| 2 May 2003 | 2003 5 2
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| 2 May 2003 | 200352
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The closing of the college gates has led to a boom in sport. In the evenings, the basketball and volleyball courts are packed, and the students playing badminton and kicking shuttlecock spill into the nearby avenues. Although badminton is popular (especially, although not exclusively, among girls), most just play for fun and many have never actually played with a net! Not to be confused with a badminton shuttlecock (yumaoqiu), the kickable shuttlecock (jianzi) is a colourful feathered object with a spring-loaded base. A small circle of players cooperate to keep the shuttlecock from touching the ground for as long as possible, in the same manner as the hacky-sack game which can be seen in Australia. Many students haven't played this game in years, but now a revival is sweeping the school. My students rush out during the 10-minute break between classes to kick a shuttlecock in the corridore.
To keep themselves from an ignoble death by boredom during the three day May Day holiday (May 1–3), the students organised various sporting competitions. As well as basketball and volleyball matches between classes, there were at least two large shuttlecock and skip-rope competitions yesterday. Skip-rope (individual or group) is another revived childhood game, and so is the game of elastics which I've seen a few people playing (as in Australia, this is mainly played by girls).
This evening I went to a special English corner. It was held in the garden, and when the sun set we lit candles to hold in our hands. Over the course of the evening, we were treated to several a cappella songs, both English and Chinese, from various students. Any congregation of Chinese people seems to contain several willing to sing publically, even when cold sober, and at least half, if not more, will probably be men. They sing very well, too! This skill is obviously an important one in China, and I'm forever being asked to sing. I try to avoid it if I can, and tonight I recited a Robert Frost poem in lieu of a song.
Opinions about the shut-in vary among students. Of course most are unhappy about being shut off from shops, amusement arcades, and in some cases girlfriends and boyfriends. But many believe that it's a necessary sacrifice. And some are enjoying the novelty of a three-day on-campus vacation, since they can relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of playing outdoors. Luckily, there is only one television on each floor of the dormitories. Plus, the weather has been lovely these last few days.
3 May
Tonight the students put on a fund-raiser to help their college combat SARS. There were some guitar players, some singers (with backing music this time), and one interesting guy who performed a popular Chinese rap song, and then later came back on the stage with a saxophone and played a piece of music typical of the Yao nationality.
Twenty seconds after I arrived, the organisers of the show approached me and asked if I could sing an English song! I said no. How about a Chinese song? No!
Comments
How is it that I witnessed you come here on more than one occasion and sing in front of your fellow workers, and yet over there you are shying away from it. I'm sure you'd be an overnight hit on the Chinese music scene???
Was it really twice? I thought it was only once, and I didn't think anyone was listening. Anyway, there was bad guitar playing (albeit my own) to distract from the bad singing. But you're right, I probably could make it big here, in the karaoke scene at least, if I could bring myself to sing My Heart Will Go On.