A couple of our students got up early and visited an English class this morning. Ji Gu, Erick and Kathleen found themselves in the role of English teacher for some very enthusiastic young students. Kathleen sang a song from High School Musical. After reuniting with our group inside the gates of the Tangu School, we all walked to the athletic field in the middle of the campus where we observed the morning exercise program. Hundreds of middle school students jogged into the gated athletic field and quickly lined up in groups of about 25 students, one wearing a colored vest with a number on it. Each group then ran several laps in formation. After they left, the gym teacher came over to the turf field and had us all line up by height. He led us through some exercises. During the course of the day, many young students wanted to speak to the "foreigners"- some of them shouted "Hello!" as they passed by and a few came right up to us, eager to converse. This activity was followed by a short presentation by "Mike." He gave an overview of Chinese culture, including the many festivals enjoyed by the Chinese, chopstick history and etiquette, and Chinese tea. He ended the presentation with some music by a well known female singer from Chengdu. We had lunch and then spent some time in one of the school's computer rooms where we all tried to access email, but without much luck. The afternoon activity was a calligraphy lesson. Everyone tried his or her hand at this ancient Chinese art form and we all agreed it is harder than it looks! We can all read the word "America" in Chinese now. After calligraphy we went to the second floor of the dining hall to make dumplings.
The dining hall has three floors and each one is filled with tables to seat several hundred people. However, we arrived before dinner was served so it was just our group and the kitchen staff, who were taking a break and watching tv together. One of them came over to demonstrate how to make a dumpling. Her fingers worked so quickly as she scooped a spoonful of pork and cabbage mixture into the round dough and pinched into a sealed pouch. Our students gave it a shot and we discovered that Shea has a knack for dumplings - his first one was perfect! It took only 5 minutes for the dumplings to steam. We had several different sauces to try with the dumplings, including vinegar, soy sauce and a very spicy sauce that got the best of both Madame Leff and Penny. Once we had finished eating the students all met up with their hosts and went "home" with them for the weekend. Some of the families are planning to take their Gould student to see the Pandas. A few of the students have Saturday classes so a few of our Gouldies will be tagging along (not such an unfamiliar thing, though...). The hosts arranged for Madame Leff and Mrs. Chase to see a Sichuan Opera show. Because of heavy traffic, we missed about half of the show but we did get to see some exquisitely dressed dancers, a man balancing a small, flaming urn on his head and most exciting of all: the signature face-changing act. We really don't know how they did it, but it was a stunning display of color and sound and definitely something to write home about!
A couple of our students got up early and visited an English class this morning. Ji Gu, Erick and Kathleen found themselves in the role of English teacher for some very enthusiastic young students. Kathleen sang a song from High School Musical. After reuniting with our group inside the gates of the Tangu School, we all walked to the athletic field in the middle of the campus where we observed the morning exercise program. Hundreds of middle school students jogged into the gated athletic field and quickly lined up in groups of about 25 students, one wearing a colored vest with a number on it. Each group then ran several laps in formation. After they left, the gym teacher came over to the turf field and had us all line up by height. He led us through some exercises. During the course of the day, many young students wanted to speak to the "foreigners"- some of them shouted "Hello!" as they passed by and a few came right up to us, eager to converse. This activity was followed by a short presentation by "Mike." He gave an overview of Chinese culture, including the many festivals enjoyed by the Chinese, chopstick history and etiquette, and Chinese tea. He ended the presentation with some music by a well known female singer from Chengdu. We had lunch and then spent some time in one of the school's computer rooms where we all tried to access email, but without much luck. The afternoon activity was a calligraphy lesson. Everyone tried his or her hand at this ancient Chinese art form and we all agreed it is harder than it looks! We can all read the word "America" in Chinese now. After calligraphy we went to the second floor of the dining hall to make dumplings.
The dining hall has three floors and each one is filled with tables to seat several hundred people. However, we arrived before dinner was served so it was just our group and the kitchen staff, who were taking a break and watching tv together. One of them came over to demonstrate how to make a dumpling. Her fingers worked so quickly as she scooped a spoonful of pork and cabbage mixture into the round dough and pinched into a sealed pouch. Our students gave it a shot and we discovered that Shea has a knack for dumplings - his first one was perfect! It took only 5 minutes for the dumplings to steam. We had several different sauces to try with the dumplings, including vinegar, soy sauce and a very spicy sauce that got the best of both Madame Leff and Penny. Once we had finished eating the students all met up with their hosts and went "home" with them for the weekend. Some of the families are planning to take their Gould student to see the Pandas. A few of the students have Saturday classes so a few of our Gouldies will be tagging along (not such an unfamiliar thing, though...). The hosts arranged for Madame Leff and Mrs. Chase to see a Sichuan Opera show. Because of heavy traffic, we missed about half of the show but we did get to see some exquisitely dressed dancers, a man balancing a small, flaming urn on his head and most exciting of all: the signature face-changing act. We really don't know how they did it, but it was a stunning display of color and sound and definitely something to write home about!
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