“Yi, er, san, qiezi!” “One, two, three, eggplant!” That was probably one of the phrases I heard and used the most in our last week in Jishou. It is the Chinese equivalent of “say cheese!” when taking a picture. I love to repeat Chinese phrases I hear while walking on the street, regardless of whether or not I know the meaning. It’s probably not the best idea, but after I saw every Chinese tourist in Fenghuan during our homestay use this phrase, I caught on to it. The students also all seemed to be thoroughly amused when I say it.

One thing I’ve learned about Chinese people, is that every moment is a Kodak moment. That was no exception in our last week – Halloween, Talent Show, and Graduation. But this rule hasn’t really been an exception for us either, between Nick’s iPhone videos and photos and the collective thousands of photos taken by the own members of our group.

This last week has been a week of contrasts.

Contrasting emotions.  Joy and happiness for successfully completing the summer, establishing beautiful friendships, and all of the joy that the students always bring to our lives. Sadness and nostalgia as we looked back at the summer and realize we will soon be leaving Jishou and perhaps never seeing many of the students again.

Contrasting scenes. The twenty-four hour train ride from Jishou to Shanghai was full of realizations. Twenty-four hours on a train did not feel like a long time, as it did at the beginning of the summer. Unlike the first time I was absolutely disgusted to use the squat toilet on the train, it now seemed quite clean compared to what I’ve encountered on this trip. The vendors and carts on the train no longer amused us as much as they first did. The beds on the train felt hard in contrast to the wooden plank I slept on in Jishou. I was used to  China and everything that seemed strange at first.

And then arriving to Shanghai was a complete culture shock. It looked nothing like the China I was used to. What were all these Westerners doing here? Why isn’t everyone staring and pointing at our group like we’re aliens? What are all these modern buildings and Western foods? Why is the food not spicy? Shanghai literally felt like being in a different country.

And that’s when the assimilation to Western culture began. Now it’s my second day at home and, to be honest, I’ve never experienced culture shock like this. Thankfully we did have those two days in Shanghai to welcome us back into Western culture; I can’t imagine coming here straight from Jishou. For instance, yesterday my brother took me shopping with him…I asked him if he can bargain the price for his jeans. Turns out that’s not an option at the Aventura Mall. But as I unpack my bags, upload my pictures from this summer, and slowly adjust to being back in America, I can’t help but smile when thinking of the happy days spent in Jishou.

During our WildChina trip before arriving in Jishou, we spent multiple nights in Miao villages, watched countless Miao performances, and learned all about their culture. Some fun facts that I learned about the Miao people on WildChina include:

• They are found all over world, from California to Vietnam and Thailand.
• They can be divided by their clothing and hairstyles. Among these categorizations are mini skirt Miao, long skirt Miao, long-haired Miao, Japanese, and Miao Miao.
• Miao women love to get drunk off rice wine when they are happy. We witnessed this first-hand when we were greeted by a group of drunk women upon our arrival to Wugao.
• Miao houses have three stories: the bottom floor is for farming tools, the second floor is the kitchen and living room, and the third floor are the bedrooms.
• Miao women love to sing and teach you their songs, which include a lot of high-pitched yelling, whistling, and other vocal sounds we can’t quite achieve.  They also expect you to learn their songs after hearing it only once.

After living in Miao villages and experiencing their culture first-hand, “Make Me Miao 2012” became a running group joke. This would be a reality TV show that would take American women and put them in Miao villages. The winner of the TV show would be the girl who can master the different levels of Miao life. The levels would include things such as farming, learning how to do your hair like the Miao woman, serenading the Miao men by learning the Miao songs, cooking in a Miao village, using a Miao bathroom (not as easy as it sounds…), and Miao dancing. The final prize would be becoming a Miao princess.

I think that after WildChina we have all gotten past most of the levels. Given our Miao-style welcoming ceremony when Alex arrived three weeks ago, we are all expert Miao singers and dancers. This weekend in Fenghuang, Arianna and I were able to complete the final stage and become Miao princesses.

