Great Call of China (S.A.S.S.)

by Liu, Cynthea

  Jessica looked at her. “That means, ‘How are you ?’ ”

  Oh. Cece lay on her back. This and tonight’s episode only proved how out of her element she really was.

  If Jessica and Lisa hadn’t rushed to her side and helped her to the bathroom after she’d hurled, she probably would have crumpled to the floor and cried. But luckily, her new friends proved they weren’t just walking, talking Prada hounds. They cleaned her up as best they could, and Jessica even volunteered to take her back to the dorm in a cab. Cece felt bad for misjudging Jessica earlier.

  “I’m really sorry about tonight,” Cece said.

  “Stop it.” Jessica switched off a lamp, and the room got dark. “Let’s try to think about today’s good parts.”

  “Good parts?”

  “You know, Will parts?”

  Cece sighed. “What about him?”

  “What about him?! The guy is like the next best thing since Russell Wong.”

  “Who?”

  “Russell Wong. The Joy Luck Club? ”

  It didn’t compute. “The joy what club?”

  “Ohmigod, Cece,” Jessica said. “You can’t go on like this. The Joy Luck Club is only an Asian American movie classic. And Russell’s a really famous Chinese American actor. Maybe I need to get you a book or something.”

  “Wait a second,” Cece said. “I thought you didn’t like Asian men.”

  “Please. Russell doesn’t count. He’s tall, he’s fine, and he can act. Besides, Russell is only half Chinese, like Will, so I can make an exception.”

  “Will’s half Chinese?” Cece said.

  “Yeah,” Jessica said. “And he told me he can speak Chinese, too. Well, baby Chinese, that is. I’m finding that strangely hot. Anyway, let’s get some beauty rest. We want to look good for our men.”

  The Great Call of China

  “Our men?” Cece said.

  “Yeah, Lisa has her host, Michael—he’s pretty cute. You can have Dreyfuss, who’s not so bad himself. And me, Will. See? It works out perfectly. This is going to be a decent summer yet. ’Night!”

  Decent? Cece thought as the room quieted. How could she expect to have a decent summer in China when she could hardly make it through the first day?

  She lay in silence, trying to ignore the headache that was coming on. She waited until she could hear the sound of Jessica’s deep breaths, then quietly reached inside her purse beside her bed. She took out the picture and let the moonlight from the window illuminate its surface. The image of herself in China had always given her hope that she might reconnect with her past. Now? The idea of visiting an orphanage in a city hours away seemed like mission impossible. Anyone else was more fit to complete her plan—Jessica, Lisa, even half-Chinese Will. But her? Could she do it?

  Maybe Beijing really was the Forbidden City.

  Maybe she should forget about this whole thing.

  Cece put away the photo.

  Maybe some questions just weren’t worth answering.

  Chapter Three

  Cece dreaded the idea of going to breakfast the next morning, but Jessica insisted.

  “Do I really have to go down there?” Cece asked as she finished getting ready. “What if they’re serving live crocodiles or something?”

  Jessica laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. If I know my Chinese food, it’ll be rice porridge or saobing youtiao.”

  “Youtiao? What’s that?”

  “Fried bread dipped in soybean milk.”

  “Sounds great,” Cece said dryly.

  “Oh, come on,” Jess replied. “It’s not that bad. Get in touch with your heritage!”

  Cece was about to respond, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Good morning,” Peter said to Jessica as she opened the door. He was wearing a shirt that read BORN IN THE USA.

  Cece smiled.

  “I came to get Cece. Is that all right?”

  “Me?” Cece went to the door. “What for?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Peter replied, a gleam in his eye.

  Cece looked at Jessica, who shrugged. “He’s your host.”

  “Come on,” Peter said. “I did not spend fifteen minutes begging the front-door person for your room number for nothing. You must say yes.”

  Cece smiled again. “All right.” She joined Peter in the hall. Perhaps whatever he had planned would be a step above soybeans in the dining hall. She turned to Jessica. “I’ll see you at orientation?”

