Day 4 in Sichuan

Wednesday, June 10

First day of workshops. We had a lot of energy going in to camp. Unfortunately for me, I accidentally had a cream bun from the bakery... Definitely is not going to go well.

Our first group of students were overjoyed and happy to see us. They just finished their exams yesterday morning so it was their first time to have some fun. They were extremely receptive to what the team had to offer through our stories and they were delighted to write their emotions down on paper as response to our music. A student in which I cannot pronounce his name wrote me a wonderful and very touching note. I had to get it translated. Picture to follow.

We met up with some of the students at their cafeteria for lunch. It was very different than from the one we were eating from. There are absolutely no chairs and only a couple of tables. It was a complete change in atmosphere from the workshop before. There was this ambiance, a certain glow in their faces while we were with them for the short 40 min.

We had our second group later on in the afternoon and they were also enthused to see us, but we were drained physically. However, they were very responsive to the workshop more so than the first and they were extremely emotional. Despite this though, they also showed joy and were very active.

What the kids had gone through was a lot and it was hard for us to relate to what they went through. They had so much courage to step up and share their memories. Though I was still unable to understand what they were saying, I was still able to feel God's power and presence working through them. It brought tears to my eyes thinking what they had to go through. They were only high school students and yet they carried so much weight on their shoulders to get through the year without their friends and siblings.

We spent that evening composing a song made from their notes and emotions so that we could give it to them at the closing ceremony.

Day 3 in Sichuan

Tuesday, June 9

Ok. I guess you can say that the McD's last night wasn't the best idea we made. 1/4 of the group went there after dinner and all 25 of us had major diarrhea issues. I think most of them were fine by mid day but I seriously had the hardest time cooping with the uh, strange stuff. Ok yes, I had McD's in a foreign country.
A: That definitely speaks trouble.
B: Its McD's in which I haven't had one for years.
C: Its fast food... and slightly not really my choice of "healthy" food.
D: Its McD's....

I guess you can add it all up and say it really was a bad idea but who can't resist a Chicken Burger in Sichuan styled spice? I mean, if you go authentic go all out right? WRONG!!! Ok, so maybe it wasn't just the burger, the ice cream, pop, and fries also had some major issues in it. Everyone literally felt gross. The best way to cure stomach issues is to use "bak fa yow" (In chinese: 白花油), So... White Flower Oil in English. Luckily for me my friends had some and i got to use some and boy was it a relief to have that.

So today was literally our first meeting at the school and due to the above, I had the runs. There washrooms are definitely better than what it used to be, but for us Canadians, lets just say a 3x3x6 foot deep puke wall should NOT be placed by the sinks and entrance. Holes are exactly my type of invitation to go. haha

However, nonetheless, lunch was a little better. Food was just wrong. Oil covered everywhere. We're talking about when you wash your plastic dishes or tupperware, the grease literally has its own layer and u need more than just Palmolive to scrub your way through that thing. Since I had issues, I had rice and veggies. :D

Still not the best scenario since I basically have no food in my stomach at this point in time. All I really need is non-greasy food to fill my stomach and I should be fine right?? Well no matter, after lunch we had our first encounter with the students. It was all an emotional time for us all. We had the sharing of what we wanted to bring to them through the next 2 days and we told them our theme was the Life Tree.

Met the first group of kids roughly 100 for our first workshop. They all overwhelmed me with their stories and shocked me with how much passion they had to bring and offer for us. They give new meanings to Love, Joy and Respect. They were so open to what our team had to offer.

We did a little after work shopping. Apparently throughout the entire trip I am to be called "Fong Dai Hong" (In chinese: 方大同) In English, Khalil Fong. I couldn't pronounce his name so I kept saying "Fong tai hong" (Chinese: 方太紅) In English, Really Red Fong. They thought it was hilarious so they changed it to "Fong Dai Hong" (Chinese: 方大熊) In English, Big Bear Fong. They say I look like him so here's a photo of us.




Went to go buy his CD and its AMAZING and we accidentally bumped into a dude that we thought was someone else but wasn't. Too bad for us, he started to get interested in what we doing but unfortunately he was really after Mandy. Fortunately I was there to keep her from harm haha. Our leader Alfred then showed up and then the dude started to get uh a little friendly with him. A little too friendly in our standards. Spent a good 10 min talking with Alfred trying to get numbers and addresses and I since he was so interested in us Canadians, I introduced him to the Western CD's in their store: Mariah Carey and Ne-Yo. Yay for pop/r&b albums. That drove him from the store.

We then started heading down the street to a Trust-mart which is like a Wal-Mart, but better and as we approached an intersection, a screeching 2009 Silver Audi A6 comes turning through the corner. Ok, I admit that finding 6 people in the same bright blue shirt isn't hard but this was a little nuts. The dude in which we met from the CD shop came through, stopped right in front us as as we were crossing the street with his window down, pointed directly at Alfred and yelled "Wo yow Jie ni ah!". hahahahahahaahahahaha
ok Chinese: 我有劲你啊! (dont know if jie is translated correctly)
English: I want to drive you ah!
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. so yea, we just said no thanks and started walking rapidly toward the True-Mart. Ok, by this time, were laughing our heads off. Desmond totally calls it and says that he is going to end up pulling up from the other side of the street in his car. 5 seconds later, the exact thing happens with him on the phone. We all suspect that he was trying to call Alfred so we just hurriedly rushed him underground ahaha. We went to go get some food, water and napkins.

