(Written on Halloween)
I’ve just come back to the dorms from the Halloween party put on by the international department of Beijing No.80 and
I'm still on that adrenaline high from it. The international department consists of three parts: the Chinese students going
to an English speaking country for college, the international students studying for an international version of the GaoKao,
the college entrance exam and high school graduation exam for China, and the 语言班 YuYanBan, the international
students learning Chinese. There are about three hundred or so students in the International department and they
were all at the Halloween party. There’s another sector of Beijing No. 80 that has Chinese students studying for the
GaoKao to attend a Chinese university, but they were unable to attend.
All of the American girls dressed up for the dance, in costumes and/or in dresses. I managed to do both, with a dress
and my Ravenclaw wizard cloak on the outside. Malin and Claire dressed up as twin cats, and Selene and Savannah
simply dressed nice in dresses. Another girl, from outside the NSLI-Y program, dressed as Red Riding Hood. Manish
dressed up in the “nice” school uniform to be the emcee for the event. David dressed as a ... Well I’m not exactly sure
what it was, but it was very American. Cameron dressed up as something very ambiguous as well. Another American
from outside the program dressed as a combination of Vampire (with the blood) and something else.
After lunch, all the girls ran to the dorms to get ready. We helped each other with hair and make up. By some miracle,
we still made it to our first class of the afternoon on time. The rest of the language students hadn’t changed
yet, and most of the boys decided not to wear costumes at all. After our second class of the afternoon, we were lead
in two lines to the hall where the dance was held.
The hall was organized in such a way that there was a bit of a stage in the front and in the center, and all the students
were organized on either side of the center section, so that either way, they were facing the stage. We all stood as the
first event of the afternoon started: the runway show. Each class was asked to have two students to participate in it.
For our class, Savannah and Cameron volunteered. Two of our host siblings also participated for their classes.
After the runway show, each class sent out about five couples to dance on the floor. Before the dance itself, sections of
each class learned a complicated dance, with chosen dance partners. My host sister was apart of this group and she
unsuccessfully tried to teach me the dance. I have to say, she’s extremely talented to be able to do it without previous
experience. After each class danced, it was a free-for-all on the dance floor. A few couples went out to dance,
and some almost couples went out as well. Friends also danced with friends and host siblings with their American
students, in some cases.
After a while, the games began. There was a slightly confusing, traditional Chinese game that was played. The three
losers of the game (Which ended up being one of our host siblings, our music teacher and another one of our teachers)
had to drink a concoction of what I’ve determined to be Wasabi and warm water. The host student, Frank, downed
the drink, but the teachers, naturally, evaded. The next game that was played was musical chairs! Cameron, Malin,
Savannah, Selene and I participated... And of the seven total participants in the game, all the Americans lost and a
sophomore girl won the game. It was one of the most exciting parts of day.
To be honest, I’ve never been to a high school dance in America, so I can’t compare our Halloween dance with that of the
American high school dances. However, I have heard about them. From what I understand, our Chinese Halloween dance
(which was ever so much fun) was much more organized than the American dances. In addition, the couple activity was
at a minimum. The dance was more of a class activity, rather than an optional, guy-asks-girl out event. It was so much fun
to do it, though, with friends. I think a lot of us went into the dance not expecting much, but it turned out quite fun.
I’ve just come back to the dorms from the Halloween party put on by the international department of Beijing No.80 and
I'm still on that adrenaline high from it. The international department consists of three parts: the Chinese students going
to an English speaking country for college, the international students studying for an international version of the GaoKao,
the college entrance exam and high school graduation exam for China, and the 语言班 YuYanBan, the international
students learning Chinese. There are about three hundred or so students in the International department and they
were all at the Halloween party. There’s another sector of Beijing No. 80 that has Chinese students studying for the
GaoKao to attend a Chinese university, but they were unable to attend.
All of the American girls dressed up for the dance, in costumes and/or in dresses. I managed to do both, with a dress
and my Ravenclaw wizard cloak on the outside. Malin and Claire dressed up as twin cats, and Selene and Savannah
simply dressed nice in dresses. Another girl, from outside the NSLI-Y program, dressed as Red Riding Hood. Manish
dressed up in the “nice” school uniform to be the emcee for the event. David dressed as a ... Well I’m not exactly sure
what it was, but it was very American. Cameron dressed up as something very ambiguous as well. Another American
from outside the program dressed as a combination of Vampire (with the blood) and something else.
After lunch, all the girls ran to the dorms to get ready. We helped each other with hair and make up. By some miracle,
we still made it to our first class of the afternoon on time. The rest of the language students hadn’t changed
yet, and most of the boys decided not to wear costumes at all. After our second class of the afternoon, we were lead
in two lines to the hall where the dance was held.
The hall was organized in such a way that there was a bit of a stage in the front and in the center, and all the students
were organized on either side of the center section, so that either way, they were facing the stage. We all stood as the
first event of the afternoon started: the runway show. Each class was asked to have two students to participate in it.
For our class, Savannah and Cameron volunteered. Two of our host siblings also participated for their classes.
After the runway show, each class sent out about five couples to dance on the floor. Before the dance itself, sections of
each class learned a complicated dance, with chosen dance partners. My host sister was apart of this group and she
unsuccessfully tried to teach me the dance. I have to say, she’s extremely talented to be able to do it without previous
experience. After each class danced, it was a free-for-all on the dance floor. A few couples went out to dance,
and some almost couples went out as well. Friends also danced with friends and host siblings with their American
students, in some cases.
After a while, the games began. There was a slightly confusing, traditional Chinese game that was played. The three
losers of the game (Which ended up being one of our host siblings, our music teacher and another one of our teachers)
had to drink a concoction of what I’ve determined to be Wasabi and warm water. The host student, Frank, downed
the drink, but the teachers, naturally, evaded. The next game that was played was musical chairs! Cameron, Malin,
Savannah, Selene and I participated... And of the seven total participants in the game, all the Americans lost and a
sophomore girl won the game. It was one of the most exciting parts of day.
To be honest, I’ve never been to a high school dance in America, so I can’t compare our Halloween dance with that of the
American high school dances. However, I have heard about them. From what I understand, our Chinese Halloween dance
(which was ever so much fun) was much more organized than the American dances. In addition, the couple activity was
at a minimum. The dance was more of a class activity, rather than an optional, guy-asks-girl out event. It was so much fun
to do it, though, with friends. I think a lot of us went into the dance not expecting much, but it turned out quite fun.
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