First Impressions

Ever wondered what it must be like to be in the shoes of a celebrity? I got a taste of that when we arrived at Siping village.

As soon as we turned into the village, a sea of people expecting out arrival greeted us.  We beheld a wall of warm light speckled with lights from camera flashes, a storm of excited chatter from the villagers, live music from the welcome ceremony with waist drums adding their booming resonance to the already vibrant atmosphere, and a gaggle of camera totting reporters!

As soon as we got off the bus, we were warmly received by the indefatigable Xu Shufang. We were led to the area where we were to meet our host mother, and throughout the walk from the bus we were followed, nay hounded, by eager admirers. In fact, there were cops acting like our bouncers, keeping people from crowding us. It was such a staggeringly marvellous experience! We all had huge grins plastered to our faces the entire time. The atmosphere was so upbeat, infused with so much enthusiasm it was hard to not be happy.

My host family was kindness itself, always going out of their way to make us feel comfortable.  Not once did I feel like an outsider. They always had fresh fruits and snacks kept in our room, cheerfully cleaning up after us. While I navigated my way around using chopsticks, dropping copious amounts of food into the folds of my pants and jacket, and decorated the table with my own edible-design, they kept piling me with more food and wine.

In one memorable instance, while I was walking around Siping, drinking in the sights and sounds of this quaint village, and snacking on whatever morsels I could find in my jacket folds from that day’s lunch, a lady saw us – a motley bunch of tall, lanky lads, and herded us into her home. She then provided us with a mountain of food and drinks. The wonderful people of Siping display such kindness and generosity on a daily basis.

Every time I greet someone with a Ni Hao or Zao Shang Hao, I get a warm reply in return. Whenever I practice my limited knowledge of Mandarin with the locals, no matter how off key my tones are, everyone responds happily and prattle off, delighted that I almost spoke a sentence correctly. Of course, my knowledge of Mandarin being limited, I understand almost nothing of what they reply. But there is something wonderfully fabulous about these one-sided conversations, of smiling strangers wanting to speak with you and shake your hand and take a picture with you.

Truly, the people of Siping have a heart of gold.