Next we went to a bakery to get bread for my stomach because all I'll be eating will be bread for the next couple days since my stomach cannot handle the grease here. Bakery called Glery Cake made probably the BEST bread you'll ever taste. They are so soft and they literally melt in your mouth. MMMMmmmmm

O, also found out that I got a massive sun burn down my neck hahaa

Day 2 in Sichuan

Sorry but it seems that videos and pictures wont upload. Guess FB is the only resort at the moment till I can get them up.

June 8

Today we started at 715 which would make it long and grueling. We had breakfast at the hotel which was most definitely not my type of breakfast, which consisted of veggies, noodles, eggs, warm orange juice, congee and buns. I already miss my doughnut and coffee. :( Due to the horrible water irrigation system, water is something you do NOT want to have, so coffee is not good for you.

Half way through our leave for our planned destination we arrived at a road block. Due to a suspicious bus that contained a gas tank that exploded a week earlier, access across the bridge we were taking was not accessible. We spent a good 10 min waiting in line to get across until we finally got clearance from the police to move ahead. Our two hour bus ride turned to be 3 hours but we arrived safely to our destination despite our problems.

We arrived just in time for our opening ceremony to have already started. They were very loud and happy people and made us feel right at home though our MC was a little over the top. We’re young people and we like our music loud but he was just nuts. We had a wonderful time learning some dance moves from them and meeting the locals there and headed to the café for some true authentic food. It was very spicy food and definitely wasn’t my cup-o-tea.

Went to the site of the old school where the students that suffered the earthquake were placed. Visited the city where the students lived and killed over 20 thousand. We will be visiting the school and students at a different location tomorrow. Dinner was at the same place and quite exquisite. Met some dudes called Bao (spoken “b-ow”), Bing and Ban. Found the local kids were playing with a scooter skateboard type of thingy. I think we have some in Canada but yea, thought it was pretty cool and tried, but we all failed, well at least those who tried to work it. Couldn’t exactly get the thing to go more than 2 rotations lol

Had an after dinner snack at the local McD’s and tried something authentic. It was the Sichuan styled spicy chicken burger. lol First 3 seconds you don’t taste the spice and then the spice kicks in and boy was it super spicy. I’m a spice lover, but the spices here are not what my t-buds were looking for.

Day 1 in Sichuan

June 7

Today I left for Sichuan at 0730. It was a hazy but very beautiful morning. Woke up a little earlier than usual to see the sun rise, but it had already rose. Went to go see the exotic wildlife around Breakthrough Village and found some very interesting creatures. Had a crabby door man greet my morning arrival, accompanied by a very pretty species of caterpillar.

Our drive to Sichuan was long and grueling. Though it was a 3 hour drive, it was still a beautiful drive out, but I had slept most of the way. Think of it like this, Calgary to Edmonton. Long and boring, but a lot more green and rice fields to see. The arrival was less than inviting and accommodating. Trying to shove 70 people in a hotel lobby fit and made for only 10 was just wrong. I’m claustrophobic so that wasn’t fun.

Nonetheless, the hotel was very nice considering that is only a 2-star hotel. I guess it is kind of considered as a 1 star hotel in Canada, but the difference was it was REALLY nice. It literally looked like a 4-star hotel. Everything was adequate and wince we were only usually staying for the night, it worked well.

Dinner was way more than adequate. Only located a few steps away from our hotel, the entrance was located steps behind a normal street level entrance. There was so much food. Compared to a regular Canadian Chinese set dinner, you get roughly 10 medium sized dishes. Here you get roughly double the dishes and one-and-a-half times the size for a table of ten. The restaurant looked 3-star and everything there was considered “mildly” spicy. Mild to me meant jalapeno spice mixed with Tabasco sauce. I’d almost say it’s pretty close to a Malaysian spice without the stinging feeling. The spice took its toll on me early on in the meal and I kinda went a little crazy, but it took its toll more than 1 way. :D

Did a little after dinner wandering around our section of the city and found some pretty cool stuff (video included). Wish I took a picture but I guess you’d all get the saying “What happened to Bugs Bunny?” pretty well. Drivers here are so crazy! They’re not as civilized in Canada as we’d think. I was in a little bit of a culture shock now. Drivers have the right of way here; pedestrians cross at their own risk, or so I think that’s how it works. There really aren’t any crosswalk lights for pedestrians. Cross at own risk would be the term that I’d label. Not to mention, drivers turn from 3 lanes to one and I’m not talking a left turn. I’m talking about a right turn. Yes, from the far left lane into the near right lane. Not really cool. People here honk like crazy, but it’s not because they’re mad or in a rush. Most of the time they’re honking to either A: warn pedestrians they’re not stopping, B: tell the driver in front to move or C: you’re driving too slow.

Found a lot of cool things wandering the city and shops close relatively early here. 8pm would be closing time but it’s still relatively late. Wish they could stay open long but we’re not in HK so I can’t complain.