| On the second to last night of the summer camp, I snuck out with Jackie and Mr. Chen onto the streets of Anqing. The city had a very old feel to it even though there were signs of modern technology all around. It was as though the city was struggling to bring itself out of the past. Most of the buildings looked like they had been around for quite a long time, and were usually made of concrete. The sidewalks contrasted heavily with the colorless buildings and streets because they were all made up of small colored tiles of green, yellow and red, and had patterns carved into them. But at night, the buildings lit up with light and activity. Colorful neon lights could be seen on nearly every building after the sun went down. Many of the neon lights had moving patterns and Chinese writing that would swirl around and travel from side to side, making the streets look like a party zone, except there weren't many people parading around the streets going from club to club to have an exciting time. There were not so many people outside at that time, which was still about as many people that would be out during the daytime in an American city that size. We went to an interesting park on the lake to enjoy a moment of freedom, and there were families there that came out to do the same, usually two parents and one child because of the one child per family law. We bought some ice cream, which is quite different than it is in America. There is one particular brand of ice cream bar for sale at just about any store that is green pea flavored, but it isn't as disgusting as it might sound. On our way back to the school, Jackie mentioned a few famous Americans that he knew, including Mike Tyson. I started doing my Mike Tyson impression, and Jackie and Mr. Chen nearly fell onto the street from laughing so hard. They probably never heard anyone act so foolish before. People tend to be very conservative in China because the culture has had thousands of years to develop into a very efficient society where many unnecessary actions have been eliminated from behavior. While I was walking with Jackie and Mr. Chen, I felt as I did when I was a small child when I had nothing to worry about. I was with friends, and there was no intimidation factor walking around the streets because no one was out to cause trouble or prove anything. It was rare to lock eyes with someone unless they were curious about where I had come from. Some young people would say hello, and then laugh with their friends after I said hello back to them. Others would walk by staring and say "Lao wai!" to each other, which means foreigner in Chinese. It was probably a strange thing for them to see a foreigner walking down the street since foreigners are so easily identifiable and more rare than diamonds in an overflowing population. When we got back to the school, Nathan found out we left and was upset that we didn't bring him along, because he and I were supposed to watch each other's backs in this unfamiliar land, and also because he wanted to get out of the summer camp as well. I told him I would be sure to let him know the next time. After the first summer camp, Sally from Hefei was supposed to pay for a vacation for Nathan and I, along with several other benefits, but about halfway into the camp, she decided that she wasn't going to do as she promised in the contract. Nathan and I made some phone calls to the head of the volunteer organization back in America, and she became very upset and made some calls back to Sally. Part of the agreement was restored, but the trust was broken between Sally and the three of us. Deception had been uncovered, and we didn't know if Daler was involved in it or not. On the last night of the summer camp, the students put on some performances in the school courtyard consisting of songs, plays, and speech competitions, and their parents came to watch them. It was the responsibility of the foreign teachers, as well as Willimas, to judge the students' competitions. One of the students taught Nathan, Caro, and I a dance routine to a Chinese pop song that I couldn't understand, but it was still fun dancing to the music. Franklin sat in the audience and laughed at me because he noticed my determination to do the correct movements. He was probably wondering why I was being so serious about it since I wasn't being judged by anyone. Some of the students won awards because of their achievements, which left some of the other students feeling very disappointed. When it was all over, many of the students cried. They knew there would never be a time like this again in their lives, and so did I. Around 10 p.m. or so, a group of about 15 of us including teachers and students left the school and went out on foot to sing at a karaoke place a few miles away. After walking for some time, we arrived at KTV, which is a chain of karaoke studios all around China. Soon after we entered the building, Summer had an exchange of words with a young man as he was leaving. He got angry and tried to come back in through the glass doors after her, but his friends held him back. I was confused. I didn't know what they said to each other, but I wasn't about to let him do anything to her. His friends finally dragged him away out into the night. Apparently he was upset that she brought foreigners to sing there, but Summer defended us. Most people in China welcome foreigners, but of course there were still those that felt that they were a threat to the relatively homogenous society that had remained isolated from foreign influence for so many years. We were led by the KTV staff down a small hallway to one of the many sound proof karaoke rooms, and we began to sing songs. The place was quite modern and luxurious. Most of the songs were in Chinese, but there were a few popular English songs by artists such as Celine Dion and Michael Jackson, so everyone had a chance to sing. While we were there, one of the students told me to have a seat next to Summer, and she got shy as she usually does. I'm not sure why everyone was trying to get me to make moves on Summer, but I just went along with it. After several hours of singing, we decided to leave KTV. We couldn't go back to the school because the gate was closed until the next morning, so we had to find something to do for about six hours. There were many internet cafes that were open all night, so we decided to go to one of them and use computers and rest there until the time came when we could go back to the school. Most of the students kept busy by playing internet games. Summer loved to give people relationship quizzes, and she gave me one that I completed. She looked surprised and said that my answers were mostly the same as hers. It seemed as though my time around her was almost over, but I still didn't want say anything to her about my feelings. It started raining that morning as we left the internet bar, and we were all going to get soaked on our way back to the school since we didn't have any umbrellas. In China, almost everyone carries an umbrella when it is raining. There must be a high level of acid rain from all of the coal-burning industrial activity they wish to protect themselves from aside from just getting wet. The air quality was definitely different there. Many women also use specialized umbrellas to protect their skin from the sun's rays during the summertime. There weren';t any gutter systems on any of the streets that I could see, so the rain never washed the dirt off the streets. That could be one reason why people developed the strong custom of taking their shoes off before entering into someone's home. We ran from shelter to shelter until we made it back to the school gates. The summer camp was in its final moments. Many of the students left with their parents the night before, and the rest of us packed our things and prepared to leave. We took some final group photos, and then Betty, Nathan, Ms.Wang, who was one of the classroom teachers, and I piled into Daler's van that was parked on the dirt road in front of the school. Mr. Wang was sitting patiently behind the wheel waiting for Daler to come out. Suddenly I became very concerned about what was happening with Summer. Was she coming with us, or would this be the last time I ever see her? Depression began to fill my heart. I had tried to deny the feeling for her for so long that now began to grow uncontrollably. She finally came out of the school with Candy and started talking to Betty through the window. Then Betty called my name, and I looked over as she pointed out the window to Summer. Summer waved goodbye to me, but she was unable to see the sadness in my eyes. She then walked back through the school gates with Candy. She wasn't coming with us, and this was the last time I would ever see her I thought. I couldn't repress my emotions any longer, and broke down silently. Betty noticed, and tried to comfort me, but there was nothing anyone could say to bring me back from the abyss of loneliness within. How could someone I've known for only two weeks have such a strong effect on me? Never before has that happened to me. Mr. Wang spit out of the window and almost accidentally hit an old woman walking by as she complained to him. His gentle laugh at his own mistake became contagious, and finally everyone had to laugh for a minute, including me, but then I fell right back into the feeling of depression that I didn't even understand. I was a fool for not saying anything to Summer, but I would have been equally a fool if I would have said something to her. Daler soon appeared, and it was time for us to leave the school for the last time. |
| China Dispatch/Andrew Gramling Goodbye, Anqing |
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