Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The morning is hectic with organizing luggage and two more stops in Zhongshan before we head off to Macau. We have a stop at the Cultural Arts Research Center – I guess that’s why William was asking if any of the contestants knew Chinese calligraphy earlier in the week. The Center is celebrating cultural heritage with a Chinese calligraphy exhibit. I’m amazed with the old and middle Chinese calligraphy. I have learned basic traditional Chinese calligraphy, and now, I am intrigued to learn early and middle Chinese calligraphy now as well. Some of the girls can read traditional Chinese, but they don’t necessarily understand what each of the poems or sayings mean. Sometimes they have specific meanings, and sometimes it can be up for interpretation. The ceremony is a bit long winded, and the girls are getting a bit fatigued sitting up straight with their ankles crossed. They finally get called up for pictures and are, unsurprisingly, the center of attention.
As we leave the space, our drivers have lined up the cars for a quick picture to advertise the cars. They have the girls match up with their numbered cars and drivers. Having beautiful girls posing with hot imports is a long standing tradition in the automobile advertising world. Today is no exception. As we head off to the last stop in Zhongshan, the traffic gets worse, and it is hard to maneuver the caravan. We weave in and out of the heavy morning traffic trying to keep up with the rest, but the drivers in China will take any centimeter’s worth of space to wedge into traffic. It is a bit frustrating as an onlooker to see how inconsiderate drivers are in China, more so than most countries I’ve visited. That same mentality seems to spill over into general society as well. For a culture based on saving face, familial honor, and so many rules of comportment, women are still considered either property or second class citizens, and men seem to be allowed to say and do whatever they want with little to no repercussion.
As we roll up to the elementary school, specially chosen children are lined up waiting for the entourage. The children are all in their uniforms and are holding red plastic flowers. As the girls file in, the children start welcoming them with a unified voice. The principal has a few opening remarks, and then, we are led into the school for a little tour. We see a wall of colorful hand prints which the children make their first year at the school. Then, the hand prints are framed and hung on the walls until the children graduate after 6th grade when the hand prints are planned to be presented to the children as gifts and souvenirs of the school. There are approximately 1,300 children who attend this specific Zhongshan City public school. That is nearly three times my high school’s graduating class. Another wall has a photo mural of every child who has attended the school, and it seems like there is plenty of room to add photos. We get to the gym, and a large group of children greet the girls with cheers and clapping. The children have prepared a game where you transfer hearts over straws held only by mouth, no hands, ma’! The more hearts, the more chances the girls will have to get puzzle pieces which turn out to be the map of China. It is riotous fun, and everyone is having a ball. Once the hearts are passed and the map is put together, the contestants happily take pictures with the children and their families and hand out gift bags to the children. The bags were so cute, I was tempted to snatch one, but there was just enough for every child to have just one.
We have one last meal the Zhongshan International Hotel. At lunch, there is a big round of applause and gratitude to Ken, our host and part owner of the hotel. We rush through the meal to get everything on the bus to Macau. The bus ride is short, and we arrive at the China Customs and Immigration stop. Everyone and everything off the bus while we hand in our departure cards and have our pictures taken. Back on the bus with the luggage, and after a very short five minute ride on a bridge, we get to Macau Customs and Immigration and have to take everyone and everything off the bus again to have it go through immigration again. I have the stamps on my passport to prove it.
We get to the Galaxy – it’s not just a hotel, but an entire complex with several hotels. We pull up to Hotel Okura, and the girls are rushed off to rehearsal since we arrived late. Dinner will be poolside at the rooftop deck pool, and the girls have a bathing suit and evening gown strut on the catwalk.
The evening is nothing but rush, rush, rush with hair, makeup, and costume changes.
At one point, the girls are asked to pick the most charming gentlemen out of the crowd and bring them on stage. When asked why they picked the gentlemen (and one lady), Ivy Hu replies that he reminds her of her father, so that’s why she chose him. The MC heard her wrong and asked if he were her father, and such a loud outcry of laughter came from the crowd. When Danni Wang replied, she said because he was the closest cute guy near her. Stacy Wang managed to pick the the cousin of George H. W. Bush out of the crowd. What a surprise! When Ke Ke replied, she mentioned that she really loved his hairstyle – I guess sexy, bald men really do have a following in Asia. The evening was over as quickly as it had started. Now, off to sleep in my five star, US$622.81 (5000 Macau patacas) a night hotel room. Oh, and is it luxurious! Tomorrow, photos all over the island and the hotel and a farewell party. Me? I’m going to roam around this complex.
Stereotype Rebel 