On Saturday, a group of six girls from another school in Zhongshan came down for the weekend to see our city a bit and attend church with us. They shared their experiences they've had in China thus far and oh boy, I feel like we are in completely different countries almost. They said that their apartment has black mold growing in it, so they've been sick since they got here, their native coordinator is unfamiliar with the area, their head teacher is an anti social butterfly that mysteriously goes missing every so often, etc. I felt terribly for these girls, so we offered for them to come down and stay with us every weekend and they sounded thrilled; I'm thinking we will be seeing them on a much more regular basis.
Our group got together after breakfast and brainstormed ideas on where to take these girls and what to show them; there are so many things to show and so many opinions on which was the best, so we had a rather difficult time deciding on one. As everyone kept throwing out ideas, our numbers increased and the decision making process became even more difficult. We decided that making decisions in the apartments would get us no where (after like an hour of talking) so we all hopped on a bus and decided to at least go buy bus passes.
When we walked into the supermarket, we formed a line that was about twenty deep. It took about twenty minutes for all of us to get a pass, and then another forty minutes of standing around, and we still hadn't gotten anywhere. I know that many are familiar with this kind of situation and how frustrating it is. I haven't ever been a huge fan of traveling in huge packs because it's difficult to get anyone moving, so five of us broke away from the group, took a random bus, and decided to get off at a random stop.
We hadn't ever ridden bus 205, so we thought it would be an interesting adventure to see where it went. As we were driving along, we began to get out of our beautiful city and saw a whole new side of China. We drove through pretty rough looking areas, with huge mountains of garbage, tin roofed houses, diseased dogs running around, etc. We were so shocked because this was less than twenty minutes away from our city. We got into more residential areas, passed a train station, and realized how far we really were. We decided to hop off wherever we were, and just find something to do around there; we went that far so why not explore, right?
Our friend Lexi spotted a guitar shop, so we just walked inside and saw these two teenage hipster Asian boys at the front. They are seriously so well dressed here and all wear interesting things: neon orange pants, funny woven fedoras, perfectly color coordinated outfits, all topped off with their outrageous hairstyles (both in color and cut). Anyways, we tried talking to them and they had less than any English, they would just try repeating what we said. The language barrier is so frustrating here, I just want to be able to speak Mandarin!
We tried asking them to play their guitars for us, but it was much more difficult to get across than we thought. They then left the room and went to the back of the store and got a group of boys to come to the front. One spoke English, so we had a much easier time communicating with them. His name was Carmelo, and what a dream he was. He translated what we were trying to say to his friends and what they were saying to us. He them convinced them to basically put on a private show for us. Everyone came out (Probably around 6 boys, and even their teacher who owned the shop!) and began playing, piano, drums, guitars, and all. It was incredible, they were so talented and so stinkin' cute. I can honestly admit, I'm getting Asian fever I think, they're so polite and cute and incredibly funny, I didn't think I'd ever admit that.
As they continued playing, their teacher asked if we wanted to sing along, but they didn't have any songs we recognized and our Chinese isn't the best, so we had to pass. Carmelo then offered to take us into town and show us his favorite little cafe he frequents, called Sugar Secret. He went back home, got all freshened up, and came back to pick us up at the guitar shop. Even though we didn't know this kid, he was so helpful and nice and just wanted us to have a good time. Finding these kind of people is sometimes rare, so I believe we are incredibly luckily to have run into him.
Now, driving in China is kind of frightening. It's pretty busy and everyone is always honking, whether something is in their way or not. We asked Carmelo when people can get their driver's license and he said at the age of 18, which was comforting. However, Carmelo is only 19, so he's a bit newer to driving, but he did great. When we were in his car, I noticed this little like bobble head cat on his dashboard that had some Chinese characters written on it. I then asked, "Carmelo, what does that cat say?" Implying, what do the characters symbolize on it. He then replied with, "Meow". He thought I was asking what sound a cat makes, we all started busting out laughing and he joined, oblivious to what just happened. He was a good sport though, and such a funny one.