  “Sure,” Jessica said. “Lisa and I will save you a seat.”

  Peter and Cece headed out, leaving the university through the main gate. The city streets bustled with morning activity. Stores were already open, and tons of people were out shopping. Cece walked past a stationery store, a shoe place, and a boutique completely devoted to women’s hair accessories. Street vendors stood along the sidewalk, selling steamed buns and roasted eggs. The energy of Xi’an was invigorating. “Where are we going?” Cece said.

  “You will see,” Peter said mysteriously. “Just follow me.”

  Before long, they came to a corner and stood in front of the golden arches—McDonald’s! Cece had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life. Forget Chinese food—she would get in touch with her heritage at lunch.

  “Egg McMuffin, anyone?” Peter pushed open the door.

  “Excellent.” Cece promptly went inside and stood in line. The place was packed with locals. “Man, Chinese people must like this place.”

  Peter grinned. “A lot of young people here like things from the West. It is a dawn of a new era!” he announced. “I said that right, didn’t I?”

  Cece nodded as she studied the menu. A breakfast sandwich was almost the same price as in the States. “But isn’t McDonald’s kinda expensive here?”

  “It is. However, Chinese citizens are getting richer. We do not all work in the factories and the fields, you know.” He smiled.

  “I see.”

  “But do not be mistaken,” Peter went on. “We like our Chinese food, too. I know I will find something local you will like here. However, this morning, I think you need a break, yes?”

  Cece let out a breath. “Definitely.” It was their turn to place their order, and as Peter spoke with the boy behind the register, Cece was glad she had Peter for a host. Mark had been right. Peter would be invaluable to her experience here. He made everything feel that much more doable.

  After a satisfying breakfast, Cece and Peter walked back to the university.

  “So why do you like America so much?” Cece said, pointing to Peter’s T-shirt. “I mean, I know you explained the Chinese are interested in the West, but I get the feeling you’re more enthusiastic than most.”

  “This is a good question,” Peter said. “I have always been a big fan of the USA. My cousin, he lives in Los Angeles. He tells me all about Hollywood. Making movies. One day I will save enough money and go there. I want to apply for film school and direct big blockbuster hits.”

  “Yeah?” Cece said.

  “Maybe you can help me.”

  “Me? How?”

  “You can help me with my application.”

  Cece shook her head. “Oh, Peter, I know nothing about filmmaking.”

  “That is not what I mean,” Peter said. “You know a lot about English. I want my essays to be perfect.” He checked his watch as they approached the gates. “But we can talk about this some other time. You are late.”

  Cece stopped at the gate. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  “You’re welcome,” Peter said. “So maybe I will see you this afternoon? I can show you around. We can see Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks. . . . ”

  Cece laughed. “How about something I can see only in Xi’an.”

  “Oh, right,” Peter said. “I guess we can try that. Let us meet here after orientation. Twelve o’clock?”

  “Okay,” Cece said.

  Peter turned to walk away and waved. “Zai jian!”

  “Zai jian!” Cece repeated, certain th
at meant good-bye.

  When Cece stepped into the lecture hall, the other program students were already seated. Mark and Jenny were standing in the front along with several members of XU faculty. They welcomed the group. Cece spotted Jessica and Lisa toward the middle, but instead of an empty spot waiting for her, Will and some other guys occupied the seats around them. It was just as well. She’d rather not face Will today after what happened last night. She plopped down by the door and noticed Kallyn was only a couple of seats away.

  “Hey,” Cece whispered.

  Kallyn smiled. “Hey.” She was holding a yellow sheet of paper. “They passed this out. You want to share?”

  “Sure.” Cece moved over, then listened to what Jenny was saying.

  “Over the next nine weeks, you will spend six hours in class every day in language, culture, evolution, and archaeology, respectively. The rest of your time can be spent as you wish, unless there is a required excursion or event. We will discuss that when we finish explaining your grades.”

