Hong Kong

My study abroad program ended last Thursday, but before coming home I flew to Hong Kong for a couple of days to visit my mission. My trainer, Philip, who was also studying in the Mainland, was able to take some time off from classes so he could go too. I had the most wonderful time being back!

I flew into Hong Kong on Friday afternoon, and I met Philip at the temple around 6. We chatted with a couple of members we knew before taking the subway to our hostel to check in. When I booked our hostel online for only $17.50/night, I thought we were getting a good deal. However, when we opened the door, it quickly became apparent that we were getting exactly what we paid for! :) Hey, there were two beds (let us recall “Rock, Paper, Scissors”) and something that I suppose could roughly constitute a bathroom, so we didn’t really have too much to complain about. After we checked in and put our stuff down, we quickly walked to the Victoria Harbor “Symphony of Lights” to watch the nightly laser show from all the skyscrapers on the Hong Kong Island side.


We woke up on Saturday morning and traveled to Kowloon Tong to attend the temple, and then we went to church headquarters in Wan Chai to see a couple of members and eat lunch. We had a great morning, but I quickly realized that we didn’t think too clearly about our choice of clothes. Think about it. We were two, clean-shaven, white guys who speak Chinese wearing white shirts and ties walking around Hong Kong! I think the people on the subway were confused as to why we weren’t contacting them, and I think all the members and missionaries who saw us thought we were being disobedient for not wearing our name tags. I told Philip we had better obey mission rules until we change out of our “proselyting” clothes. :)


After changing our clothes, we spend the afternoon finishing up buying Christmas presents at Ladies Street until heading to the Tang family’s home for dinner. It was crowded.


I had taught the Tang family near the end of my mission, and I grew to love their family so much. I was so happy to see them again!


We had a huge dinner (certainly a theme for the trip), and then we spent the rest of the evening playing Hong Kong monopoly and Wii.




I admit that it was so nice not to have time restrictions on our visits with members, and it was just so wonderful to see them again and to see how happy they are with the Gospel in their lives.

There is only one word to describe how I felt attending church on Sunday. Bliss. I attended the TST Ward (Chinese) in the morning, so I got to see so many of the members I had worked closely with and also so many of the new members that I had taught. I was looking around at all the families I had been privileged to teach on my mission, and I couldn’t help but feel deep gratitude for the opportunity to associate so closely with so many wonderful people.


In the afternoon, I attended one of the Filipino branches I had served in. I was thrilled to see them again, and I felt completely spoiled the whole time! After church, I went upstairs and found that the members had made me my favorite Filipino food and dessert. I ate until I began to feel physically ill. :)


There was a reason I only ate until I BEGAN to feel physically ill—I was going over to another member’s home for dinner right after! I had dinner with Amy, and her two children, Peter and Tracy. I also taught them near the end of my mission, and it was amazing to see how the Gospel has truly become the center of their lives. I love them so much, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to see them again. And yes…I left feeling physically ill. :)


Monday morning, I woke up, went running on the Victoria Harbor, and then Philip and I went with a member to my favorite restaurant in Hong Kong. I thoroughly enjoyed all-you-can-eat pizza and stir fry for over two hours.


Later that afternoon, Philip and I went back to the area where we served together. It honestly felt pretty weird being back almost three years later, but it was so fun just to walk around and laugh at all the funny things we experienced there. We went to the Mak family’s home for dinner that night. Brother Mak was the first person I baptized in Hong Kong, and since then his son has also joined the church so now their whole family are members. I can’t even describe how different their family is now! They are so much happier! They are kind to each other, and it was so clear how much Brother and Sister Mak loved and adored their children. The whole feeling in their home was completely different than before, and it was amazing to see how their family has made the Gospel the center of their lives. We enjoyed another huge dinner (can you see now why I picked up those 30 pounds?!), and then we spent the rest of the evening chatting, watching bad Chinese television, and singing Christmas songs to the most out-of-tune piano I have ever heard in my life! It was a great night!


Tuesday morning, Philip and I went hiking on Victoria Peak. Even though I have been there over ten times, it is so beautiful and both of us have so many wonderful memories there, we decided we had to go. The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was beautiful, and it was honestly so enjoyable not to be on a time schedule and just be able to enjoy being back in Hong Kong.


