CCTV Talent Competition

One of the nice things about being a foreign teacher in China, is that it is really easy to pick up a bit of cash aside from just your teaching job. Things like tutoring, extra classes, lectures, and competitions are always coming our way and when they offer money in exchange for our services of listening and speaking in English, that makes each event even better.

One of the bigger competitions that I've gotten to judge this year was the CCTV "Star of Outlook" English talent competition; the semi-final round was this previous Sunday, June 1st just outside of Hangzhou. All of the competitions that I've assisted with in the past have been on campus (and never paid anything other than maybe a small gift like the English Host Competition) but the promise of money was enough to get me up and downtown at 7am on one of my days off.

The competition is split into different age groups--kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, high school, and university. As you walk into the building there are children dressed in different costumes--cowboys, wolves, ballgowns, race car drivers, Little Red Riding Hood (she was SUPER popular)--and their parents, all their eyes locked on the judges as they walked by. The foreigners were separated into their different groups and I was placed with the primary school students along with Other Adam.

I was matched with four other Chinese teachers--all of their English, of course, being amazing. My job was to score each of the 120 children that came through in the two minutes that they were on the stage and then ask them a question to see how well they could understand and how quickly they could answer.

We started the competition at about 8:30 and went all day until about 5pm, only stopping for one hour for lunch.

Each student had to jump through a series of hoops: introduce themselves, show us a talent, tell a story, and answer a question.

They would be dressed in outfits that you know either their parents thought were the cutest or the fanciest (only a few of them actually wore cute outfits in my opinion). Almost all of the kids (even some of the boys) had make up on and their hair done. One by one the children come up to the front of the room and introduced themselves with:

"Hello! My name is Lily! As you can see, I am a cute, adorable and sweet girl!"

or

"Hello! My name is Danny! I am a sunshine boy!"

After that, they would show us how talented they were (which is hard if you don't have a talent that includes singing or dancing... I would fail miserably at this--I can't showcase writing at a talent competition!). They would sing songs ("Let It Go" "You are My Sunshine" and "Do-Re-Mi" seemed to be the favorites of the day), dance a little, or act out a story... all the while doing the hand motions that you just know their parents made them practice over and over and over and over again. Some of the singers were actually really good (as a child can be... you know that they have the makings of greatness in them once they get older) and we had a few Latin dancers and kids who played the piano and guitar.

This girl was actually the best--she was the winner of her group that day!

After their talent was completed, they each had a photo on the screen behind them that showed either two men robbing a bank, going fishing, or driving a car or a bunch of overly cute animals sleeping, crying, eating, or sitting in class. They had one minute to tell us a story about the photo. Some of the kids were able to get through their memorized story perfectly (some of them making sense and others having no actual plot at all) and others would just stand on the stage for the full minute, trying desperately to think of what to say. It was in this moment that I quickly learned whether their English was actually any good or if they were just memorizing their scripts.

Then it was my turn to ask questions to the kids. Since they were lower level, usually I was stuck with asking, "What is your favorite color/animal/food/sport/holiday?" or "How many people do you have in your family?" I tried "What is your favorite subject?" a few times... some of them understood and others DID NOT. But there were about five kids that came up with nearly perfect English (one of them talked about the planets and how Neptune is his favorite because it is made out of methane)... these were the ones I loved asking harder questions and having them get it.

There were a few kids that really stood out in my mind. They were fun, entertaining, natural, and some had great English and others had just okay English.

