Positive Jams

What this episode covers

Earlier this week Bill from International Development told you two things: first, that there will be some kind of gathering among the students who went to Gustavus this summer, and second, that his office is going to set up a homestay for you so that you can experience life with a Chinese family. nbsp;Great, you think, and expect to hear something about these things in the next few weeks. nbsp;Well on Wednesday you get a text message from Charles, one of the UIC Students who came to Minnesota this past summer, saying that there is a party tonight, at 6:30, for anyone who was at Gustavus this summer and that you should attend. You arrive at the party trailing Cynthia and Wendy, and are warmly welcomed by a group of students, some of whom you remember from your brief meeting at Gustavus in July. nbsp;One of them, Kitty introduces herself quickly and Wendy tells you that you are going to her home this weekend for a home stay, you talk with Kitty for a while and agree to meet her at 3 PM on Saturday, at which time you will go to her house and make Jiao Zi, or dumplings. You grab some pizza and make your way around the party, reintroducing yourself to Angie, Maggie, Raye, Nancy and all of the other students you met for a few hours this summer. nbsp;On your third day here, this party is one of the warmest and most friendly receptions you can imagine having in such a foreign place. nbsp;You find yourself wondering if the international students at Gustavus are given this kind of reception. nbsp;It seems like everywhere you go people are interested, enamored, by your existence on this campus; your roommate runs the journalism club on campus and when you tell him you are interested in joining, in possibly copy editing for his news paper, he gets incredibly excited and rejoices saying that his club will probably be the most popular if you join it. nbsp;When you message someone about dinner you often end up eating with nine people, all of whom want to learn about you, your family, your hobbies and the difference between UIC and American colleges. nbsp; You earn more points with the UIC students when you get up to introduce yourself and do so in Chinese. nbsp;ldquo;Ni hao! Wo jiao Greg, wo lai zi mei guo Mee-nee-soota,rdquo; each phrase earning you a room full of applause. nbsp;Everyone introduces themselves and says something about their major and their interests and then your master of ceremonies, Charles, segues into the next activity, something called Pose King. nbsp;Pose King is a simple icebreaker game where by everyone at the party stands in two parallel lines facing away from each other and when the Pose King counts down from three you turn around and deliver your best pose, at which point a new King is appointed. nbsp;After explaining the rules, Charles appoints you, Cynthia, and Evamdash;an international student from Korea, she did not go to Gustavus this summer but was invited because she is a friend of yours and Cynthia'smdash;as the kings. nbsp;You are supposed to pick teams and then play the game. nbsp;And then your emcee, and the only one who knows how to play the game, leaves the party. nbsp;Now the entire party is in three teams, for a game that requires two, and are not really sure what to do. nbsp;Eventually the teams are dissolved and everyone gets into two lines and plays the game the way you understood it with Wendy as the King. nbsp;The whole thing jumps the shark when one of the students can't make up their mind and appoints two new Kings and after another round the game is abandoned for a more relaxed social atmosphere and at the end of the night, you confirm with Kitty that you will meet her Saturday afternoon at 3. *** The rest of the week slows down a little bit. nbsp;You send in your absentee ballot on Thursday, and watch The Big Lebowski with your roommate thursday night. nbsp;You are still having some trouble adjusting to the time change. nbsp;You find yourself tired by 9:30 some nights and ...

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