abby's diary 3

one more post before I go to bed!

5. We met the next day with a new Group of Rotarians. They had a wonderful day planned for us. We toured the area of Yingge known for its ceramics. I have always had a passion for art, especially ceramics, so I was very excited for the day. First, off to tour an Art ceramic factory. They explained to us what the techniques were needed to create all the different colors of glazes, and the special method used to create the beautiful Chinese ancient ceramic pieces. The tour concluded with a visit to the shop where the artist were hand painting their wares. The precision and skill needed to complete these works of art is hard to comprehend. It was wonderful to see it first hand.

We then headed to the Yingge Ceramics Museum; the tour went through some basic intro to pottery and techniques, as well as, a history to the ceramics specific to the area. Just after the tour, outside the museum, is when my camera was either lost/stolen. We had headed to the next place, went to take a photo right away and it was gone. The Rotarians were so wonderful about it all. They immediately took me back to the museum to look and again after lunch when we thought we might have figured out where it could have fallen. No luck :-( The saddest part was that I hadn’t had time to upload my photos from the previous days. I am sure in the end; with all of my teammates photos I will be able to make up for most photos I have lost.

Back to a brighter note, the lunch restaurant was lovely. Because it was located on the streets of all the ceramic markets, all the dishes and wall art were unique and beautiful. It made for wonderful ambience. Later, we got to take a tour of a local elementary school. Most of the children were just getting out for recess, and had no inhibitions to coming by and saying Hello to us. I guess it is not every day that a group of 5 Americans walk by their classrooms. The principle showed gave us a tour of the school and in one of their English classes. The teacher was very animated, and the children were all engaged in learning more about the English language. This visit definitely cheered me up after my camera loss.

Next, we visited a few of the ceramic shops, and then we got to try to make some pottery ourselves! One of the shops had a functioning art studio in the back. We all grabbed and apron, and each of us got to make a few pieces of pottery on the ceramic wheel. I was delighted because I have had some experience in ceramics. The rest of the team was eager to learn. I was able to help translate some of the instructor’s directions, and by the end of the session the group had a number of good pieces. We all decided to have some mandarin characters etched into our wares as mementos for our trip. It will take a bit of time for firing and completion of our works of art. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

The final part of the night was dinner with the North West club of TauYuan. This club happens to have the youngest members per capita in the district. I believe they said the average age was 32 yrs. Many have traveled to the United States for school or fun. We spent much of the dinner trading stories of travel and experiences. They held their Rotary meeting after the meal, which gave us another opportunity to give our presentation. We spent the majority of the time remaining answering questions many of the members had.

The night was coming to a close and it was time to go home with our new host families. Each team member would stay three evenings with their family. Amy was my hostess. She works as a VP of a furniture manufacturing facility located in China. I enjoyed hearing about her experiences, and learned that she had come to High Point NC a few years back for market. She had a daughter still living at home just a year younger than I, and two sons away at school. We had quite a good time talking and exchanging facts about our countries. Fortunately, Amy and her daughter spoke English well, so communication was easy.

This trip is so amazing. I feel like I am learning so much more about the culture by staying with all the different families. The exchange of knowledge, and the new friends I am making on this trip, I am sure will benefit me in the future.