We got to the little restaurant that he liked and it was very modern. It looked like a little coffee shop that you might see in New York City or something. We all ordered and as we were waiting, we asked him many questions to get to know him a little better, some being really forward and others very basic. No matter what we asked, he always replied with, "Oh, I understand" and then went on with his answer. He was cracking us up with the things he was saying, swearing in English and showing us their Chinese characters, talking about how people were looking at us, etc. We were all so transfixed on him, he is just a wonderful guy.
After we had all eaten, he excused himself and said that he needed to use the toilet, kind of funny phrasing but we got the point. In reality, he went downstairs and paid for us all. I couldn't believe that this boy would go so far out of his way to show us a good time and treat strangers so well. It really humbled me actually, people are so kind and there really shouldn't be any excuse to not serve others back at home. We have so much and sometimes do so little.
After dinner, we exchanged emails with sir Carmelo and then decided we should probably head back to Kaiyin, we had been gone for several hours and our group was about to play night games. Also, we didn't want our head teacher to think that we had gone missing or died or anything. Since we don't have cell phones here, communication is rather difficult.
We got back to the apartments and everyone was getting ready to play capture the flag at the school. On the weekends, all of the kids go back home, so we had an open school to roam. The school is also five stories, so it rendered for just about the perfect atmosphere for this game. We played for about 3 or 4 hours, and it was a blast. Our group is so funny, and rather sneaky I found out. We decided that we might make this a regular habit and play some sort of game every weekend.
Today, Jenna and I woke up and got ready to go to church down the road. When we first arrived, we walked into the lobby to see two other girls we knew talking into the elevator. Apparently 12 girls were in the elevator and it had gotten stuck. The maximum capacity is 12, but I think that was made for Chinese people, not Americans, we are large and I think sometimes we forget. Anyways, they eventually got out and all was well, so we thought.
We then tried skyping into the branch that meets in Guangzhou, but the girls' internet was down, trial number two of the day. Amanda, Preston, and Mckay tried for about twenty or thirty minutes to get it started, but it just wouldn't work. So, we decided to just pass the sacrament and have a testimony meeting. I was rather intimidated by testimony meeting because there weren't a ton of us so I would most likely be expected to bare my own.
I haven't born my testimony since about hmm, age 12? I think the last time I did was during my first year at Girl's Camp, so I was naturally really nervous to get up today. However, I have never felt so strongly that I needed to share it, and this was even before everyone had already shared theirs, I usually waited until everyone had gone before I dare shared mine. However, I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel and that our Heavenly Father is aware of each and every one of us. Even in a place that does not have a freedom of religion, we were able to meet together as members and hold a sacrament meeting. Some girls traveled over 2 hours by bus to come and join us, and their sacrifice just strengthened my testimony that the church is real. I find myself taking advantage of the convenience we have back at home to go to church and openly practice what we believe. Here, they don't have that opportunity and I just feel just that much more blessed and am so thankful for what I've been given. We truly have been given something so special and I am thankful that I was raised so well and taught the principles that I was. I know that I'm not perfect in any way, shape, or form, but I am learning and trying to better myself everyday, and being here has already taught me so much.
After church, Jenna and I took our regular Sunday nap and slept wonderfully. I don't know what it is about this place, but I sleep so deeply and peacefully. I keep thinking it's because the beds are so hard, but who knows the real reason. A few people from our group woke us up, though, and told us that they were headed out to go hike and try and find this reservoir that another group from a previous semester had recommended.
We took about a five minute bus ride and then proceeded with a short 30-ish minute walk to find the beautiful reservoir we had read about. There were old looking boats docked to the side, small mounds of land poking out of the green/blue water, and these incredibly lush mountains surrounding it. It was so surreal. There are so many great things that are easily accessible to us here, I just keep thinking that I'm so incredibly lucky to have landed here and with the people that I landed with. China is great, life is great. I just cant get enough of all of this.
Pictures:
#1: The youngest of the band, this child was wired
#2: Our new friend Carmelo
#3: My really attractive friends taking pictures on my Ipad when I'm gone, Karma :)
#4: Small rice patties
#5: The reservoir
#6: Boats along the side
#7: Our dear Sharae lost her shoe in the mud, can you spot it?
Wow...what a beautiful place! And your friend's faces are so nice, too! You look good, Kasey, and happy. That makes me happy. Keep up the great work!
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