James Bond. This kid was my absolute favorite. He had Pierce Brosnan strapped to his head and a gun slung over his shoulder (a rare sight in China). He wants to be a sharpshooter when he grows up someday and he shot three balloons from across the stage. He then turned to me and said, "Amanda, will you come up to the stage?" I wasn't sure if it was allowed to go up there... But I did. The kid barely came up to my waist but he explained how to aim and shoot the gun (I'm an American... like I don't know!) and he told me to hit the last remaining balloon on the other side of the stage. I knew I couldn't miss it--I would disappoint the Chinese in the room and be an embarrassment to the American nation if I did!! Fear not, my friends... That balloon went pop on my first shot. Sadly, no photos of my appearance on the Star of Outlook stage >_<

Another favorite of mine was "Father Christmas." I had seen this kid from across the room and could not wait to see what  the heck he was going to do. He had on a Halloween tie, a fake Santa Claus beard, reindeer antlers, and a sack of toys over his shoulder. He sang, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and pretended to be Old Saint Nick... But I'm still not sure what his talent was...

My third favorite kid, I kind of felt sorry for. He was a little eight year old who was so short and sweet. His English was okay and he was dressed like a doll. But his parents were crazy stage parents--the room was just FILLED with them. When it was his turn to go up to the stage, his parents brought up a chair, a foot rest, an actual amp, and a guitar for him. He was so small, he had a hard time getting his arm up and over the guitar to play it... But when he did start to play, boy did he play. I tried to learn guitar a few times in my teenaged years and I could never do it. This kid was awesome.

But thinking of that little boy's parents took away from the joy I had in watching these kids come up and sing and dance. 99% of them were not doing this for themselves--they probably didn't even care! These were kids 8-11 years old who, on a weekend, one of the few days they don't have to be studying in school, are stuck at a competition that is exhausting both mentally, physically, and emotionally. It was Children's Day, one of China's many pointless holidays--but instead of playing with their friends, they had to act like little adults and compete. It is the parents that this competition is for.

One little girl completely broke down, started crying, and had a mini panic attack where she couldn't breathe... But did anyone help her? Of course not. They made her stand on the stage for the full minute with the microphone in her hands in front of everyone, instead of pulling her off and comforting her. Now I am all for making kids responsible and brave and courageous but this was an eight year old little girl who was petrified. A parent's job at that moment should not be to force your kid through that traumatizing experience to make them stronger but to comfort them and tell them that there is always next time. Seeing the parents push their children constantly just breaks my heart sometimes... Competitions like this (for children so young) are robbing these kids of a childhood.

The only thing in America I could equate it to would be crazy stage moms for aspiring young actors, singers, models, or dancers... Or maybe even some of the moms on "Toddlers and Tiaras" or "Dance Moms." Your child's greatness means that you, too, are great in some way so they continue to push and push their children until they either reach success or snap under the pressure. Yes, a bit of compeition is good but so is the feeling of your parents being proud of you and loving you no matter how you did at your competition whether it is for dance or English. 

Am I glad I got to go to the Star of Outlook English Talent Competition? Yes. I got to be the fun judge who was nice and smiling and encouraging the kids. In some cases, I am their first interaction with a foreigner and I am glad that I was able to make it a good one. The kids were precious. The parents were crazy. The free lunch was delicious and the extra $200 I made for just talking with a bunch of kids for the day didn't hurt too bad either.

Free food... Me gusta...

Until Next Time,
Amanda

When Worlds Collide: Part 4

Beijing State of Mind

I think when people think of China, they either think of two things: the romantic, rolling hills covered in the mists straight out of Mulan OR cement buildings, crowds, traffic, and pollution. Both are very real... the more romantic version can be found in the south in places like Guilin and Yangshuo and the stark, kind of nasty version (if we're all being honest) version is in Beijing. It's true that Beijing is over crowded, dirty, and so polluted that it really can be hazardous to your health (my friend, Dave, just started using an inhaler due to the pollution) but there are also so many things to do and see in the city that it would be a sin to not stop by for at least a few days to visit.

March 28th

Saying, "Farewell!" to Adam, Mama Woomer and I packed our backpacks (that might have been a challenge for her!!) and headed downtown to the new Hangzhou train station for our six hour train ride to Beijing. Last time I went to Beijing, it was a 16 hour ride overnight on hard seats... Needless to say, I did not sleep at all and it could be one of the worst experiences I've had in China thus far (other than that awful flight from Dalian during National Holiday... read more here!). So when Mama Woomer was coming, I was more than willing to drop the 580元 on tickets for the fast train (one ticket, one way... ouch). 

