Happy Valley

Students had midterms this week, what they call mid-term examinations. So I only taught Monday and Tuesday. Those days were pretty easy because I showed them movies. I want them to enjoy what they can of their childhood, and they spend most of their time studying. The Chinese education system focuses on tests and school work. Vacations and relaxation are overlooked. The rest of the week was free, so a group of us foreign teachers went to an amusement park called Happy Valley.
Amusement parks for Chinese people are like Braille magic eye posters for a blind man. He can use them, but he won't get to enjoy them fully. Chinese people seem to be prone to motion sickness. I've seen people throw up riding the bus, but I can't blame them with some of the horrible rides I've been on. I don't know the process to be a bus driver, but I don't think good driving skills is a requirement.
AnnaRae, Ashlee, Alana, Danielle, Ben, and I met up Wednesday afternoon. It’s been a while since I was at an amusement park, and I acted like a little girl. We rode a lot of rides too. Yay! The first ride we did spun us around and upside down. But before we even got a chance to ride it, we had to wait for them to clean up vomit. Some poor Chinese person puked on the ride! Was this a cultural sign of China?
That was our only encounter with vomit, including the suspended roller coaster. That was an experience in itself. We waited in line outside; then we were taken into a room where a Chinese woman made us stretch. We had to stretch from our necks to our waists. I started giggling at this roller coaster preparation. When a Chinese guy REALLY let loose with his stretching exercises, I lost it. I couldn’t stop laughing. After this wonderfully Chinese approach to suspended roller coasters, we got on the actual ride. Finally! And the ride only lasted 30 seconds. I guess if it lasted any longer, Chinese people who puke and pass out. Who would want to see that?
We went on a lot of other rides, but there was one that gave another interesting China experience: the Sky Drop. The drop wasn’t that high, but people screamed. Chinese people also screamed at the 4-D movie we saw. We Americans watched quietly. The Chinese audience screamed when Frisbees flew out to our faces and water fell down as rain. They must have been into the movie. I was astounded by the horrible acting.
The amusement park also had a part called Shangri-La Woods. It was not an exact replica of Tibet, but you could dress like a Tibetan.