Day Two in Lanzhou

This morning we needed to visit the International Health Centre were our medical records would be checked (and if any of this documentation was lacking we would have to sit through the tests again there). We were met by Lee at the Guest House and were introduced to two students from Korea who also had to do the same paperwork. We all were taken to catch a bus to the Centre. A trip costs 1 Yuan, which is fed into a machine as you climb onto the bus. For the sake of efficiency, they do not provide change so be sure to have the correct amount at hand! The bus then trundled us around the city. Halfway to our destination, the back passenger door of the bus unhinged itself and hung limply, swinging around. Nobody looked surprised. Even with Lee there, it was a challenge to find the Medical Centre, where it was eventually found hidden at the back of a collection of buildings. Upstairs were medical officials, who scanned through all of our medical documents looking for each of the required components (blood tests, an ECG, chest x-ray, and so on). This took a little while, as with the language barrier they sometimes found it difficult to find what they were looking for. Eventually my documentation met their approval, and I was sent away to fill in more paperwork. A fee of 60 Yuan was paid, and we now await their closer inspection which will be completed for Monday.

In the afternoon we met with Sophia, a Chinese friend of one of the earlier delegates -- a delightful young woman with excellent English-speaking skills. She took us for a walk around a few areas in Lanzhou, showing us around some of the clothing and electronic shops. Sophia wishes to be an English teacher but she is finding it difficult to find a full-time position. She currently teaches 20 hours per week, and feels that she is held back by the fact she performed her degree by study-study, a degree that is not valued as highly as a university degree, her age (she is in her late twenties), and that she is not married (apparently uncommon). Despite all these 'setbacks', she is indeed an excellent English-speaker and has the patience and understanding that would make her a good teacher. Aside from her study, she has improved her English by making many Western-friends and watching Western TV and movies. It was a pleasure spending an afternoon with her and both Andrew and I look forward to meeting with her again.

That evening we met with Stephen (Zhu Yuming) from the Foreign Affairs Office and "Mr Ding", Ding Hongxing, the Divisional Chief of the Foreign Affairs Office.
We had a conversation about the programme, how many more students were coming and when they were arriving. There is clearly a lot going on, as Stephen received phone call after phone call, and shared that more students would be joining the programme. They left soon after, and Andrew and I dined at the Guest House Restuarant with a meal that had been ordered by Yuan Mei. When the first two dishes came out we were happy, another two came out and we were astonished. Fortunately their last trip out was one final bowl of soup. It was all such delicious food so we put in our best efforts, but there are limits for all of us!

Afterwards we decided to visit an 'English Speaking Corner' session, advertised as being at 'the fountain' every Friday from 8pm. As the university term starts next week we were not expecting many students. Indeed, when we arrived at the fountain there were several groups of people, but did not seem to be much activity. But once we were seen, both Andrew and I were surrounded and the crowds of Chinese excitedly threw their English at us. It was astonishing just how much enthusiasm and interest there was for the subject but, as Andrew described later on, learning English is one way of climbing the social ladder in China.

There were all sorts of people there -- recently graduated high school students who were about to depart Lanzhou to attend different universities, students who were studying at Lanzhou, young professionals, grandparents, and young children. Especially wonderful was a young girl whose grandfather had taught her English from birth. She asked many well thought out questions about my views on where I was from, on American and British English, and on learning Chinese. Her grandfather then prompted her to recite a training passage she'd learnt. The passage she recited was a discussion on having attended a play which she spoke clearly and naturally about, the nature of the conversation was amusing: the play had not been enjoyable because a couple seated behind her had been talking heatedly and she was unable to hear; she glared at them, which was ignored; and then asked them to please be quiet, and so on! She was exceptionally sweet and I returned to my room to retreive a few small gifts for her and a friend.

It was great to meet so many people enthused to practice English, but it did leave me wanting to learning Chinese even more!