When walking through the crowded Fenghuang streets, one is attacked by vendors holding posters of tourists dressed in traditional Miao clothing. Arianna and I immediately gave in – there was no way we were missing the opportunity to dress up in Miao clothing and get a photo shoot in the middle of Fenghuang. So we followed two of the women and used our magnificent pointing skills to communicate with them and pick out our Miao outfits. Then we proceeded to our hour-long photo shoot in our Miao princess outfits, complete with tacky Miao poses we were commanded to do and complements on complements from our photographers. Not to mention all of the Chinese tourists amused by the Westerners dressed in Miao outfits. I knew Chinese women loved taking pictures of themselves and everything around them, but I did not think an hour of photos would be necessary. Apparently it is part of the process of becoming a Miao Princess.

And that is the story of how we became Miao princesses. Here is the proof.

One thing I’ve realized from being in China is that you can’t say no. When a student brings you a snack to class, you don’t refuse it no matter how weird looking it may be. When you go to what we call “the dirty black spoon” (aka Asian Jack Black) for dinner, you will eat the combination of vegetables that the owner makes and you will like them. You want to mix eggplant and tofu together in the same dish? Well tough luck, those don’t go together, according to her. You have to get two dishes – one with eggplant and the other with tofu and whatever vegetables she decides go with it – and you will like them.

This morning I finally got to explore the mysterious park that Nick and Jessica have been raving about since they discovered it earlier this month (this month is almost over…whatttttt?). It was a whole new side of Jishou that I had not yet seen. It was only 11 AM but the park was bustling with dozens of old people playing Mahjong and other card games, fortune tellers (I think that’s what they were), and old women square dancing. As everybody knows, Chinese old people and Chinese babies are two of my favorite people to interact with in China, so this was the perfect setting.

Our interaction with the old people began in the square, bustling with loud music that the women square danced to, government propaganda in the background, and conversation. The old people were just as intrigued by us as we were by them. Before we knew it we were encirlced by a group of old people talking to us and taking pictures with us. I have never seen 70 year olds with this much energy. They jumped, yelled, laughed, and posed for pictures with us – always throwing up the peace sign on both hands, of course. Then we joined in on the square dancing as some of the old men took out their phones to record the Americans trying to square dance. As much as an outsider as I looked, I felt so welcomed at the same time.

As Sofia and I were leaving an old man pulled us over and told us to follow him downstairs to watch the drummers. “We already watched them,” Sofia said to him, explaining that we had gone earlier. Yet he insisted that we follow him, so we did (you will do it and you will like it). Before we knew it we were both up on the drums learning some rhythms and trying to mimic the drummers’ rhythms and dance moves. I think we also put on a pretty good show for the crowd. In the end, we couldn’t have been happier to have listened to him. We did it, and we liked it.

OLAG. Our lives our great. Today’s lesson was about emoticons and emojis. So basically, I got to sit with my precept for an hour and a half and teach them IM language. It was great watching them guess what LOL, FML, BFF, and all our other text messaging lingo means. I don’t know if this constitutes as real English, but they loved it. When I got to explaining FML, MLIG, and OLAG, they got to come up with their own phrases, such as: “It is raining today. I forgot my umbrella. FML.” “I lost my wallet. I found it in the classroom today. MLIG.”

After class, Winne and Tina, two students in Unicorns, were waiting for us to have lunch. I had made lunch plans with them the day before, but little did I know of the feast that awaited us. Jess, Sofia, Arianna and I climbed up six stories to Tina’s dorm, where she and five other students eagerly prepared lunch as they waited for our arrival. Suddenly, Winne appear with four bouquets of flowers – one for each of us – in her hands that she had made using wires and pantyhose. She had taught us how to make these flowers in her dorm on Saturday and said she would make more for us, but we had no idea she meant a bouquet for each of us! Apparently this bouquet of flowers was not enough – Winne had also made a pair of earrings for each of us. We thanked them a million times, shocked at the hospitality and appreciation that our students displayed.

