KGSM Student Radio » Aural Fixation

This week's podcast will focus on the remakable differences in social behavior I have noticed in my now three weeks here in Zhuhai.

I was standing in a supermarket, the one near the bank I use here, a couple weeks ago. I was looking for a few things, including a cheap pair of chopsticks for your room, some peanut butter and maybe some bread. I wasn't totally sure where peanut butter might be kept or even if I would find any at all in China. I knew it is not a friendly taste for many people outside of the united states, but wandered around trying to find it anyway. Suddenly, right as I grabbed a 1 kuai pair of chopsticks, I noticed a student standing next to me, staring at me.nbsp;

"Hello," he says nervously, and looking almost starstruck, "where are you from?" he asks.nbsp;

"Mei guo," I replied, noticing the smile on his face.nbsp;

"You go to UIC?"nbsp;

"Yes," I told him and then asked, "do you?"

"No" he responds, and struggles to find the words to tell you which of the three

colleges in the area he attends.

"BNU?" I offer.

"Yes, yes, BNU. Year one?"

"No, I am year three,"

"You in Zhuhai, three years?"

"No, I have been here only eleven days, I am an exchange student, here until January."

"Oh, ok, see you later," and he departs, off to continue his own shopping adventure.

My interaction with this BNU student is a prototype of my social interactions here in Zhuhai more genearlly. It seems like everywhere I go, people are excited to see me, almost overly excited, to get to know me, learn about me, my home country and what I am doing in China. How long have I been here? When am I leaving? What is my major? Do I play sports? Which question is always followed up with "Basketball?" regardless of how I answer. A whole barrage of questions come down upon me with nearly every person I meet. A high school student this week bumped into me at a restaurant, and did a double take when he noticed I was definitely not chinese, rather I am a 6 foot 4 white guy, probably from America. "SORRY" he almost shouted at me, and the proceeded to leap up and down comparing his height to mine.

Earlier this week, I ate lunch with a contingent of first year students from Yunnan Province. There were probably about twelve of them, all around 18 years old, and were standing in a pack at the bottom of the driveway leading away from campus to Stadium Road. I met my friend Rhea at the library and walked over to this group. When the students saw us coming it was as if they had seen the most spectacular sight of their lives. Many of them hid behind their umbrellas they use to shield themselves from the sun, and some of them averted their gaze away from us, and when Rhea introduced us as her friends, a hushed "woah!" could be heard from the crowd. As we walked to the Guandong restaurant Cynthia and I led the charge-even though we weren't entirely sure where, exactly, we were going-with the crowd a good fifteen feet behind us; as if getting too close would in some way be taken as a sign of disrespect. It's hard for me to imagine why these particular students are behaving so much differently than everyone else we've met thus far. Perhaps it is because of how many of them there are, the crowd creating a groupthink mentality that the Americans are best left undisturbed. Maybe it is just the awkwardness of being 18. Regardless of the reason, the whole situation carried an unexpectedly high level of reverence toward the waigouren, the foreigners.

I know many international students at Gustavus, but find myself trying to recall any that are given this kind of instant celebrity status back home. Are there clubs that actively seek out international students because they think they will be more popular to everyone else? Looking back on your experiences, it seems like the international students at Gustavus just sort of fade into the background, as if they are just like any ordinary student on campus. Gustavus easily has more internationa...

Earlier this week Bill from International Development told you two things: first, that there will be some kind of gathering among the students who went to Gustavus this summer, and second, that his office is going to set up a homestay for you so that you can experience life with a Chinese family. nbsp;Great, you think, and expect to hear something about these things in the next few weeks. nbsp;Well on Wednesday you get a text message from Charles, one of the UIC Students who came to Minnesota this past summer, saying that there is a party tonight, at 6:30, for anyone who was at Gustavus this summer and that you should attend.

You arrive at the party trailing Cynthia and Wendy, and are warmly welcomed by a group of students, some of whom you remember from your brief meeting at Gustavus in July. nbsp;One of them, Kitty introduces herself quickly and Wendy tells you that you are going to her home this weekend for a home stay, you talk with Kitty for a while and agree to meet her at 3 PM on Saturday, at which time you will go to her house and make Jiao Zi, or dumplings.

You grab some pizza and make your way around the party, reintroducing yourself to Angie, Maggie, Raye, Nancy and all of the other students you met for a few hours this summer. nbsp;On your third day here, this party is one of the warmest and most friendly receptions you can imagine having in such a foreign place. nbsp;You find yourself wondering if the international students at Gustavus are given this kind of reception. nbsp;It seems like everywhere you go people are interested, enamored, by your existence on this campus; your roommate runs the journalism club on campus and when you tell him you are interested in joining, in possibly copy editing for his news paper, he gets incredibly excited and rejoices saying that his club will probably be the most popular if you join it. nbsp;When you message someone about dinner you often end up eating with nine people, all of whom want to learn about you, your family, your hobbies and the difference between UIC and American colleges. nbsp;

You earn more points with the UIC students when you get up to introduce yourself and do so in Chinese. nbsp;ldquo;Ni hao! Wo jiao Greg, wo lai zi mei guo Mee-nee-soota,rdquo; each phrase earning you a room full of applause. nbsp;Everyone introduces themselves and says something about their major and their interests and then your master of ceremonies, Charles, segues into the next activity, something called Pose King. nbsp;Pose King is a simple icebreaker game where by everyone at the party stands in two parallel lines facing away from each other and when the Pose King counts down from three you turn around and deliver your best pose, at which point a new King is appointed. nbsp;After explaining the rules, Charles appoints you, Cynthia, and Evamdash;an international student from Korea, she did not go to Gustavus this summer but was invited because she is a friend of yours and Cynthia'smdash;as the kings. nbsp;You are supposed to pick teams and then play the game. nbsp;And then your emcee, and the only one who knows how to play the game, leaves the party. nbsp;Now the entire party is in three teams, for a game that requires two, and are not really sure what to do. nbsp;Eventually the teams are dissolved and everyone gets into two lines and plays the game the way you understood it with Wendy as the King. nbsp;The whole thing jumps the shark when one of the students can't make up their mind and appoints two new Kings and after another round the game is abandoned for a more relaxed social atmosphere and at the end of the night, you confirm with Kitty that you will meet her Saturday afternoon at 3.

