"I want to go to Beijing!" The cameraman was having us yell as he snapped our picture. It was the final moments of the 留学生汉语桥比赛, or Foreign Student Chinese Bridge Chinese Competition. I was having one of those moments where I was wondering how exactly I ended up in this place. I was standing on a stage. On my left was a British man, my right a young guy from Kazakhstan, and in front of me a woman from Kyrgyzstan in a Beijing Opera getup. We were all vying for the coveted 4 spots to go on to the national competition in Beijing. Actually, the rest of the 18 finalists were. I was laughing to myself, wondering how it was I ended up there.
Let's back up a month. Sitting in class one day our teacher paused the grammar lesson to let us know about a Chinese competition. "It's at Xinjiang University and would involve a self introduction, an interview, and a talent portion." "Hey, that sounds fun", I said to my classmates. They all laughed and from the looks on their faces I could tell there was little chance they'd join. I, on the other hand, was drawn by the lure of having a captive audience and thought it would be a 'fun experience'.
From the beginning I felt a bit in the dark about some of the details. They didn't know the date of the competition at the time of registration. Several days before the competition, another teacher came to my class and said she'd arrange a van to carry me and my 'lala dui' (cheering section) to the competition. "Lala dui? What's that for? Don't do that! I'll just invite my own friends", I replied not wanting to cause anyone any trouble. Even the night before and morning of, the actual start time of the competition wasn't clear. At first I was quite frustrated but finally decided to just go with the flow and make it a memorable China day.
Only after arriving did I fully understand this competition. Foreign students were everywhere. Some were carrying costumes. Some were wearing costumes. Some had full stage makeup on. Some of the girls had expensive up-dos and glittery dresses on. There were traditional Chinese instruments. Beijing opera costumes. "Holy crap! People are like....really into this...and stuff", I thought to myself as I stood there in my jeans and button down shirt. I didn't even have any make up or a Chinese fancy shirt. Then walking into the auditorium my heart sank as I realized the purpose of the 'laladui'. Each school had a rather large contingent of students. The video camera panned around the room to each section and they'd yell out the name of this or that university and everyone would jump up and yell, all the while waving their school flag and holding up pictures of their school's contestant. After they announced my school, two people stood up holding our school banner, the far end being held up by another school's students they'd recruited to help since it was too long for two people. It was a sad display but I was proud of my little lala dui all the same.
To be continued...
Let's back up a month. Sitting in class one day our teacher paused the grammar lesson to let us know about a Chinese competition. "It's at Xinjiang University and would involve a self introduction, an interview, and a talent portion." "Hey, that sounds fun", I said to my classmates. They all laughed and from the looks on their faces I could tell there was little chance they'd join. I, on the other hand, was drawn by the lure of having a captive audience and thought it would be a 'fun experience'.
From the beginning I felt a bit in the dark about some of the details. They didn't know the date of the competition at the time of registration. Several days before the competition, another teacher came to my class and said she'd arrange a van to carry me and my 'lala dui' (cheering section) to the competition. "Lala dui? What's that for? Don't do that! I'll just invite my own friends", I replied not wanting to cause anyone any trouble. Even the night before and morning of, the actual start time of the competition wasn't clear. At first I was quite frustrated but finally decided to just go with the flow and make it a memorable China day.
Only after arriving did I fully understand this competition. Foreign students were everywhere. Some were carrying costumes. Some were wearing costumes. Some had full stage makeup on. Some of the girls had expensive up-dos and glittery dresses on. There were traditional Chinese instruments. Beijing opera costumes. "Holy crap! People are like....really into this...and stuff", I thought to myself as I stood there in my jeans and button down shirt. I didn't even have any make up or a Chinese fancy shirt. Then walking into the auditorium my heart sank as I realized the purpose of the 'laladui'. Each school had a rather large contingent of students. The video camera panned around the room to each section and they'd yell out the name of this or that university and everyone would jump up and yell, all the while waving their school flag and holding up pictures of their school's contestant. After they announced my school, two people stood up holding our school banner, the far end being held up by another school's students they'd recruited to help since it was too long for two people. It was a sad display but I was proud of my little lala dui all the same.
To be continued...