Philip and I split up for the afternoon, and I went to visit a member I taught in my last area. His wife was at work, but I was so happy to see and talk to Brother Chan for the afternoon.


Tuesday evening, I met with Fred, another member that I taught for dinner, and then I treated him to a big bag of popcorn. I couldn’t think of a better way to express my love and appreciation. :)

I then went back to our hostel, packed, checked out, and then on Wednesday morning I said goodbye to Philip and got on a plane heading back to the States.
I feel so blessed to spend those five days in Hong Kong. I know it is a rare and unique opportunity to go back and visit your mission, and I found so much joy being in Hong Kong and being with the people I have grown to love.

Nanjing

I have had a wonderful experience studying in China. I’ve had good roommates, my language ability has improved beyond what would have been possible just studying in the States, and I’ve had so many unique and wonderful cultural experiences. Probably even more importantly, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to mature and grow in other areas of my life beyond just learning Chinese. I leave for the airport on Friday, but before I go, here is a look back on some of my favorite places in Nanjing.

The apartment complex we spent three long days searching for. I know it doesn’t look like it, but it has been great.


The crazy intersection I biked through every day on the way to school. Ever y day was a huge mess of buses, taxis, trucks, cars, motor scooters, bikes, and pedestrians, driving or walking without regard to road lanes, traffic lights, flow of traffic, or even basic laws of humanity. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where George is trying to get across the street with his Frogger arcade game. It was fun, and I looked forward to it every day. :)


The bread shop where I bought my breakfast every morning.


The international student building on Nanjing University where I went to class every day.


The Nanjing University track where I “contacted” after class to meet native friends.


The Wutai Shan park where I (“Little Myers”) played ping pong with my elderly friends.


The Nanjing Normal University Track where we played the Turkey Bowl and where I went running every week.


The massage place where I got my first ever massage. It was the most painful $7 I’ve ever spent!


The fruit stand near our apartment where I bought fruit every night before heading home.


The grocery store where I bought water every night before going back to the apartment. For anyone who has been in our apartment these last three months, you would know we’ve been three thirsty guys.


The French bakery where I satisfied my desire for western food and western desserts for the last three months. Three words. Pain au chocolat. :)


The barbershop where I got my haircut three times for a combined price of less than two dollars. Unfortunately, I might’ve got what I paid for.


The popcorn stand where I enjoyed popcorn that didn’t taste very good. Hey, I couldn’t stay away for a whole three months!


The place we nicknamed “bird flu alley” due to its cleanliness…or lack thereof. We ate lunch at one of the many shops on this road almost every day. Healthy, I know. :)


Downtown Nanjing.


The hotel where we went to church every Sunday morning.


I’ve have a wonderful time here in Nanjing, but I am so excited to be in Hong Kong for a couple of days and then be home for Christmas! Mom, I can almost smell the white trash! :)

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Meet Jimmy


Jimmy is from Salt Lake and is an extremely talented musician and snowboarder. We call him “Little Jimmy” because when the rest of us eat 13 inch pizzas, he orders a 9 inch pizza. It’s pretty cute. :)

Meet Nate


Nate was born in the States but has grown up in Paris, and besides knowing four languages, he is an avid soccer player. We call him the “Octopus”—I’ll get to that.

And then there is me.


They call me Grandpa Ben because of my wisdom and maturity. What?! You don’t buy that?! Okay, okay, you’re right. It is really just because of my old man jokes. Hey, I’ve had 22 years of learning from the best. Thanks Dad! :)

Nate and I have known each other for a couple of years, and we met Jimmy when we first arrived in Nanjing. After our adventure of finding an apartment, we three ended up living together. I have been really grateful for them this semester, and I would say that it has been a peaceful and contention-free semester—if it wasn’t for just one thing.

Our apartment only has two beds.

We, of course, knew this when we signed the contract, but after searching for three days and wanting to find a place before school started, we decided to deal with the sleeping situation later.

Conventional wisdom suggests that we divide up the semester into three equal periods of time; therefore each roommate would equally get the single bed. However, we were so exhausted the first night, we decided to play a friendly game of “rock, paper, scissors” to determine who would get the single room that night. Nate won and after a little trash talking, he retired to the single room with a smile.

It was too late to turn back. Our competitive juices were flowing, and we determined that night that “rock, paper, scissors” would be the way we would divide the sleeping arrangements for the remainder of the semester.

