Paparazzi !

I think this week I’ve had some very particularly memorable moments that will stick with me for a very long time. Last Wednesday night, I found myself sitting at the table playing Chinese checkers with my host mother, brother, and father. All of their attention was tightly focused on the board, strategy, and winning. Though, my focus was more on the situation; looking in from outside. It made my heart warm to have this moment with these people who took me in and have allowed me to stay in their home for two months. Although much of our communication is done through a phone app, there’s one form of language that requires no speech. This is something like love. It’s not something intimate but more a sense of companionship or appreciation.

I felt this same feeling when two of my Duke Engage team members and a few of the number 9 students were walking home from the movie theater on Saturday night. We were “stranded” by a lack of available taxis because of the late time and influx of people. We were left to walk home together in the dark, rainy streets of Zhuhai. Wes tells me, the idea of walking home initially was not an attractive idea. Though, once we had started walking together, it truly wasn’t too bad at all. We were all together. I thought, “wow... I’m really in China right now”. I couldn’t have asked for better people to be surrounded with for these two months.

Thursday night’s basketball game was... an experience! Here’s the story. What I thought would be a cute, fun game of ball between the Duke students and our host parents, turned into a full out showdown. I came to the knowledge the day of the game that’d we be playing an actual basketball club; a team who trains and plays together for real. All I could think is... they know none of us are Duke basketball players, RIGHT!? To be so honest I complained about it almost the entire day, because I couldn’t recall the moment when I signed up for a basketball camp. We showed up to the basketball court on the fourth floor above the school gym that night as ready as we’d ever be. Fast forward a few minutes I found myself running up and down the court trying to block some man with inches and definitely size on me. Not a part of my body was dry as m continued to sweat profusely. I think I almost lost my life for a second. Though, in this moment, our entire duke engage crew had a truly special moment. The girls on the side cheered us on like we were DMBB in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Me and the guys were on the floor leaving everything we had out there. Hsiao-Mei and Yanan were the fuel that kept us all going. And our host families also smiled and clapped for us I’ll never forget.

We went to the village of Doumen on Sunday. I was warned that out in the country side, people are very excited to see foreigners. I don’t know how one would define the word excited, but I think we experienced every definition of the word. Picture Beyoncé in Walmart. You have the people who take pictures of her from afar, the people who walk up to her and snap a pic, you have the forced-selfiers, and the overt starers. There was every type you could imagine. Aside from the 15 minutes of fame, experiencing the culture was very interesting as well. We got to observe a mock water wedding; a bride approached her groom by boat, accompanied by an opera singer, and a couple other women. She rejected the groom at first (don’t ask me why). The groom awaited his bride at the dock, while I and several other spectators excitedly watched. Additionally, we walked through the beautiful countryside with small market quiosks, historical home preservation sites, and some interesting wall art. Of course, I came back with another thousand pictures on my camera roll (most of which were unnecessary duplicates). We enjoyed another day accompanied by wonderful No.9 students who we got to know better and become closer with along this journey.