Tie Dye... Chinese Style

My tie dye before the dying part.

All of our awesome tie dyed scarves.

My scarf is the one that looks like the clouds on Jupiter. It’s also the one that’s dripping quite a bit.

It seems as though there is a cloud that is floating above Chengdu and stubbornly refuses to part ways. However, I don’t mind this seemingly eternal rain because it means that the weather won’t be quite so hot. In comparison to my home town, the temperature and humidity is actually much better. Here the temperature is usually in the 70s to upper 80s with 70%ish humidity. In comparison, my hometown’s temperature is often in the 80s to upper 90s with 90%ish humidity. Neither place is very cool temperature wise. Today, two people were sick in my class. Our teachers told us to exercise caution, drink lots of water, and take care of our health. Multiple people have gotten sick because of eating too much spicy food, too much in general, or because of questionable food items. As of so far, I’ve survived without sickness (knock on wood). Anyways, after another full day of classes, we tie dyed scarves. Really. Apparently in the Yunnan Province, situated just south of the Sichuan Province, tie dye is an important part of the local culture. The tie die in Yunnan is quite different from that of the United States. Its much more elegant-looking and seemingly complex. Our tie dye wasn’t nearly as beautiful as real Yunnan tie dye. My host mom made so much food for dinner tonight. There was a whole fish again, tofu in a spicy-ish sauce, bits of chicken cooked to a crisp, pā pā cài, which is vegetables cooked in broth with no oil so as to bring out the natural vegetable flavor, and of course, sticky rice. I love that my host mom cooks dinner and cooks so well. One of the NSLI-Yan's has a host mom who hardly cooks at all. She told me that her host mom said that she can't cook, so everyday, they eat breakfast and dinner at a restaurant. Another NSLI-Yian told me that her host mom doesn't cook very well, but she eats what she cooks anyways and says it tastes good because she doesn't want to seem ungrateful. For the most part, I really enjoy real Chinese food, but there are a few parts that I'm not quite so partial to. For one, real Chinese food is generally pretty healthy. Based on my experience, a Chinese diet typically consists of lots of fruit, especially watermelon and plums, lots of vegetables, and lots and lots and lots of rice. Rice is used to make bread and noodles and porridge. Pretty much replace any dish that would typically have a different grain in America with rice. The few downsides I've encountered include copious amounts of bones in about any meat you eat and usage of copious amounts of oil in most dishes. My favorite dishes as of so far include pā pā cài, the chicken my host mom cooks, and tomato and egg stir-fry. I also enjoy the fish, but the pin bones make eating it a little difficult. I'd like to share another observation about fashion and the word "fat." Based on my observations, Chinese people generally dress pretty fashionably when out in public. When I was hiking up the Great Wall, I saw little girls wearing gorgeous dresses fit for a wedding or other special occasions of that type. Out and about, I've seen teenagers and university age students wearing trendy clothing with brand names across the top. I've seen older men and women wearing traditional types of Chinese clothing. This fashionableness certainty doesn't apply to every person, but generally speaking I've seen more dressing-up in odd places than I believe I have in America. You may be wondering why I mentioned the usage of "fat" as an additional observation, but I believe its usage is telling to the beauty culture, at least for females, in China. On the first day I arrived in Chengdu, my host sister informed me that she is a little fat and that I am so beautiful because I am a little skinny. This week, we were looking at a picture of a girl wearing a cheongsam type dress that wasn't quite so tight as traditional cheongsams. My host sister informed me that that girl wasn't wearing a traditional, tight-fitting cheongsam because she was a little fat. Micah told me that her host family always says that her host sister is fat, and that her host sister is fine totally with that. Looking at people who are considered a little "fat" in China startles me a little bit. I would by no means consider my host sister to be a little fat. She isn't skinny, but she certainly isn't fat. I would consider her a happy medium. I think what startles me a little bit too is this belief that you need to be super skinny to be considered beautiful. I know this beauty standard exists in America, but here in China, it seems more extreme. The word "fat" is thrown around to describe people who don't fit that perfect body standard. The movement in America towards accepting different body types doesn't seem quite as apparent in China. In my opinion, you should love your body for what it is and strive to be healthy: to exercise, eat well, and hydrate. Some people are more curvy, others are a bit more straight. It’s this kind of body diversity that makes life more interesting.