National Day and the Three Dollar a Day Diet

Yesterday marked the 62nd Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, otherwise known as National Day. This holiday has morphed into a week long vacation where typically every person in China travels. And when I say everyone, I mean that at last estimate China's transportation system was hyping up for the movement of half a billion people. 500,000,000 people. Imagine if all of the citizens of the United States plus Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean decided to go on vacation at the exact same time. That is the kind of exodus we are talking about.

For a variety of reasons, I am one of the few staying put. I just got my passport back on Friday so had no time to plan anything, and I am heading to Hong Kong in two weeks so will be saving up some money for that. Plus, my Chinese/Northwestern friend Zhenyu told me I would have to be a bit crazy to want to travel with all the rest of China, and I would have to agree...

As a celebration of the start of the holiday, and as a way to welcome the freshmen who are finally back from military training, my school put on a giant talent show on Friday. This show had everything. From bubble machines to fireworks, Britney Spears to Phantom of the Opera, hip-hop and break dancing to Chinese traditional dance, name some form of entertainment and it was probably included in some manner.

Chinese classical dancing

A cappella

A few of my students performed in one of the traditional dance routines and you could tell they were very talented. Their costumes and make-up were so elaborate they said it took three hours to get ready. In fact, when they came up after the show I had a hard time telling who was who.

The other American also got on stage. He was probably roped into it by the school administration, but his ballad of I Need You Now by Lady Antebellum was more suitable for a karaoke stage than a talent show showcasing our school's best and brightest. Don’t get me wrong, he sung his heart out and all the Chinese girls swooned. I am eternally grateful to whoever decided not to include me in this show.

Justin doing his thing

I didn’t even need to be on stage to be a spectacle myself. I tried to stick to the back to avoid unwanted attention, but without fail whenever an act was particularly slow gaggles of students would turn their backs on the show and point and take photos of me like I was a real celebrity. I seem to have that effect wherever I go here.

The Grand Finale

So since now most of campus is gone and I'm left to my own devices this week, I have come up with a little experiment to keep myself amused. I am dubbing it the Three Dollar a Day Diet. I think the title is self-explanatory, but basically I will be only eating and drinking what can be bought with $3 a day or 18 kuai. The money can be cumulative, so between Monday-Friday I am aiming to spend only $15 or 90 kuai. Check back later for updates on my progress.

快乐中国国庆！