Start of the Last Week in Changsha

Our last week started with the usual school day. The students were happy to see each other after a weekend away with their host families. It was Cierra's 13th birthday and her host family planned a special day from Cierra and the rest of our students. It started with a party at a place that resembled The Miami Children's Museum. The place was reserved for our group only, and the children took part in the games and activities. Snacks and beverages were provided as American and Chinese students socialized had a great time together. Pictures are posted on the blog.
On Tuesday morning, Cierra's mother, Dr. Evelina Bestman gave a lecture on Child Psychology at the Hunan University. The Cushman family should feel proud that three members of our small group were asked to give lectures at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
On Tuesday afternoon, we all attended the Embroidery Museum of Hunan Province in Changsha. We saw traditional embroidery, embroidery that dates back over 2000 years, and a unique stitch developed in the 19th century in Hunan Province that enables embroidery to resemble real paintings with life-like qualities. The detail in the art work was truly amazing. In the back of the museum, the children got to see women working on tapestries similar to the ones we saw in the museum. The women were open to pictures and questions, and Raleigh was surprised to hear that a single tapestry could take as long as a year to make!!

The teachers continue to be amazed by the hospitality that the Chinese families have shown us and our students! They welcome us with open arms and receive us with fruit and frequently an offer to join them for the next meal. The students have been placed in beautiful homes. We have been blessed to have had such caring and hospitable families.

Wednesday afternoon was the Student Flea Market. At the market, classes set up their own tables and brought items from home to sell at the market. All the proceeds went to the earthquake relief fund. Our students bought many of the items, some as presents, most to keep for themselves (it should also be noted that by the end of the afternoon, Mr. Cosgrove had quite a collection of bows and arrows, plastic knives and even a pair of numb-chucks which he is 'looking after' for many of the boys in our group. These items may or may not make it back to Miami...) We were impressed by the Chinese students' ability to sell their items. Coach Pablo gave one of the Chinese students a CD to sell at his table. No more than 5 minutes later, the same student tried to sell the CD back to him, following him all around the market. He was very persistent and was finally successul in selling the CD back to Coach Pablo for 5 yuen! He then gave the CD to another student. Luckily, the second student did not try to sell the CD back to him. Likewise, Ricardo bought in to their sales techniques, buying little weapons at the gift shop for 10 yuen and selling them for 15 yuen!