International Students Sample Rural Life in Zhiyan

By Wang Yinfeng

International Students Sample Rural Life in Zhiyan

By Wang Yinfeng

Forty-fve international students spent 14 days from August 10 through 23， 2016 in Zhiyan， a village in Lanxin in central Zhejiang. They came from prestigious colleges in Germany， India， France，etc. There were many unforgettable moments in their experience.

Lost and Found

The bus sailed into Zhiyan Village and the French woman Clemence Bernot found her suitcase missing. That meant her cloths and gifts for her home-stay hosts were no more. The bus was searched and the suitcase was nowhere to be seen. Wu Jinhua， her hostess，took the troubled French woman under her wing immediately. In the following three to four days， Wu helped Clemence do her laundry in the evening so that she could get dry and clean cloths the next morning. The volunteers who worked for the international exchangeprogram gave Clemence cosmetics. And the hostess also took the French girl to Huangdian Town to buy cloths. On the other hand，the local government got into action immediately. They contacted Shanghai Airport. Pretty soon， they received feedback. The suitcase had stayed in Paris and the airport in Shanghai wasn't informed of the lost suitcase in time. Fortunately the suitcase came all the way from France to Shanghai to Zhiyan pretty soon.

法国姑娘露西·布莱克尼尔学做芝堰水米糕Lucie Brackenier， a French girl， is learning to make the rice cake in Zhiyan.

法国姑娘克列蒙斯·卜诺特的爱意。Clemence Bernot， a French woman， enjoys a kiss from a baby boy.

Flashmob Welcome

After the opening ceremony on August 12， the international students followed an ancient road through the village. Nobody knew when and how， but someone began to sing “Road to Home”， a village song of Zhiyan. And then amid the singing， villagers suddenly appeared out of the houses into the narrow road. They fashed out their cellphones and took photos with the international students. People laughed.

At the gate of Xiaosi Hall， the center of the village， the international students were greeted by a group of village women and were presented snack food and fruit. Inside the hall， Zhu Genfu， a local calligrapher， displayed a calligraphic work: Welcome Home in both Chinese and English.

On the afternoon of August 13， the students tried their hands at making the rice cake， a village delicacy. The cake isn't complicated to make and the students asked questions and fgured all the details out. Guli， an Indian girl， was a gourmet and learned how to prepare the cake. She said she was going to make this delicacy back home in India.

On the afternoon of August 14， the international students gathered at Xiaosi Hall again to enjoy a lecture on Wuju Opera， a local operatic genre. Wuju Opera artist Zhang Jianmin talked about the origin and evolution of the opera and demonstrated the ancient art.

Birthday Party

On the afternoon of August 17， a birthday party was held at Chengxian Hall， another ancient building in the village， for Yujis and Deveya of India and Martin of Germany. Their birthdays fall on 15th， 17th and 20th of August and the party was thrown for them. After the Happy Birthday song， the trio each received a set of traditional gifts of the village: a traditional Kongming lock and a cash envelope. And then a huge cake was shared.

Thank-You Dinner

Richard Rangel prepared a big dinner for the host and hostess of the house where he was staying. He called them China Dad and China Mom. China Mom had prepared meals for him and he wanted to treat them to an Indian dinner. Early in the morning， Richard Rangel did shopping in a supermarket in Lanxi， with the assistance of a local volunteer. He bought food ingredients and came back. When he put all the ingredients on the table， the host and hostess and neighbors were curious. They wondered how these ingredients would become a dinner. It was in the afternoon that the Indian delicacies looked real and delicious. The food he prepared is meant for Christmas in India. That day， he wanted to express his gratitude to his China Mom and China Dad with the big dinner.