Hey guys,
China is sooooo amazing!!!! Right today we went to Shandong university, we went to two different campuses, where we were shown around by some of the Chinese students. They were all very lovely and very helpful people, which we got a chance to ask lots of questions about the Chinese education. The tour started off being rather interesting but as the tour went on throughout the day it got a little boring and i think people were beginning to get tired.
Two days ago we went and stayed with a Chinese family during a home stay. I was already really nervous about going, but when we heard that we were staying with the families by ourselves rather than in pairs this made me even more nervous. We didn’t know anything about the families or who we were staying with, or where we were going, everybody was extremely unsure. When we came back to the hotel to meet the families they were already waiting outside, seeing them made me extremely excited rather than nervous, i was really looking forward to the experience. I stayed with a really nice family. The young person was called Christina, this was her Chinese name, they gave them selves English names so i could pronounce and remember it easier. Christina was the only one who could speak some English, who parents did not know any. The home stay was actually amazing, i am so glad i got the chance to do it!!! They welcomed me in just like a member of the family.
When i first got to their home and met Christina’s mother and father,we ate dinner, i was quite pleased as i was STARVING. The dinner was a traditional Chinese meal. Christina’s mother was so lovely, she kept putting food on my plate for me, some of the stuff i did not like but ate it as i did not want to seem rude. I was so full but she kept insisting i eat the food, she even went an got another plate for me so she could pile more food on to it for me to eat. I think i must have looked hungry, i was so bloated afterwards.
After dinner we watched a dvd that was in english with Chinese sub titles which was very nice as i could understand. I then showed Christina and her mother some photos of me, my friends and my family on facebook. They were very interested in the amount of brothers and sisters i had, as in China you are only allowed one child per family. The next day Christina’s mother had gone to work for an important meeting. For breakfast i tried Pigs ear and some other meat which i am not entirely sure what it was, also a thousand year old egg! Christina and her dad then took me to a Chinese museum so i could look and learn about Chinese culture, however i could not understand as everything was written in Chinese, however Christina tried her best to translate for me.
Christina and myself then met up with her friends called Catherine and Shelly again their English names. They were absolutely lovely, they took me to see the springs and to pizza hut, they wanted to make me feel at home which i thought was so sweet. They then took me shopping and we took many photos of us all posing together. To be honest i was so surprised i honestly felt like i had known them for ages and completely forgot about the language barrier between us, i felt like they were good friends and that i had known them for ages. We have all swapped email addresses and will definitely stay in contact with them.
Erm yesterday we went to Shangking world and did lots of activities, it turned out that the mother of Christina who was hosting me was in charge and showing us around, which was so amazing!! We played lots of games, including making a catipolt and aiming water bombs at each other which was hilarious. We then had to go to a Banquet which was interesting, we all a bit nervous and did not really want to go as we did not know what to expect.
We put on our chinese tops so they knew who we were. when we went in we were placed in our certain seats where are names tags were, i was the guest of honor on my table as Christina’s mother was the host and i was her top guest, which i felt privileged to be, however a little embarrassed. The dinner was not as bad as i thought it was going to be, we had a lot of fun on our table actually, every time somebody made a toast you had to down your drink if they downed there’s. I do think it is weird that Ivon does not eat with us, i feel really bad but it is because she is not allowed and has to be invited by the host, and we sorta just have to accept that!! Well i am really looking forward to the week we have left and i am so excited about the things we are getting up to xxxxx
byebye xxx