We stopped off at McDonald's (remember: NO JUDGING!!) and killed about two hours by eating and wandering around the new train station (Seriously, it is too big to be a train station... but there is a Disney store, so I will let that go). Soon it was time to join the rabble in the clump that I'm sure was supposed to resemble a line but this is China and lines have not been invited yet. Following the herd, we found our train, found our seats (WINDOW!! Kind of...) and settled in with our water, cookies, and ramen. We talked nearly the whole time about lots of fun, exciting, different stuff (♥), watched the sun set, nibbled on some snacks, and read... and before we knew it, we had left Hangzhou way behind us and arrived in Beijing.

Mama Woomer's first bowl of ramen... EVER!!

We wandered around the train station, walking in circles a bit too long trying to find probably the only tall white guy in the whole place. Eventually found him--Dave--Mama Woomer got to meet him and I was finally reunited with my Disney twin. 

The moment Mama Woomer and Dave met, I knew it would be anatomic and energetic with some glitter thrown in just because. Mama Woomer is a whole lot of human. Dave is a whole lot of human. I liked pushing them together and just sitting back and listening (I admit, it was also nice to not have to be the only one entertaining anymore)! 

A taxi ride later, we were in Dave's beautiful apartment (I'm not bitter) and (despite the fact  that we had been traveling literally all day), we stayed up well past midnight just talking, laughing, and eating watermelon.

March 29th 

This was the day that any person who comes to China waits for--The Great Wall. Originally, I was thinking of taking Mama Woomer to Yangshuo to see the mountains but you cannot come to China and not see the Great Wall... So to Beijing it was. 

We went our separate ways from Dave for the day (he's as sick of the Great Wall as I am of West Lake) and, once again, I was in charge (oh no!!). I was confident in myself--the last time I went out to the Great Wall was super easy: Rachel, Dave, and I just hopped onto a bus, paid our 6元, and we went along on our merry way. Piece of cake!

Well apparently there is a difference between December and March... silly Amanda.

We found the bus that I had taken out to Badaling easily (too easy if you ask me now). We waited in an actual line (don't get to excited--there were metal barriers that forced people to wait in the line) for about 30 minutes, got on the bus and the driver asked us, "Where are you going?"

I wanted to say, "We're two white women... Where do you think we're going?!" but instead I replied, "The Great Wall."

"Wrong bus."

WHA?!? Excuse me? Cue a small rumble of panic in my stomach.

Mama Woomer and I pushed our way past the people still trying to get by us on the bus and began to wander around the bus stop (which is really just a glorified round about) searching for the right bus. We found another long line and someone who looked official kept saying, "Badaling," so I assumed we were in the right place... But there was no sign and no buses were coming. It had been almost an hour at this point. I left the line to wander around looking for a clue (I felt like I was on Scooby Doo) and eventually found one in the form of a sign that said 八达岭 ("Badaling"). Now, I can't read Chinese but I knew that the name of the part of the Wall that we were going to was Badaling and I know the Chinese character for "ba" so we left the second line we were in and got into the absolute longest line in the whole bus stop. 

There are too many people in China...

Luckily the line moved quickly(ish), we had cute kids selling flags for 1元 (I still wish I had bought one), and an overly enthusiastic man selling corn on the cob (aka: the most monotone human being I have ever heard on this glorious planet).  After about an hour of waiting in that line, we made it onto the bus, we got seats, and we got seats together. Uffda!

 My goal was to get to the Great Wall by 12:00pm... Our bus didn't even leave the bus stop until 12:15pm. Throw in some bad traffic and we had about only two hours to climb up, see, explore, and come down from the Wall before the last bus left and rush hour traffic started.

