First Impressions
William Ellis School Summer School trip to China, 2005
First impressions of China - pictures and diary
China pictures and diary contents | Read introduction | Fuller account of school trip to China
3. Home Visit
A lavish lunch prepared by the whole family
(including dumplings we made earlier)
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The estate was stunning, with basketball and football pitches, mountains in the near background and a very clean atmosphere. The apartment had an exceptionally big living room and was very well decorated. The view was stunning because the apartment was on the 6th floor; we could see the mountains, some of Kunming’s skyscrapers and a big estate garden outside the living room window. My Chinese partner’s parents were working at the time of the visit so unfortunately I didn’t get to meet them; however my friends and I still enjoyed a home cooked meal in which we made a very poor job of making some very tasty beef dumplings.
- My partner lives in one of the older apartment blocks, right next to her school. As we walked in there was a small table to the right of the door where four older Chinese people sat playing cards. I thought this was really lovely. You don’t get that kind of thing in England. My partner’s flat was fairly small, with one main room, two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. However, this did not make the place feel small; there were glass windows between living room and kitchen. We helped to make dumplings from dough and mince, which her mother had already prepared. It will take some time to become as skilled and fast as her! It was great fun and the food was some of the best I’ve had in China.
People practiced Tai Chi, in parks, on street corners
and squeezed onto balconies
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Their home as very clean and tidy. For lunch we helped make dumplings which were delicious. To drink we had orange juice and Sprite. A whole wall of the living room was taken up by a shelving unit for a huge TV and several wooden sculptures.
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Our Chinese partners’ families were very welcoming. Their hospitality was amazing and they were prepared to give you anything in order to make your stay more comfortable.
- I was really worried about the home visit because of many different reasons, what would they give me to eat? What should I say to them? What would we do? What would the toilets be like? What happens if I offend them? I even wrote appropriate sentences to say to the parents and questions about food on my hand just in case. In the end it all worked out fine. We went to the supermarket, which was fantastic (Chinese supermarkets are so organised and tidy). Then we sat and watched an awful Chinese soap opera about these weird ancient mystics (I think it was about mystics, I don’t know but it was really odd) then we made slightly misshapen dumplings, and later we played basketball in the dark. I only met her mother once for about 30 seconds but she seemed really nice. The hospitality shown to us was amazing; everything that could be done to make our stay more comfortable was done. The flat was lovely and extremely clean, even if the décor was not to my taste. All in all it was a very good visit; although I think what I experienced was a middle-class Chinese life instead of the much harsher life shared by the majority of Chinese.
The homes of Chinese partner students were
located in densely packed, unattractive but well kept blocks.