After this unexpected gift giving ceremony, the girls eagerly showed us their beautiful traditional paintings and calligraphy work while preparing dumplings and fruit for us for lunch. Lunch ended with Shiny playing piano while they all sang “Tong Hua”, a Chinese fairytale song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLsNzzQ6vYI), together. We all left with one word on our minds: OLAG.

Cam and Eliot had told us about the students’ hospitality and enthusiasm before coming to China, but little did I know that it would be to this extent. Leaving with our bouquet of flowers in hand, new earrings on, and umbrellas in hand to protect our new flowers, all we could talk about was how impressive our students are.  

This was not the first time that our students had displayed such hospitality. On our first day of class two of my students, Bom and Dara, had asked me what my favorite Chinese fod was. I had told them that I really like dumplings. They said that they could teach me how to make dumplings, and I eagerly accepted the invitation. Next thing I knew I had an email from Bom the next evening asking me what day worked best and what other teachers were interested in joining our dumpling party. Last Thursday Kelsey, Alyssa, Sofia, and I had the opportunity to go to Bom’s home, meet her family, and make dumplings with them which we later feasted on during our delicious home-made lunch (made me realize how much I miss homemade food!). Upon leaving, Bom’s whole family – and I mean aunts and uncles who had come to make dumplings with us – told us that we were welcome back anytime and insisted that we take home a jug of her mother’s home-made wine. This was also one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.

These two events are just two of the multiple interactions and extremely welcoming gestures our students have displayed. So despite the pouring rain the past five days, temporary power outage this evening, and extremely early mornings, it is our students who make our lives great here in Jishou.

Hoping for a sunny day with no rain tomorrow,

Miryam

I feel like I’ve been in Jishou for over a month. After arriving, settling in, mass cleaning the apartment, doing Wild China laundry, beginning classes, and going to town everyday, Jishou is starting to feel like home. Everyday brings new smells, foods, and faces as well as many that have already become familiar. Here is what a walk down what we call “food street” to the mall typically looks like:

I leave the girls’ apartment with my sunglasses on and my fan in hand, ready to brace the Jishou heat. A group of enthusiastic students strolling outside with open umbrellas in hand to shield them from the sun greet us outside our apartment. As I make my way outside the University of Jishou gates, I wave at the fried rice lady and her 3 year old daughter who yell “hello!” right back at us. I continue walking, careful to stay on the sidewalk and avoid drivers in their trucks, motorcycles, or cars who don’t think to stop for pedestrians and aggresively honk their horns. As I walk past the chicken killing shack (yes, it’s literally a shack with a cage full of chickens and two women who kill the chickens on the sidewalk) I hold my nose and avoid looking that way. As I continue making my way past food stands, fruit vendors, and the stores and hair salons lining the street, a plethora of smells ranging from a repulsive garbage smell to delicious steamed dumplings enter my nose. I then stop at the stop at sevencup to pick up some 3 yuan (about 50 cent) boba tea as I continue my journey into town.

Meanwhile, throughout this whole walk, I am being stared at by babies, children, adults, and old people who marvel at “the eleven” (yes, we’ve been  referred to as the eleven by some local townspeople) Americans choosing to spend their summers in Jishou. Random people yell “Hallo!” (that’s literally what they sound like when they say hello to you), eager to show off their English to you.

But despite the dozens of stares we receive and language barrier that I face, I feel completely welcome in Jishou and have come to embrace the people, places, and food. I’m still working on getting used to the dirty streets and interesting smells, though…

With lots and lots of dumplings and smiles,

Miryam

Our twenty-four hour train ride from Shanghai to Kaili went a lot quicker than expected. After hours of reading, telling jokes, playing games, meeting Chinese babies, and bonding throughout this journey, I came to various realizations about my weeks to come in China.

After meeting our first friend, Zhoun Zhoun (spelling?), the two year old boy who was traveling with his family next to our beds, I learned that Miryam is kind of hard to pronounce. After trying to get him to say my name, I settled on changing it. My new Chinese name is Mimi: short for Miryam, yet easy to pronounce.

