First of all, I apologize for this blog post being so late. Sunday was an extremely busy day and I didn't have the time or the means to post this on the blog. Not only was I short of time, but I also did not have access to Internet for most of the day because we were traveling back from Xu Shushu's hometown. Let me introduce you to this wonderful family.
My meimei (little sister) is the sweetest girl I have ever met. Shasha, Xu Ayi, and Xu Shushu have welcomed me into their home with open arms. The first meal that we had together, the lunch after they picked me up, was massive and I was very impressed. Plate after plate kept coming out. It was a little overwhelming and I felt bad wasting so much food. I had no idea what would be coming next.
I woke up in the nicest hotel in the city that Shasha was born in, her father's hometown. I felt indescribably relaxed waking up that morning – probably because I was able to sleep a full nine hours. My host family had also gotten me my own room, which was more than generous. It was a very nice hotel and a very nice room, however, there was still a strange contrast between it and the surrounding landscape. I opened my curtains that morning to find row after row of identical apartment buildings. It was quite eerie seeing the same apartment complexes lined up so neatly, they almost looked like toys or building models. They seemed to clash very strangely with the other buildings I'd seen in that city. I wondered who lived in them, if they were from this city, and if they were happy there. I will never know. This mismatch of architecture seems to be a trend in many developing and fast growing countries in order to meet the demands of a rapidly increasing population.
After eating breakfast at the hotel we drove for a while through the countryside. We were going fishing! I had never really gone fishing in my life so I was very excited to see what this would be like. We were following some of my Xu Shushu's friends that I had met the night before in their car down a series of very narrow dirt roads. I didn't think that they looked very safe to drive on considering that on either side of the road there were pools of water…but I'd been on much sketchier roads so I didn't feel too concerned. Plus, Xu Shushu is a skilled driver who seems to know what he's doing. We arrived at what looked like a farm, with chickens running around, a little puppy, and some people standing and sitting around a man-made pond with long poles in their hands. I've seen people fish before, but never like that. Is this how Chinese people fish? It was very strange watching people catch fish that had been put there and I didn't really know what to think of it. I was curious to see what this experience would turn out to be on this hot summer day in Jurong.
To my surprise I caught a fish the second after I got handed the pole. Then I caught another one almost instantly after getting the first one. Then I caught my third fish – I couldn't believe it. I turned out to be pretty good at fishing considering it was my first time. Fishing, I was told, requires a great deal of patience and an uncanny ability to stay still; you have to let the fish come to you. I had the opportunity to even put the worm on the hook with the help of Xu Ayi. After a bit more fiddling around with the pole and admiring the scenery lunch was ready. There were probably more than ten dishes on the table when we walked into the room and more kept coming. By the end of the meal there were well over twenty dishes. Surely, we could not even begin to physically eat even half of the food. This, of course, is Chinese hospitality – it is the way that Chinese people show their guests a fantastic time. I listened to everybody talk and tried to understand. I also attempted to talk to them in Mandarin and they absolutely loved trying to speak English to me. In Chinese culture the way you show your gratitude to a guest is by constantly cheering with them. The meal was hao chi and was only shortly interrupted every ten minutes or so by everyone cheering with one another. This definitely seemed like the right way to welcome a guest to this country!
I felt very honored that the Xu's had planned to take me to somewhere that they love and call their hometown. And I found out that Xu Shushu goes to the countryside every once in a while to reconnect with his high school friends and just have a good time fishing. They are a very colorful group of guys who are constantly laughing and causing a ruckus. During our lunch they thoroughly enjoyed the word "nonsense" and were using the word to describe them screwing around and cracking jokes. It was hilarious!
Even though there is a language barrier I never felt unwelcome. Being around Chinese people and not being able to really speak or understand the language is a little difficult, but everyone has been so kind, understanding, and very interested in finding out about me. Also, I have been around people who speak a different language my whole life (e.g. my mother's side of the family speaks Cantonese and my brother and I don't understand a word), so I don't really feel uncomfortable not knowing exactly what the conversation is about. I am constantly learning new words and phrases by having these sorts of encounters with my host family and their friends. The learning process has been wonderful and I believe it will only get better as the week goes on.
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