Show Time (12-12)

It’s the end of the semester and year. So it’s time for the students’ end-of-the-year/New Year shows. Since April and I went to several last year and enjoyed them, I’ve been looking forward to the shows. We’ve seen student groups practicing nightly for over a month. So far, I’ve been to three shows.

The first show was on Monday and was put on by the National Flag Association, the translation given by Hannah. I think it may be the group that raises the flag each morning among other things. Students were from a number of departments. One of the performances was a fashion show. 

Others were various dancing groups.

Next was the Chinese Literature Department. I saw only the last third of that one because my lecture was that night. But I was happy to see a couple of the dances with students in costumes, as I enjoy those.

Thursday was the Foreign Language Department’s show. 

We foreign teachers were asked to perform. We did a routine with “Singing in the Rain.” Paul and Dale sang and performed while the rest of us were their backup. Like the students, we’d been rehearsing four or five times a week for a month. It went well, but we’re all glad it’s over. 

Other performances included yoga, 

a Tibetan dance, 

modern dances, 

a couple skits, 

and a scene of a play in English.

Last week I decided to have my teeth cleaned at a local hospital instead of going to the clinic in Chengdu that Peace Corps uses. I’ve walked past the hospital and seen people in the dental chairs many times. I had Yang write a note for me so they would understand what I wanted. It worked out well. The young man spoke a little English; so getting started was easy. He cleaned my teeth and then told me that I had a hole. I had three choices for filling the hole: 80 yuan/$13, 100 yuan/$17, or 200 yuan/$33. I chose the best and most expensive. It took about 10 minutes to complete the process. He didn’t do much drilling and used a topical liquid to numb the nearby gum. Cost for cleaning: 100 yuan/$17. After I paid and he wrote the information in his book, he asked for a photo with me. I had to laugh.

Last Saturday’s good deed/adventure was to see a race car. Fat Cat, one of the girls in the automotive service class had asked if I would go to see her racing car. I thought she was talking about remote control racing cars. When I met her on Saturday, she took me to the automotive service department’s building and showed me the used Japanese racing car that had been donated to the department. She was quite excited. About fifteen students and a teacher were examining the car. Photos were taken. Then it was time to take it apart. Fat Cat left my side then to participate. She was very excited. They were taking the car apart to see how it was put together because they will be building a racing car themselves. When I left, she went with me to show me the classrooms. Although I have no interest in this subject, it was nice to share her enthusiasm and nice that she wanted to share it with me.

While I watched, a boy from Sean’s class chatted with me. One of his questions was “Do you think China can overtake America’s economy?” I said I don’t know and asked what he thought. He said he thinks it is possible. The next day I saw an article stating that China is now the number one economy in the world, having surpassed the U.S. by about half a percent.

The yellow-leafed gingko trees on the hill near the library are a popular spot for photos these days. When I was there taking a few photos, a group of girls decided that I needed to be in their photos.