After playing with Zhoun Zhoun and teaching him how to count in English, he taught me how to count in Chinese. Through the repeated motions of counting our with our fingers up to five and repeating what we each said, we shared our languages. Truth be told, I only remember how to say one (yi) and five (wooga), even after going it over and over again.

From this experience I learned two things. First of all, my quest to pick up some basic Chinese will be a slow one. I will just have to take it one word at a time will do. So far I can say hello, goodbye, thank you, one, and five (making progress!). Secondly, teaching English will be, as our TEFL teachers emphasized, a slow and patient process. Despite how many times I went over counting up to 5 with Zhoun Zhoun or how many times he taught me, we both had trouble remembering.

I also learned the trick to befriending Chinese people, from children to adults: smiling and making funny faces. After waving at a child who kept sticking his face out and staring at us Americans multiple times, he finally responded. Then we engaged in a competition of making funny faces at each other. He then proceeded to use his water bottle as a gun and pretend to shoot us – a little worrisome. But finally he came over to us, and again we taught each other how to count and learned his name and age. In our homestay in Wugao, my communication with my Miao host mother consisted of pointing, laughter and “oohs”. In the end, we all somehow are able to understand each other.

Zai jien!

Mimi

*Correction: After speaking to our Wild China tour guide about Chinese names, I learned that Mimi has two meanings: secret and another, more vulgar meaning. Therefore, he gave me a Chinese name: Mi Li An, which means luck. So I will now go by Mi Li An.

So I’m in Manila International airport watching the clock tick as my flight to Shanghai nears. After a 12 hour flight and basically skipping June 20th (still don’t quite understand that), I’m in Asia…feeling as foreign as I ever have.

As I left San Francisco after spending the weekend with my family celebrating my sister’s graduation from business school, I couldn’t help but think about the future. As I accompanied my sister to luncheons and dinners with her friends, all I heard was constant banter about their futures and upcoming jobs in finance or consulting or upcoming lavished vacations. This got me thinking about my future and where I would like my education and experiences to take me.

As these overwhelming thoughts consumed me, everyone also kept asking me about what  I would be doing in China. As I told them, they all raved about my upcoming experience, calling it a “once in a lifetime opportunity” or “one of a kind”. And I smiled, knowing that what is to come really is a unique experience.

Though I came to no conclusions about my future (graduation is still too far away, I have plenty of time to think about that), I hope that this upcoming experience in China will help shape and guide my future goals and endeavors. But for now, I plan to continue living in the moment and taking in every piece of Asia I can, starting with Manila’s airport.

See you in China!

Miryam

It was reading period. Then all papers were turned in and it was finals. Then PiA orientation cut right into finals. Then finals were over and I spent 5 days hiking in the woods training to be an OA leader. And then reunions happened and all of a sudden there were 20,000 new faces on campus. And now I’m finally back home in Miami.

With nothing to do with my time except go to the gym, beach, pool, and read, Jishou crosses my mind about every 5 minutes. It seems so close yet so far away. But when I open my passport and see my Chinese visa, I am reminded that it’s real. And it is happening. And I will be there before I know it. I’ve heard Cam, Eliot, and past SOSers experiences in Jishou. I’ve googled Jishou multiple times and stalked pictures of it over and over again. I’ve even begun looking at our PiA China guide and attempting to learn some Chinese phrases. But despite all of this information, I still just don’t know what to expect.

But here’s what I do know. I know I am and have been looking forward to this summer more than anything else. I know that my flights to and from China are going to be the longest flights and most layovers I have ever had to take. I can confidently say it will probably be one of the hottest and stickiest summers I have ever spent. And as for myself, I know that I plan on living in the moment when I’m in China, trying new foods, learning as much as I can about Chinese culture, and getting to know an amazing group of SOSers and students over these next two months.

Hoping to be a few shades tanner when leaving Miami.

Miryam