Field Trip

Last week we were invited to go on a field trip with our Chinese school. It was touted as an opportunity for us to practice speaking Chinese out of the classroom. In reality, I think things are much the same here as it is in America: it was a good excuse for a picnic and barbeque. That being said, we had a really nice time. It reminded me a lot of a family reunion. They played many of the same game, like the potato sack race and the three legged race. But they also played some that we somehow missed when my family got together. There was the Chinese character game. It was an undisguised attempt to get us to learn while we were having fun. Needless to say, I avoided it like it was the H1N1 (swine) flu. Another picnic game that is unique to this part of the world involves using chopsticks to pickup marbles out of a bowl. The top score of the day was 28 marbles in one minute. That mark was set by one of the Chinese teachers. The top score for a foreigner was set by…you guessed it. Amanda. She got 24 in a minute, compared to my 8!Not only is she picking up the language as easily as going to the grocery store and getting a pack of Raman noodles off the shelf, but she also uses chopsticks like a native. If I didn’t know any better, I would think her ancestry was from southeastern China instead of from the southeast of the US.

For lunch, we had a barbeque. They provided us with an assortment of meats on a stick, tofu, potatoes, zucchini, and other vegetables to cook ourselves. Joining Amanda and I at our table was a couple from Colorado, three Germans, and one of our former Chinese teachers. Since most of us have cooked food on a grill before, we were eating in no time and without a lot of fuss. Some of the other tables were not as experienced. One table in particular did not let their coals turn white before adding the meat, so when the fat from the pork dripped onto the fire the flames went out of control. When this occurred they would pour water on the flames, which created a lot of smoke. Forty five minutes into the lunch, all they had to show for their efforts was red eyes and runny noses from the smoke, and charred but undercooked meat. They kept gazing at our table longingly, and in mild wonder as we chatted amiably ate our perfectly cooked food.

One of the best things about the field trip though was that we got to play with some of our classmates children. While living abroad, it is strange the things that you miss. For me, until the field trip, I did not realize how much I missed having kids around to play with. The Chinese children are usually so shy and reserved around foreigners that I can’t get much more out of them than a nervous laugh or a terrified squeal. On the field trip, however there was a family from Georgia. About a year and a half ago the parents decided to pack their three boys and one daughter up and move to China. Can you imagine that? Wow. Well, their kids are not afraid. In fact, they are quite gregarious. We played tag, Frisbee, baseball, and Uno. The game of Uno was played totally in Chinese. The mother said that that is how she teaches the kids Chinese. It is working. The three year old girl’s pronunciation is perfect. Oh if only I had started learning way back when…

At the end of the afternoon the school had arranged for us to go to a nice restaurant for dinner. As soon as we sat down the servers began bringing an endless variety of dishes. Sticky rice with smoked ribs inside, beef with onions, spicy chicken, potatoes, a vegetable that looked and tasted like collard greens, and eggplant are just a few of the dishes. I was so wrapped up in sampling this amazing fare that I did not realize until later that, in Chinese, I was laughing and joking right along with everyone else. I guess sometimes you can combine fun with learning. – Frank