  “You will notice from your handout,” Mark continued, “each of your four classes makes up twenty percent of your grade. The remaining twenty percent comes from a team project.”

  Cece glanced at the paper Kallyn was holding. It detailed everything hour by hour, the locations of the rooms, the teachers, and a summary of how their grades would be calculated.

  “The program is entirely pass/fail,” Mark said. “Your grades across subjects are tabulated together. If your average falls below seventy, you do not pass, and you do not receive college credit. Seventy or above, and you’re a go. Astound us with something much better than that, and we send you home with a certificate commending your achievements for your parents, and we’ll give you recommendations to the university of your choice.”

  Cece listened closely. Any opportunity to get a leg up for college was one she was going after.

  “You may be wondering what your team projects are all about,” Mark went on. “Let us show you an example from last year’s group.”

  The lights dimmed as a screen came down from overhead. Opening credits appeared, titling the film: The Great Wall: Years in the Making. An American teenager dressed in a spectacularly ill-fitting royal costume spoke Chinese to a crowd of students. Subtitles ran across the bottom of the screen as the film explained how the walls were constructed and how techniques differed from dynasty to dynasty. The students acted it out by first hauling dirt across the set, then bricklike stones, and eventually giant, fat boulders. They also portrayed different leaders of the times, instructing workers to tear down or rebuild the walls to suit their needs. The acting was over the top, but the movie was extremely informative at the same time.

  At the film’s conclusion, the audience clapped.

  “That was pretty corny,” Kallyn whispered.

  “No kidding,” Cece replied. “But the students really seemed to have a handle on their Chinese. It must have taken them weeks to get that down.”

  “Well, maybe I can be the cameraman,” Kallyn said.

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Cece replied.

  “As you can see,” Jenny said when the lights came on, “you will be making a documentary. This film should address subject matter from at least two of your courses while focused on one specific topic. And you are also encouraged to make it fun.”

  “That’s right,” Mark said. “Anthropology doesn’t have to be dry and boring. Now, if you turn over your handout, you’ll see a calendar of our excursions.”

  Kallyn flipped the paper over.

  “To give everyone time to get comfortable with classes, we’ll take our first outing at the end of the program’s second week. We’ll begin with the major destinations within the city, such as the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, and the City Walls. Then the following week, we’ll see the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, located just outside of Xi’an. Right before midterms, we’ll take our big trip to Beijing for the must-see Great Wall and Forbidden City, and when we get back, things will calm down, with a few smaller trips to local museums. This way, you have time to prepare for final exams in your classes and complete your team projects.

  “Now, one last thing about your free time here. We expect you to spend it as any college student would—however you like—but that means you will also need to be extremely self-directed to stay on task. We’re cramming an entire semester’s worth of classes into nine weeks, so things move fast here. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.”

  Next Jenny introduced the faculty, four professors who took turns at the podium and discussed their classes and their expectations of the students. Two of them were adjunct professors from the United States who were on an “exchange” of their own with Xi’an University. The other two were local to XU. All of them seemed like standard faculty material, except for the culture teacher, Professor Hu, who spoke English so poorly, Cece could barely understand her. The fact that the woman was probably seventy-five years old didn’t help, either. After Professor Hu stepped down, Kallyn and Cece looked at each other. “Did you get a word of what she said?” Kallyn asked.

  “Uh. . . she kinda lost me at Hey-ro.”

  Kallyn and Cece started giggling, but that quickly ended when Mark said, “Now, Jenny and I are passing out proficiency exams. This was the test I mentioned at dinner last night. I need everyone to sit at least two seats apart.” Students started moving, and Cece grudgingly picked up her things and moved to her original seat.

  “You have exactly two hours to complete it,” Jenny said. “Your performance will determine how we sort you into class sections and assign your project teams.”