It didn’t take long for Jimmy and me to realize that we did not like sharing a bed with Nate! We started calling him the “Octopus.” Not only does Nate always end up sleeping completely diagonally across the bed, but I have woken up this semester with his hand on my stomach, his foot resting on my feet, and his feet curled up in my blanket! It even got to the point where Jimmy started putting wooden stools (“cages”) in the middle of the bed to shield himself from Nate. It was a nice thought, but a couple of wooden stools did nothing to stop the “Octopus.”


To make matters worse, Nate had somehow ripped the bed sheets on the single bed, and the hole was getting larger by the day. As the weather got colder, it also became apparent that the room with the double bed was a little warmer. Jimmy and I, not wanting to spend another $3 to replace bed sheets for only one month’s time (you can buy 10 bags of Skittles with that kind of money!), not wanting to be cold at night, and finally not wanting to have to deal with the “Octopus” once and for all, I suggested that we put our differences behind us and give Nate the single room for the rest of the semester. Nate begrudgingly accepted the consequences of his own actions.

Since then, Nate has liked having his own bed and has actually grown accustomed to sleeping on a dirty mattress. As for me, I have thoroughly enjoyed my peaceful, clean, nightly rests without the fear of the “Octopus.”


Everyone is happy, and peace has been established again. :)

Karaoke

When I think of the word “karaoke,” two thoughts come to mind. The first is a scene from my Best Friend’s Wedding, and the second is a painfully awkward junior high party. The first makes me laugh; the second makes me cringe.

Unfortunately, going to sing karaoke is one of the most popular social activities in China. I have claimed that I came here for the “whole program,” so when one of our friend’s invited us to go sing karaoke yesterday, I knew I had to accept.

It was definitely a cultural experience. Jimmy and I went downtown with three of our friends to KTV, one of the many popular karaoke places in Nanjing. I had no idea what to expect, but I was prepared to both feel uncomfortable and to make a complete fool out of myself. If I was ever going to get on stage and belt out “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” that day was going to be Saturday and Saturday only. Fortunately, at this place you rent private rooms with big televisions and just sing while sitting on couches.

We quickly selected a playlist, and before I knew it my friend was belting out this 80s Cantonese song (I was in heaven). On average, I would consider the Chinese people more private and reserved, but they certainly hold nothing back when they karaoke! It was hilarious, and I couldn’t help but laugh.


Can't you tell I was having the time of my life?! ;)

I ended up singing two Taylor Swift songs, Black Eyed Peas “Where is the Love?” an Andy Lau Cantonese song (they were impressed), and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” I wasn’t complaining with the song selections.


Our afternoon ended with “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, and let me say that it was certainly a crowd pleaser for our Chinese friends. Two comments.

1) Yes, I still remember every word from 4th grade. Come on…who didn’t have a crush on Baby Spice?!

2) Don’t judge. :)

I still love that our friends chose to spend their Saturday afternoon going to karaoke with all guys! It seems pretty weird to me, but it is completely culturally acceptable here. Mom and Dad, can you see Adam, the Clarks, Josh, and me driving down to Indianapolis to karaoke together on a Friday night?! I think I just heard Dad’s big business laugh. :)


Well, I don’t think that I will ever myself choose karaoke as a social activity, but it was certainly a cultural experience that I’m glad I didn’t miss.

Hoosiers

I was walking on campus last Wednesday when an “international movie night” poster caught my eye. As I walked by, I felt a feeling of joy come over my body that normally is only experienced after perfectly finishing off a 3-on-2 fast break with a crisp bounce pass and a left-handed layup (“The glass is your friend”). I decided I needed to investigate further. It didn’t take too long for me to understand my feelings. One word. Hoosiers.


“So, what is a Hoosier?” one might ask. Some might tell you that a “Hoosier” is just simply someone from Indiana. Pretty simple, right? Don’t be fooled. It takes much more than owning an Indiana state driver’s license to be a true Hoosier. There are certain…requirements, you might say, that separates those simply living in the “Crossroads of America” with those who are true Hoosiers.

