CHENGDU FIRST STOP

We are loving our time in China. We arrived a week ago Saturday and stayed at a hotel in downtown Chengdu for several days. While there, we learned more about what we are to do in China and also began our Chinese language classes. We enjoyed meeting and working with the other volunteers from all over the country, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Then we were divided into two groups. Our group was assigned to do their training at Chengdu University. We were also placed with a family. They will be our hosts for the next ten weeks. We are off to a great start with them. We met their extended family on our first day. They live a couple of hours away, but I think maybe they came to help with our luggage! We needed them. Our host family's son has been dubbbed as our teacher. He has helped us with our lessons and also with the customs of the house and China. Our host mother and father are about 15 years younger than we are, but it is a great match for us. We got the placement because I play tennis. The father and I have already done that with good success.

We are going to the university each day for classes. We have two language classes each day. Renee and I have been in the same class, We have a great teacher and we have made good progress. We are able to go to a restaurant and order food, pay the bill, and be courteous. We can get directions and ask and tell time. We also have classes in cross cultural contact and in teaching English as a foreign language. We mostly enjoy all of this along with eating great Chinese food particularly in our home and being with some outstanding young people.

The other day we were treated to an interesting cross-cultural simulation. A young man and a young woman entered the lobby in which we were all assembled. They were dressed in white toga-like garments. The man communicated with a series of clucks with his tongue. something like "Clock, clock." After a few "clocks", the woman knelt. The man then pushed her head futher down. Then the woman got up and give the man a bowl. He took it to all the men and indicated that they dip their fingers in the bowl. Then the woman came to the women and hissed. She wiggled her toes and we figured out that we were supposed to take off our shoes, which we did. Then the man when to each of the men and made his sounds and assumed a position before each one that looked sort of like a Hindu god. Then the woman took another bowl and fed the other women. Finally, the man and the woman took a female member of our group and departed.

During the "debriefing" most of us felt that this was some sort of a sacred ceremony in a culture that was definitely male dominated. (The woman had knelt and had her head pushed down more than once.) One funny comment was from the male language teacher. "I like this culture," he said, "because in Chengdu the women are the boss." Men must have a "soft ear." Then the leaders explained the simulation. In this culture the earth is sacred because it can produce life. Women are also sacred because they produce life. The women are the only ones who can touch the earth. Hence, they do not wear shoes. The man touched the woman's head because that is the only way he can worship the earth. The women were fed because they must keep up their strength. They picked the woman with the biggest feet to join them. The point of the simulatin was to show us how our own cultural experiences color our interpretation of behaviors in another culture. I thought it was a very interesting experience.

We sweat all the time. Today was no expection. We traveled about an hour and a half north to observe some Peace Corps volunteers who are doing a summer project that tries to improve the classroom teaching of teachers from outlying communities. Then after lunch we visited the Giant Buddha, the largest Buddha statue in this area. The town is LeShan if you would like to Google it. Rich climbed and I rode in a boat, but we both sweated.