Ever Unpredictable China...stay flexible, Rick, stay flexible!

I sit in XinXiang, a city 45 miles from home in Zhengzhou, and watch as Dominick, a student I tutor, calls a fellow speech competitor to find out how the morning competiton went and what to expect for his afternoon competition. As always in China, you'll never know what to expect. We learn her speech was longer than the published info says. There are also questions from the judges--unexpected. Plus, the topics are single words (gentleman, hero, humor, etc.), not questions like we practiced.

Fast forward to the competition. The speech is once again a different length and the judges do ask questions. Dominick rocked his, "What kind of music do you listen to and why?" There, however, was no control around the questions. One poor girl was actually asked "Please comment on American congressmen's complaints that US jobs are lost due to China's fixed exchange rate."

Oh, poor girl.

Photo 2: Most often when such a smoke cloud rises from the ground, it's surrounded by protesters and mob squads with rubber bullets. However, in China this is a sign of celebration having just lit a long string of firecrackers (a sound that also imitates a riot area.)

Finish the day with some classic street food. Here, a thin layer of dough is spread on a hot circular stone and is then topped with egg, vegetables, spice, and breakfast crisps. Total cost: $0.48. Oh, China :-)

Later Days,
Rick