***

The rest of the week slows down a little bit. nbsp;You send in your absentee ballot on Thursday, and watch The Big Lebowski with your roommate thursday night. nbsp;You are still having some trouble adjusting to the time change. nbsp;You find yourself tired by 9:30 some nights and ...

Upon arriving in HKG and making you way through the labyrinth of moving walkways and lighted signs the first shop you notice is the familiar green mermaid marking none other than Starbucks. In your passport you find your arrival card and you quickly fumble to get it ready with your address in Hong Kong; the just over 60 characters of which is difficult to squeeze into the tiny box on the card. After getting the Visa stamped in your passport a quick jaunt brings you to the Airport Express Train which for HK$90 will bring you from the airport to the Cosmic Guest House in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, total travel expenses in Hong Kong so far cost you around $20US. You aren't concerned much with money at this point, however, because you only want to get some real, solid sleep.

Something called Tropical Depression Higos startles you awake the next morning around 7:30. Your travel companion, Cynthia, remarks that it is too early and returns to sleep and you wish you could could do the same. Instead you read some interesting advice from a book called River Town by Peter Hessler, that suggests your lack of research regarding Chinese History and Culture may actually serve a boon to your adaptation. Your plan to approach the experience with an open mind, without expending too much energy trying to save face every step of the way, may prove a better approach to surviving a long-term stay. That you might learn more about the people and their culture by making mistakes and learning from them; a more organic learning, you decide is proper for the next four months.

* nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;* nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;*

The ferry trip is both longer and harsher than expected. After a few minutes you see someone approach the bar and receive a white plastic garbage bag, you don't really think much of this until the ferry leaves the high traffic Hong Kong harbor and a ferry attendant walks about the cabin distributing these bags to anyone interested. The ride becomes a bit more violent and you realize that these are seasick bags. You close your eyes at this point and as you rock back and forth in the ship, and realize that this is a commute you are glad you do not have to make every day.

Chinese customs are significantly easier than expected. You applied and received the visa before you left which takes care of the tough part, but you still find it surprisingly easier than expected. Before arriving you read articles and spoke with credible sources all of whom gave you the impression that chinese customs would be a strenuous and delicate process. When you arrive the only part of the process out of the ordinary were the propaganda videos playing everywhere, and an airport-style security checkpoint through which you must put your backpack and suitcase. Aside from these you pretty much just walk across the border with no problems.

On the other side of the checkpoint your contact, Bill, is waiting and ready to take you to United International College of Beijing Normal University in Zhuhai (珠海). Bill is about average height for an adult and with closely shaved hair and a giant, bright smile that makes you feel welcome and excited to be in China. Just as you get in his car it begins raining, even harder than it was in Hong Kong, and it is just in time for you to stand in the rain for a few hours while checking into your dorm.

Zhuhai is, even in the rain, a beautiful city. If it looks relatively sparse it is because it is. According to your little bit of research you figure there are just over 1.3 million people in this city, considered a moderate sized city by Chinese standards. The foothills approach the coastline and the buildings nestle along the valley. The wide road has a good amount of traffic, though it is probably lighter than normal due to the rain. Bill informs you of a Typhoonmdash;hurricanemdash;which blew through the city just a few days prior, and did some damage to the costal decoration along the road. Being from midwestern North Am...

Student Radio at Gustavus Adolphus College. KGSM Radio: The Voice of Gustavus

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From the Oyez Project:

Anbsp;Louisiananbsp;court found Patricknbsp;Kennedynbsp;guilty of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter.Louisiananbsp;law allows the district attorney to seek the death penalty for defendants found guilty of raping children under the age of twelve. The prosecutor sought, and the jury awarded, such a sentence;nbsp;Kennedynbsp;appealed.

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Full, unedited interview between Aural Fixationrsquo;s Greg Boone and the advisor for nbsp;this yearrsquo;s Building Bridges Conference: Virgil Jones, Director of Multi-Cultural Programming at Gustavus .

Full, unedited interview between Aural Fixationrsquo;s Greg Boone and one of the student leaders for nbsp;this yearrsquo;s Building Bridges Conference: Jing Han Soh.

Full, unedited interview between Aural Fixation's Greg Boone and one of the student leaders for nbsp;this year's Building Bridges Conference: Asitha Jayawardena.

A short documentary about the 2008 Building Bridges Conference at Gustavus. Building Bridges is an annual diversity conference centered around the topics of activism and awareness. The 2008 "Genocide Awareness: How Will History Judge Us" featured keynote speaker Paul Rusesabagina. His keynote focused on his experiences with genocide and the rest of the conference featured workshops and activities including a food packaging for Kids Against Hunger. Interviewed subjects are students Asitha Jayawardena and Jing Han Soh and Virgil Jones, Gustavus' Director of Multicultural Programs.