Here’s a quick rundown:

You must be a fan of the Colts, Notre Dame college football, Indiana University college basketball, and the Pacers (unless, of course, Michael Jordan is playing for the Bulls). You need to go to the Track, watch a Butler basketball game in Hinkle Fieldhouse, and sing the Indiana state song while crossing the Indiana/Ohio border. You need to walk on the Monon Trail, eat a burger at Bub’s, and own at least one Jackson 5 album. You must develop a strong disdain for Purdue University, the University of Kentucky, and the New England Patriots. You must thank “the General” for three national championships and the recruiting of the 2002 Final Four team, all the time remembering that no one is perfect. :) Finally, you must attend at least one Indiana State Tournament basketball game, and most importantly…your DVD collection must include the movie Hoosiers!

Being the true Hoosier I am, I knew I owed it to my family, friends, and fellow Hoosiers to attend the movie night.

My roommate and I (he thinks Indiana is on the east coast), brought two of our native friends to the movie last Thursday night. Though I have seen Hoosiers no less than twenty times in my life, Thursday night’s movie was the most unique yet. I expected the movie to be shown in English with Chinese subtitles, but I knew I was in for much more than I expected when a Chinese voice came out of Norman Dale’s voice when he walked into Cletus’s office! The movie was showed in Chinese without any subtitles, but luckily I had seen the movie so many times that I didn’t have too much trouble understanding the translation.


Some of the highlights.

• The translation of the conversation with Norman Dale and George, the interim coach, in the Hickory school gym. They directly translated the part when George says, “there’s two kinds of dumb, uh, guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and, uh, guy who does the same thing in my living room.” No one in the crowd got it, but me. :)

• The part where Myra Fleener’s mother tells Coach Dale to say “hello” to Chester and then “goodbye” to Chester. The crowd roared. It wasn’t that funny.

• The Chinese translation of Strap’s name, which sounded like “Straaaaaaappp” with a bad British/Chinese accent. I could just hear Dad say, “Make it a good one Straaaaaappp!” :)

• Ollie missing the front-end of a one-and-one and then dribbling the ball off his leg in the fourth quarter of the regional championship game. Once again, the crowd roared. I was so confused. Didn’t they know that the winner of this game went on to play for the state championship?! Didn’t they know that no school that small had ever made it to the state championship?! Didn’t they know that the history of Indiana high school basketball was hanging in the balance?! No, no, and no. They all laughed when Ollie’s second free throw bounced around the rim and fell in. I was trying to hold back the tears.

• Jimmy’s last-second shot. “I’ll make it.” He always does. :)
I walked out of the movie theatre smiling (crying), and I am sure that my Indiana pride
was written on my face. Out of the many things (8) I had to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving season, the privilege of being a Hoosier certainly made the list. “I love you guys.”

The Turkey Bowl

Out of the many LDS traditions that I love (primary programs, bribery by candy, end-of-the-month home teaching, etc.); one of my favorites is playing in a “Turkey Bowl” every Thanksgiving morning. Considering football in China means soccer, I just figured that I would have to wait until next year to fulfill my dream of a Thanksgiving morning victory! I was so surprised and pleased when the branch president announced two weeks ago that there would be a turkey bowl held before the branch Thanksgiving party.

I have been playing in turkey bowls since I was eleven, and I had never won! My first year, I caught two touchdown passes from Dad, but that was the first year that Dad’s team didn’t win! I have never played on Dad’s team since, and that one year remains the only blemish on Dad’s turkey bowl record. Minus the two years I was in Hong Kong, I am a lifetime 0-9! I was determined that this year would be different. I spent the two previous weeks in mental (cbssports.com) and physical (running) preparation.

The night before the game, my dreams were filled with lots of Reggie Wayne one-handed catches, Peyton Manning naked bootlegs, and Bob Sanders leaping interceptions. When I woke up in the morning, I knew that it was going to be a special day. :)

I got to the field around 10 a.m., and we tossed the football around and “stretched” while we waited for everyone else to show up. Once all ten of us had arrived, we used our jackets and bags to make out-of-bounds lines, end zones, and the midfield line. We separated into teams and agreed on the rules (you get four sets of downs to cross midfield, and then from midfield you get four more sets of downs to score a touchdown). We played for about an hour, and let’s just say I did my best to make Peyton, Reggie, and Bob proud. :)




We didn’t keep score for the first hour (except for me), but for the last hour we decided to switch up teams and play to five touchdowns. After an interception returned for a touchdown by the other team, we were down 2-4, and I could feel yet another turkey bowl victory slipping away. We fought back to tie the score at 4, at which time I, of course, suggested we play “win by two” with a cap at seven. No one could resist the prospect of playing a little longer, and everyone quickly agreed. Once again, we fell behind 4-6.

