized dog.




Speaking of dancing, when we first arrived on the town square, it was occupied by a gigantic conga line of sorts. Group dancing and other such activities are a regular part of Chinese nightlife -- it's not uncommon to see groups of elderly locals participating in synchronized exercises in the evening, both in Laixi and in Qingdao.



Kennedy and Andre got in on the act too:




The next morning, we visited a Nestle milk processing factory. To be honest, it was pretty much one of the least interesting things I've done in my life (which is saying something), except getting to see these flags next to each other:



Afterwards, we went to another elementary school. This one was further out in the countryside than the first, and had less advanced facilities.



(A countdown to the Olympics. It's hard to believe they're that close, especially because we're returning to the States right after they begin.)

The board at the back of the room instructs the students to study hard, cherish life, and welcome the Olympics, among other things.

The group I was with sat in on a few minutes of the students' music class, during which we were treated to a Chinese song to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". We were then invited to sing a verse of an American song in return; we chose the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner", and wondered if that song had ever been sung anywhere near Laixi before.

We had a lot of fun.




Back in town, if not home,
Nathan

P.S. Andre, another one of the students here, has a blog as well. He hasn't updated it in a while, but he said he might pretty soon. If you're interested: http://tzeltal.blogspot.com

P.P.S. Kung-Fu Panda was fun, and has amazing graphics.

P.P.P.S. The above blogpost was not written in a single sitting, due to the fact that I went next door to McDonald's to meet the USA Olympic Men's Sailing team. We gave them our contact information in case they needed extra translators, and discussed getting together sometime to play frisbee and shop for DVDs. It is a pretty cool time to be in China. :-)