The complete Chinese experience

Most of Sabrina's family spoke little English. Fortunately, one of her cousins took on the role of being my translator during meals when Guy and Sabrina were chatting with the family in Mandarin. He currently lives in Shanghai with his wife, but he previously studied in Russia because he was interested in the relationship between Russia and China. During one of our conversation he explained that there are distinct differences between the north side and the south side of the country, and the division is in Huai'an. For example, the men from the north are generally heavier drinkers than the south. Also, the men are larger in stature in the north than in the south. In general, the north is considered more masculine, and the south is considered feminine. When I walk down the street now I sometimes play a game where I try to determine where a guy is from, though I have no idea if I'm correct.

Between the big meals I was fortunate to participate in some fun family activities. I had heard that karaoke (aka KTV) was a big deal in this country, so I was excited when Sabrina’s family suggested we go. These places provide private rooms, so there is no excuse for not belting out a song. I would never feel comfortable singing Lady Gaga, Eminem/Rihanna (which should not be sung in front of little children), or Taylor Swift in a bar in the US, but I did in China. Despite my awful singing, they encouraged me to keep singing. The Chinese language is made up of four tones, so that may make the songs easier to sing. Everyone in our room sang so well! I wonder if it comes from years of practice, since Sabrina's 5-year-old cousins sang too.

A more active afternoon included flying kits and playing badminton. This was my first time flying a kite. There was a big one that stayed up in the air the entire time and a smaller one that took a lot more work to keep up in the air. Sabrina’s cousin and I talked about the book The Kite Runner, which is known as Blue Kite in China. Oddly enough, a Mary Poppins song kept running through my head the entire time. To finish off the afternoon, Sabrina’s aunt invited me to make dumplings at her house. The fact that Sabrina couldn’t tell the difference between the ones I made and the ones her aunts and uncles made me feel pretty good.

I had an amazing time in Huai'an, and I’ve been invited to come back next year. Thank you to Guy, Sabrina, and her family for making me part of their family!!!