But the Woomer Women are hearty stock and we marched our way past meandering tourists and hiked our way up the Wall, calling out 加油 (Jiāyóu... "You can do it!!") to all the out of shape Chinese tourists huffing and puffing, and found some perfect spots for photo ops!

  

I think I take living in China for granted a lot. I spend so much time with Adam and the other foreigners; we go from one person's apartment to another and from one Western restaurant to another. It's moments like riding your bike down Wen Yi in the middle of the night with no cars, drinking beers and eating your weight in niangao, having strangers come up and ask to take photos with you that remind you that you and Toto are not in Kansas anymore. The Great Wall does that for me too... It is this big, ancient, mysterious thing that has loomed in the imagination of my childhood; it is something that people only dream of seeing one day and there I was seeing it for a second time. It makes me love China and it makes me love my life.

Coming down was way more fun than going up. Badaling (and some of the other Great Wall locations) have fun little attractions to help you up and down and at Badaling, they have (what they call) the "Sliding Cars." It is basically a completely unsafe roller coaster on an uneven track with rusty cars that you sit in with a bar that kind of just sits across your lap, encouraging you to stay seated. I had done it when I first visited Badaling in 2012 and enjoyed it so much that Mama Woomer knew it was there and she wanted to do it too... Of course we got the sketchiest cars and it was just as awesome as I remember (though WAY warmer).

At the bottom of the track there is a great little market area selling photos, food, toys, kitschy merchandise, drinks, Tshirts... they even have bears (random)! We stopped and grabbed some food (Chinese hamburgers) and some sesame toffy that we watched them make. Hopping back on the bus we made it back to Beijing just in time for dinner.

Meeting back up with Dave and some of his other friends, we went to one of their favorite things--hot pot!! If you are thinking back to Mama Woomer's first night in China (You can read all about THAT, here) and the hot pot we went to then... THINK AGAIN!! This was a super nice, super delicious hot pot with your own personal pot with the flavor you want (spicy all the way), you order SO much food (meat, glorious meat), and you mix and make your own dipping sauce (I could drink that stuff). While there, we got Mama Woomer to try duck blood and baijiu (nasty disgusting alcohol that you could clean with). One she liked, one she did not like... You be the judge.

After dinner, the night was still young and it was time to introduce Mama Woomer to the magic that is KTV. For those of you who don't know, KTV is just like karaoke BUT instead of singing in the middle of a bar in front of strangers, you get a private room with just you and your friends; sometimes they're really nice and fancy with comfy couches, tables strong enough to dance on, and lights everywhere. She knows that I enjoy going out to KTV with Rachel, Becky, and some of my other friends from Oswego but she had never had the chance to experience it herself... and where else could be better than China?! ABBA, Queen, Backstreet Boys, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga... it was a night filled with white guys rapping, people banging on tambourines off beat, and a finale of "Hey Jude" that would have made Sir Paul proud... I think mom's first KTV experience was a hit! {PS: And absolutely NO alcohol was consumed during KTV... Impressive!!}

March 30th

With the Great Wall out of the way, Sunday was a day of epic sightseeing in Beijing. The day started perfectly with a breakfast that would make any expat miss America... Pancakes and eggs and bacon and hot chocolate... I felt as though I was at Denny's!! I've been pretty good with not missing America TOO much (why open that painful door if I know I can't get any decent American food [especially breakfast food] for another year?!), I've been able to survive on Papa John's and Burger King for the last seven months now... But those pancakes were a gift from above.

 Once again, the ladies split from Dave and we headed to the other place that every foreigner must visit if they are ever in Beijing. Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. 

Now I am not too familiar with Tienanmen Square (it happened before I was born and let's be honest--I might get arrested if I try to look up more information over here). Today, it's a huge wide open space with lots of government buildings, vendors, photographers, and the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. As we first set foot in the Square, Mama Woomer was definitely in awe. I love going to places that I've been before and seeing them anew through the eyes of my companions (I just felt like Doctor Who writing that). Sadly, the mausoleum with our good friend Chairman Mao was closed--I went inside in 2012 to see Mao and I would have gone in again but alas... Maybe next time!!

