Last week I went to a talent show and if I understood the information correctly, (remember I lose a lot in my translation) it was a competition between our university’s freshman class chorus groups. Each major had their own chorus group with costumes and sang 2 patriotic songs. Some of the costumes were really fancy with white suits for the guys and evening dresses for the girls. I have decided that our English majors must have had a really small budget because their outfits were t-shirts and jeans. Each group sang the same first song and a different 2nd song. After about the 10th group, I got pretty good at humming along with the first song, but it would take me about 50 more repetitions to approximate the words.
It was the first time I had been in the school’s auditorium. As people entered, they were welcomed by a Communist youth group. Inside it was very nice, comfortable and very large. The only big difference in US theaters and China theaters was the movement and the noise levels. It sort of reminded me of a Friday night at the Island movie theater with the kids doing their usual musical chair routine in the front rows. Except here it never stopped or even slowed down when the show started. Cell phones going off, normal level conversations, and walking around all during the performances. So next time at the movies, don’t complaint about the guy behind you with the crinkly candy wrapper, you could be in China.
