Colorful Chongqing

On Wednesday we drove out of the city and up into the foothills to Jielong Middle School. School is out for the summer, but the school runs a summer program, so there were some students theres. When we arrived, students were preparing for a music and dance performance for us on their outdoor stage.

We were treated to a number of performances. There were these flute/recorder-type instruments that now are made of plastic, but used to be made of a gourd and bamboo. Next, students played an instrument that seemed to be a hybrid of an oboe and a trumpet. It was not a beautiful-sounding instrument. My parents should be glad it was not an option when I chose the clarinet in middle school band. The third performance was girls with bamboo and sticks. Both pieces had ribbon attached to them, and they played a rhythmic beat as they danced. It was great! Finally, we watched the girls do what they called Tai Chi Boxing. As soon as the kids finished, they transformed from serious performers to giggling, excited teenagers. (They all said they were 13, but look at how young they appear in the photos!) They were eager to teach us tai chi and their instruments. We all were taking pictures of each other, with each other, for each other. It was so much fun, and I think everyone had a great time.

We had another chance to interact with some older students after a short tour of the school. This time we broke up into small groups. We were loosely supposed to be teaching a mini English lesson to the kids in our groups, but I just ended up talking with a couple of girls and showing them photos on my phone. The girls' English was very basic (but a lot better than my Chinese!) so one of the teachers helped to translate. I guess it wasn't much of a lesson, but I think it was meaningful to all of us.

We had lunch in the little town, and I think we found the elderly folks hanging around the restaurant just as exotic as they found us. I can't say that I'm getting used to being stared at, but here in China it feels more like a curious stare than the leering stare I've felt in other places I've traveled. My blue eyes and freckles have, however, made more than one child cry out and run to their parents in terror when I've smiled and, "ni hao-ed" at them. Oh well...

In the evening, we took a short walk to the city squared where there were more people out dancing and hanging around. Here are a couple of photos:

I just realized that I didn't post any of the people dancing, but trust me, it's a battle of the boombox out there with different groups gathered around the square, each moving to their own songs. It's very lively and friendly.

Today was: lecture, eat a 28-course meal, lecture, lecture, eat a surprisingly bad vegetarian meal, and then go on an evening river cruise on the Yangtze River, get back to the hotel just in time to miss a gigantic thunderstorm. I'm having some trouble with the photos right now, so the cruise ones will have to wait. But here's one of ping pong tables at the university we visited today.