Americanized, like BAM.

Liu Family Explorations 1

Day 6. Americanized, like BAM.

WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised.

Just kidding.

This was just to WARN you...

...that starting this day and to the 29th (I think), I may not have as much interaction with your child. (Or whoever you're here to read about.)

You see,

field studies are all in different order for each family.

I am only a part of the Liu family

which consists of me, Clare Simmons, Maya Itkin-Hein, Sean Garland, and Clayton Fujino.

Therefore for the next few days,

the families will be separated from each other.

Understand?

So you may not get to read about how your child is doing. (Or whoever you're here to read about), unless he/she is in my family.

Sorry about that.

Hopefully you still want to read about *ME*! =P

On with it, already.

...

Excuse the random title. You'll get it later. This morning was like school, getting up extra early to have breakfast and brushing teeth and washing face. Breakfast was porridge, which I am glad to say Maya had for the first time today, and enjoyed it very much. I got my backpack ready and all the lovely stuff, and waited for the dad to get ready. Except the fact that it wasn't me going to school: It was my homestay, Katie.

Katie is your typical Chinese kid; loaded with homework, is somewhat quiet. More talkative at home than anywhere else. Her parents are pretty normal too--the mom's a housewife and engineer, while her dad is an english university teacher. (Lucky me!) We communicate well, and today I was told during dinner that they think I am a good influence on Katie...supposedly I am polite. ^^

Aaaaaanyway, we went to LiDa and got there just in time, and I entered the classroom, thankfully living to tell the story of my homestay. Everyone else did too. Apparently some people live in mansions, some with eight floors...I felt jealous but then again, at least I talk to my homestay. Most students talk to them as little as they can.

My family planned out the way we'd take to get to the Suzhou Garden carefully on a map, and then we were off! But then our respect stopped us just as we got out of the classroom. the national song was playing, and the entire school saluted the flag. Might as well...we saluted, watched the school run around in their morning laps, and then started for our great journey.

Our Journey

We walked far (not before getting a popsicle for each of us) and started for the bus stop, after asking for some directions. We walked, feeling the cold morning air, and then after another bus ride, we made it to somewhere familiar, like somewhere we had been to on the Great Race. (Forgot what it was called though.) Then we got a good deal on a rickshaw (5 yuan each) to take us to the Suzhou Garden, so we boarded into three. I was so excited!!

And then...they realized. "Oh. the road is longer than we thought. Get off." And we did, me being very upset and wanting to kick the tires off of their sorry little bikes. We walked, walked walked...until we got to a place that we remembered again, bought more popsicles, and then found the Suzhou Garden.

The entrance fee was expensive, and there was a pestery man that wanted to be our guide but we refused. Once we got in we looked around (it was really pretty. LanSu Yuan, or Portland Classical Garden, would turn away in shame. And shrivel to nothingness), looked around some more, and then sat down to do Kojo's worksheet. it's funny how Chinese people are, really. I sat down to start my work on a step, and then a young man stopped to peer over my shoulder, and once he did his friends did too. They helped me with my work and it made me happy. Amy told us to ask people too, but people here are so curious about tourists i think it's cute. =)

Then with all our work behind us, our family ran amok in garden, climbing rocks and running around to random unexplored places. the rocks were the best, and there were so many little pagodas and archways and tall green trees. it was really beautiful, if a little too peaceful for my taste. When we finally managed to get out of the Garden (yes, we got lost in all its splendor), we looked around at their stores, then sat down and interviewed people for more Kojo 'class'work. Again, I sat down on a step, and once more a man came, then another, then a couple, and finally a small crowd that was bigger than the last group of friends. It was overwhelming!

We then found reasonably priced rickshaws, and headed for the museums we were supposed to head to, got all the information from a fussy guide that looked like a police officer and a group of opera-learning women. Then we walked onto a road, PingJiangLu, which looked tired and empty. We interviewed more people, and by this time it was around two. Since we needed to get back to LiDa by four, we were tight on time. Even though we had everything done, our stomachs were screaming at us for LUNCH. We were so caught up in work, we were starving!

We got directions and stumbled, hungry and melting undetr the hot sun, towards a restaurant we all wanted.

Finally. We made it, and we like JUMPED for joy.

KFC!!!

Now's the time you say aloud,

AMERICANIZED. LIKE BAM. =)

Stuffing ourselves to the brim, we boarded a bus back to the school, walked some more, and then made it to the school, meeting up with Bacon's group, and then gradually the other groups started filing in. It seemed like once everyone met up again and started talking away and joking like always, we had to start going back to our 'homes' again.

We cried.

We hugged.

We whimpered, "I'LL MISS YOU" countless times.

And then we left.

I have a feeling this will become a routine soon enough.

~~~Reporter Poh