As our team was jogging towards the other end of the field after we had just given up a touchdown, I saw defeat in the eyes’ of my teammates. Not again. Not this year. I pulled my teammates in a huddle, and I asked them the only question I knew to ask. (It is the same question I always ask my roommates when we are watching a game on tv and my favorite team is behind.) I asked them, “Do you guys smell that?” Half of them tried to nonchalantly smell themselves while the other half pointed to one of our more portly, sweaty opponents. I shook my head. I asked again, “Do you smell that?” Nothing but blank stares. I looked each one of them in the eyes, and then said with confidence, “It smells like a comeback!” Some smiled. Some grit their teeth. They understood. We knew what had to be done.

After a touchdown pass, interception, and another touchdown pass, the score was tied at 6. My heart started to beat faster. I knew that this could be the year. I looked around, and our crowd of two Chinese people watching us play became ten. They must have been able to sense the importance of the moment. With Dwight Freeney rushing the edges, Bob Sanders playing centerfield, and shades of (the Super Bowl year) Rob Morris patrolling the middle, we forced them into a four-and-out. This was the year. We took over on downs and eventually got down to 3rd-and-goal from the 1. On the next play, I hit one of my classmates on a drag route for the winning score. Hands were shaken, high-fives were given, and “derrieres” were slapped. It was over! We had won!



So there you have it. On my tenth try, I finally won a turkey bowl. While it took years of disappointment, hard work, and sacrifice, I am proud to finally be able to say that I am a turkey bowl champion!

I Won a Chinese Game Show!

Two Mondays ago, I received a phone call from the “Zhen Long Xi Yang Yang” television game show telling me that I had been selected to be a participant on the show. They informed me that my episode would be shot that Friday, and that there would be a dinner on Thursday night to explain all the games and the procedures for the show. In all honesty, when I hung up the phone I think I was a little surprised that the whole thing was actually going through.

When I arrived at the appointed restaurant on Thursday night, the first thing I noticed is that I recognized all of the other participants. It randomly worked out that all six of us are BYU students and thus are in the same branch here in Nanjing. It really is a small world in the Church! :) The producers of the show told us we could order anything on the menu, and order we did! The dinner was delicious and informative, and

I think we all left feeling excited.
The show wasn’t scheduled to start taping until 6 p.m., but we got there at 1 so we could practice the different games and run through everything. To help you get an idea of how ridiculous this whole night really was, allow me to describe the three games.

Game #1

The participant and a partner, wearing bright orange jumpsuits and a helmet with a cup attached to the top, are supposed to carry as many green peas as they can in their helmet through a slippery obstacle course. When they get through the course, they dump all the green peas that didn’t fall out of their helmets into another partner’s helmet, and then that partner dumps all the green peas in another container. After both teams have gone, the peas are weighed, and whichever team’s container weighs the most wins. Oh yeah, the participant and their partner do this all while wearing inner-tubes connected by a string!

Game #2

Two sets of two people get on each other’s backs (piggyback) to start the game. The first two people on piggyback walk over to a ledge with four cups of water on it, and the player on his partner’s back has to pick up the plastic cup, using only his teeth. They then walk over to the other two players on piggyback, and the plastic cup is passed to the other person on piggyback, once again only using their teeth. Yes, it looked as uncomfortable as it sounds. The second group on piggyback then walks over and once again, using only their teeth, pours the cup of water into a container. After both teams have played, whichever team’s bucket has the most water wins.

Game #3

Three people are spread out on a long treadmill. The person in the very back is wearing 15 t-shirts (“Could I BE wearing any more clothes?!”), and his job is to take off a shirt and pass it to the middle runner. The middle runner then runs up to the front runner and puts the t-shirt on him. Whichever team is able to pass the most t-shirts to the front runner wins.

The games were just as ridiculous as they sound.

After each of us practiced all of the different “events” (I like that word better…it makes me think of the Olympics.), we then practiced the “money round” event. After the winner of the show has been determined, they get to do one final event to see how much money they win. The money round event for our show included jumping off of a springboard and breaking a Styrofoam bar with our foot. The higher the bar, the more money you win. We first were trying front flips (Mom, there was padding) to break the bar, but we eventually found out that we could jump higher jumping off one foot and doing a bicycle kick. I was able to break the 4000 yuan bar (2.5 meters) in our practice rounds, but I am pretty sure I sacrificed a strained right hamstring to do it. It’s hard to get old, right Dad? :)

After we finished practicing all of the events, the show took us to go eat dinner and do makeup. I would say no comment, but I think there are two comments that need to be made.

