Chinese Acrobatics and Host Family!

As part of the program we are given host families. These aren't families that we stay with; we just periodically have dinner with them and get a taste of a "typical" Chinese culture. Honestly, I like this way a little more because it avoids terribly awkward situations one might have while living with a host family. Anyways, so the first time I met my host family was for a "mixer" type deal and then New Year's Dinner at their home.

Their home was an apartment, of course, and was quite lovely. The food was delicious, albeit a little strange, but delicious. So, it's custom in China to drink. And when I say drink, I mean DRINK. China has the most disgusting, horrid, potent alcohol one could ever create. It is called Baijiu. This means "white liquor." It is, essentially, Chinese vodka. I remember back at UGA my first Chinese teacher describing baijiu. We asked him if he liked vodka and he responded, "It's not bad, but a little watery." I was confused as to what he meant but I now understand. Baijiu is like rubbing alcohol. It is awful. However, it is cheap. Its about 6kuai for a bottle which is 1 american dollar.

So, at my host families home they poured me a shot of baijiu. Now (sorry mom and dad), I had tasted it before so I knew what to expect. So, in typical UGA-fashion I tipped the shot to the back of my throat and swallowed. Everyone laughed at me. Why? Because they drink this shot slowly. So, he poured me another one and I had to drink it slowly. It was absolute torture. Three shots later, I knew I was going to get drunk and tried to tell my host father, "no that's enough." However, he responded, "we have the same liver," and poured me another shot. Really? Needless to say, my Chinese significantly improved and it was a great time. We're having dinner again next week but this time at a restaurant. However, I was informed that just because one is at a restaurant this does not preclude the ordering of baijiu. It might be a rough dinner.

Last night was a really exciting night! We all went to a Chinese acrobatics show! This was probably one of the coolest things I could have seen. It's also really interesting on a cultural and historical level because you realize that these same routines they are doing were routines created during the dynastic rule of China. Now there have been slight modifications with more advanced technology, but they still operate without nets or safety harnesses. The core principles of story telling and grand thematic elements of good vs. evil and duality are still present.

I have some pictures but they didn't turn out that well because the show was also accompanied with laser lights which gave it an awesome effect in person. For pictures, not so much.




Preparing for the flip!
Mid-action. Please note the blurred figure in the upper left-hand corner as that is someone flipping into the chair.
Tradtional Chinese plate-spinning!
Please not the girls that are standing on the platform is being supported by one girl balancing the platform on her head while plate spinning! Absolutely incredibly.


In other news, I'm doing well. The program is hard and demanding. However, I can definitely feel some improvement in my Chinese. At times, this is really demanding that I don't think I can take it, but my friends and I have made some "American" traditions that keep us sane. Before I left for China a good friend of mine told me that I should find one "American" thing while in China and when things get rough to go get that "American" thing and think of home and then forget about it. This is probably the best advice I've recieved. My one "American" thing are Oreoes! They are a tad expensive here but worth it. Plus, whenever I listen to Taylor Swift I think of UGA and Athens. haha. I think thats appropiate.

My time here has been rewarding so far and it's amazing to start to learn another culture intimately. We've been learning some interesting idiomatic expressions that seem to capture Chinese culture. For example, "luanzhongyouxu" which means "finding order in the chaos" and "renshanrenhai" which means "huge crowds of people." Sometimes, I'm amazed at the Chinese language.

Also, we have a field trip in about 3 weeks. We're going to Sichuan and Chengdu! Hello pandas!

--Aaron