I Would Dig a Hole All the Way to China

I should be sleeping. The first flight leaves in less than 7 hours. Can you believe it?! Because I certainly can't! As I should be sleeping right now, I will explain what I am doing up and "blogging." I thought I would share with you all (Hi, Mom and Dad) what kind of tough research of China I have been conducting. I've been reading, watching movies, and listening to music!!!

I have read and skimmed books like Culture & Etiquette in China and Culture Guide & Phrase Book. Of course, a novel caught my attention as well. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See is an interesting book about two sisters living a wealthy, carefree life in 1930s Shanghai. You can feel the tension within the family in every line. May is the beloved, beautiful daughter; Pearl is the narrator you feel for. And that's all in the first chapter! I don't want to give anything else away because a lot of crazy stuff happens. Not to mention I actually didn't finish it.

Films provide a great source of entertainment and history too! Here is a list of Chinese movies I viewed this summer: Farewell, My Concubine (theatre, history, war!); Blind Shift (indie film about economic hardships); Raise the Red Lantern (don't be a Chinese woman in the 1920s!); Eat Drink Man Woman (the original Tortilla Soup, family/food story); Balzac & The Little Chinese Seamstress (cultural revolution and romance); and The Last Emperor (Puyi!). If I wasn't exhausted and going to wake up in several hours for my flights, I would go more in depth on each of these movies. However, let me say they were all enjoyable, especially being able to listen to Mandarin and learn some Chinese culture and history.

Hold on a second here. Read this article about historical movies. I know a lot of films take liberties with facts so it really is a tragedy "students remember Hollywood fiction versus historical fact!" Personally, I just had fun with Chinese movies and got more of a feel for the landscape, food, traditions, and general history. I am sure I will learn much more in the upcoming months.

Personally, I love immersing myself in other cultures through books and films...and music! This is where I failed though. I do not know any great Chinese pop singers or groups! Katie Bodnar DID play a fun Chinese pop song for Marcelle, Emily and I in the car this week (during our epic ride home from Sarah Holman's graduation party! I loved being insane with my closest friends one more time!). Music will DEFINITELY be something I want to learn about from my students. Upon returning from my month in Ecuador, I blasted Juanes and Belanova in the car. A year from now I will add Chinese music to my playlists.

What I did look up was what American songs are about China. My search yielded very little but I found some great lyrics from the Dave Matthews Band. The first few lines of their song "Dreamgirl" are:
I would dig a hole all the way to China
unless of course I was there
and I'd dig my way home.

The song isn't really about China....but those few lines resonated with me! Hahaha. Everytime I am homesick in China those lyrics will pop in my head. I have attached the video to this song right here if you want to watch it (Julia Roberts is in it! weird!).

I really need to get a few hours of sleep...