1) This was only the second time in my life where I’ve had makeup on my face! Stop penny. :)

2) I hope that this will be the last time I ever have makeup on my face! It made my face super pale, and they put so much on it felt like I was wearing a cardboard mask! Come on, I’m not that naturally bad-looking, am I?!


After we finished makeup (don’t.), we had one final rehearsal onstage and then the show began. After the host introduced the show, our names were announced and we walked on stage, kind of like starting lineups. I was waiting for the “Starting at point guard, standing six feet two inches, number twelve….,” but it never came. I settled for my Chinese name and the number three instead. :) After we were all on stage, we did a dance to this popular Chinese song, and then each of us introduced ourselves.


I was selected for the first game. I am grateful that I went into the show knowing I was going to look like a complete idiot, because “completely embarrassing” are the only two words I can think to use to accurately describe my performance. Let’s just say that after I went, the stage was covered in green peas and my jumpsuit was covered with grease. Luckily, Nate and Chloe pulled through for us and we were able to barely nudge out my classmate Ryan and his two partners. Just like March Madness, all that matters is surviving and moving on. Come on Hoosiers!


After the other two games were over, the other two winners and I had one final event to determine the overall champion. We all had six balloons strapped to our backs, and the goal of the game was to pop your opponents’ balloons without yours being popped, all while jumping on a trampoline. It reminded me a lot of battle mode on MarioKart 64.
:)


I will let the pictures explain the rest. :)








Ok, ok. Easy on the comments about picking on a girl. I admit, she was pretty fiesty, and I think everyone applauded her effort, but in the end, what had to be done was done!
I had won. I had been afraid of winning. Let me explain. The last time I came to this show, I was horrified when the winner came out wearing a Superman costume that was more than somewhat…revealing. I vowed that that would never be me. After the final competition, I was lead offstage and I was told that I needed to change. I was hoping that tonight’s show would be different, but in my heart I knew that it wouldn’t be. We walked into the dressing room, and there it was: the “S”, the belt, the boots, and…the tights. Luckily, I was ready. After I had changed into the outfit, I quickly put on a pair of basketball shorts I had brought to maintain the “For Strength of Youth” modesty standards Mom and Dad so persistently reviewed with me every FHE once Ashley and Kristi were off to college. Once the guy saw me putting on the shorts, he quickly came over and told me I couldn’t wear the shorts. When he came over, I was tying my shoes and I didn’t even look at him. He tapped me and told me that I couldn’t wear the shorts. I told him that wearing the shorts wouldn’t be a problem. He shook his head and told me again that I couldn’t wear the shorts with the Superman costume. I grabbed my stuff, and while walking out the door I again told him I was going to wear shorts. He gave up. I walked onto stage amidst shouts of “Modest is hottest!” :)


Even though the best I had done in the practice rounds was 2.5 meters, I felt like the crowd was behind me so I told the host I would try for 2.7 meters (5,000 yuan) on my first jump. The “modest is hottest” chants must have done it for me. I broke it easily.


With the crowd cheering and the cheers for modesty getting louder, I decided to go for the 3.0 meters (8,000 yuan) jump. When I jumped off the platform, I was originally leading with my right foot, but I switched to my left foot when I realized that my right foot wasn’t high enough. It reminded me of my first indoor soccer game with Mr. Klingensmith. It was a needed adjustment.


I broke it again.


For my last jump, I followed the crowd’s encouragement and went for the highest board, the 3.2 meter, 10,000 yuan board. It wasn’t meant to be. The show ended with me being presented an 8,000 yuan prize.


After the show ended, I went backstage and changed, and then the participants and I were immediately escorted to a nearby bank to collect our prize winnings. I like winning money in China! Not only does the government only take out 20%, but you get the money that night!
We got home around midnight, and we were completely exhausted! My roommate, Jimmy, and I still couldn’t believe that we had been on a real Chinese game show. I still somewhat can’t believe that the night actually happened. I never imagined that I would experience China like this, but I am here for the full program!