Directly across the dangerously busy street, is a huge image of Chairman Mao's face plastered right on the gate of the Forbidden City (I have a lot of feelings on that matter but I better not post them openly on the internet over here... if you know what I mean... *cough*Bigbrotheriswatchingyou*cough* 

The last time I visited the Forbidden City, it was cold (the coldest I have ever been and that is saying something having lived in Buffalo, studied in Oswego, and visited Quebec in February) and I was miserable because of the cold. So to go back when the sun was shining (yes the sky was blue and the sun was shining in Beijing while we were there... the jealousy you feel is natural and will soon pass...) and the fact that the weather did not force me to wear a scarf, earmuffs, and two pairs of gloves made me a happy little Amanda.

The Forbidden City is huge. 

There. That's it.

 

But seriously, they're not kidding when they call it a city. It just keeps going and going and going and all the buildings look the same (seriously, I've gone twice now and I will probably never go again). Yes the buildings a beautiful and yes the history is old and rich but 40元 to walk around a huge courtyard, look at 150 buildings that look identical, avoid pickpockets and crazy "tour guides", and trying to find the exit is just not worth it to me anymore.

That being said, I do love rubbing the knobs for good luck as you enter (I'm a total sucker for things that are supposed to bring you luck) (Yes, I am aware of just how awful "rubbing the knobs" sounds). I love that, because the Forbidden City is so big, the crowds don't seem to be too bad. And the Imperial Gardens are absolutely beautiful and my favorite part (plus how can you not love the name "Hill of Accumulated Elegance"?!?).

 Still having a little time left before we had to meet back up with Dave for dinner, we hopped back on the metro and headed to the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium. It really is beautiful (though there is literally nothing to do there). In 2012, when I went there for the first time, I went for Aunt Sue and this time in 2014, Mama Woomer also went for Aunt Sue (she's an Olympics fan if you can't tell)! We had just enough time to run up to it, snap some pictures, and turn back around to head back to Beijing Normal University.

Taking a cab for literally 12 seconds (don't ask), we picked up Dave and headed out to one of his favorite places to eat Guizhou cuisine. 

When you eat with Dave, you eat a lot--you are never short on food--and that night was a veritable feast. I still don't know what half of the things we ate were, but there is one thing that I am 100% sure of... You might want to skip the next paragraph in fear of hating me forever.

One thing that many people who come to live in China say that they want to try... is dog. It's a stereotype in America that people in Asia eat dog and stereotypes do come from somewhere. However, I can tell you that in Hangzhou, it is not very common (many of my students seemed traumatized when I told them that I had tried it), however it is available and many expats seek it out to be able to try it. So you might think that we are cruel and disgusting but, honestly, I don't think that we are the minority when it comes to trying dog... not one expat  that I have met has said that they did not want to try it and everyone that I have talked to who has tried it, liked it. It tasted like a very smoky venison. I'm still not sure of whether or not I liked it... but I did keep eating it. And I'm sure I'll have it again since Adam hasn't gotten to try it yet... Oh the things we do for love...

The jury is still out...

 We digested our dinner of dog and other Guizhou delicacies by walking around one of the lakes of Beijing (yes, apparently it has lakes... Though not THE West Lake) and spending a few hours on top of a rooftop cafe. 

A great end to a great time up in Beijing. I got to show Mama Woomer around some of the iconic places in China (and maybe even the world), I got to try some amazing new foods, I got to hang out with one of the funnest guys I've ever met (thanks again for letting us crash with you, Dave!), I got my KTV fix, and I think we ended Mama Woomer's China adventure on quite the high note... 

Only a few days remained in China...

Until Next Time,

Amanda 

Thanks, Dave!!