We’ve been in Guangzhou for only three days, and it’s been busy! Visiting school after school and meeting so many students has been a surreal experience, and if there’s anything I’ve been struck by most so far, it’s that I’ve found more similarities than differences with the students. Despite my subpar Mandarin, I’ve connected with students over basketball (thanks Zion!), TV shows, and Marvel movies, which some of the students told me they watch in English. I’m both impressed and surprised. How do they find the time to follow these things between their busy school schedules and extra weekend classes.
I’m sad that we didn’t get to spend more time with the students in Guangzhou; every goodbye was sad, so I can only imagine what it’ll be like at the end of these two months when we have to say bye to the students at Zhuhai No. 9 and our host families.
I’m especially interested with some of the foods here in Guangdong province because of their equivalents in Vietnamese cuisine, like lạp sưởng, bánh bao, and sữa đậu nành. After visiting Vietnam last year for the first time, I learned more about China’s influence on Vietnamese culture, language, and food, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised when Guangzhou foods are also found past its southern border. I fully expected there to be an immense culture difference here, but so far, it hasn’t been an unbearable culture shock. I had known about some customs, like table manners and seating arrangements, but I hadn’t realized the gravity of these traditions until actually being in Guangzhou.
Thank you Guangzhou, and I’m really looking forward to Zhuhai!
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