  Cece broke out into a cold sweat as she took the test. It covered everything from the species of the first man discovered in China to “How do you say ‘Where is the restroom? ’ in Mandarin Chinese?” After she turned it in, she was certain she had flunked at least a quarter of it.

  “I could eat like a gallon of Rocky Road right now,” Kallyn said as they filed out of the lecture hall and into the lobby. “There is no way I passed.”

  “I’ll bring the hot fudge,” Cece added.

  More students came out of the lecture hall.

  “So, where are you headed next?” Kallyn asked.

  “I’m supposed to meet my host, Peter, at the gate,” Cece said. “He wants to take me around town.”

  “Hey, me, too. You want to go together?”

  “Sure.”

  “Cece, there you are!” Jessica stepped into the lobby with Lisa. She gave Kallyn a quick look. “Oh, hi!”

  “This is Kallyn,” Cece said. “Kallyn, meet Jessica, my roommate. And that’s Lisa.”

  “Hello,” Kallyn said with a nod.

  “Nice to meet you,” Jessica said. Then she quickly turned to Cece. “Lisa and I were going to get a massage.”

  “A massage?”

  “Yeah,” Lisa said, “it’s like eight dollars for two and a half hours of heaven. I booked a room for three of us already. But I can add Kallyn if she wants to come.”

  “Well. . .” Cece began. She’d never had a massage before, and the idea of lying on a table with some random stranger touching her everywhere totally creeped her out. “Actually, Kallyn and I are meeting our hosts. Do you guys mind if we pass?”

  Jessica shrugged. “No, I guess we could change it to two. But you have to be back at the room by eight. We’ve made special plans.”

  Special plans? Cece could only imagine it had something to do with the guys again. She still wasn’t exactly psyched to see Will, but she couldn’t avoid him forever. “Sure, I’ll see you at eight.”

  “Great,” Jessica said. “Later, girls!” She and Lisa headed off.

  “So Jessica’s your roommate,” Kallyn remarked. “She seems nice.”

  “She is,” Cece said. “What about your roommate?

  “Um. . . let’s just say that the word weird doesn’t cut it. I knew Angelica and I wouldn’t exactly be the best of friends when she started hanging up posters of fam
ous vampires in historical literature all over her side of the room.”

  “Oh, I see.” Maybe she was lucky to have Jessica for a roommate.

  They continued walking and met up with Peter and Kallyn’s host, James. Everyone made introductions, and it turned out Peter and James already knew each other from a couple of classes together at XU.

  “Kallyn and I were thinking all of us could go together today,” Cece said.

  “Sure,” Peter said. “What do you think, James?”

  He nodded. “That is a good idea. Maybe we can travel to the city center for lunch?”

  Cece liked the idea. She remembered how they’d passed the center of town yesterday on their way from the airport, and she’d love to see what was within the walls. Once everyone agreed, they walked to a nearby stop and got onto a public bus. It was jammed with people, but Cece somehow managed to stand close enough to a win dow. She watched as they passed through a large tunnel in a section of the wall. When the bus emerged on the other side, a giant imperial-style building, elevated on a wide stone pedestal, stood at the middle of a roundabout. Cece instantly recognized the structure from her program brochure—the Bell Tower, the symbol of the city. She couldn’t wait to visit it when the program took its tour.

  The bus stopped, and Peter and James ushered Cece and Kallyn off. As they walked along a crowded street lined with trendy clothing stores and fast-food restaurants, Peter explained they were headed for the Chinese Muslim Quarter, one of the main attractions within the City Walls.

  “Chinese Muslims?” Cece said.

  “China has a long history of Islam,” Peter said. “The quarter is one of the most historical places in Xi’an. You did not know?”

  Cece and Kallyn shook their heads.

  “Xi’an was the beginning of the Silk Road,” James explained. “Many Middle Eastern merchants settled here and they built”—he stared at Peter—“Qingzhen si?”

  “Mosques,” Peter translated.

  James nodded. “Yes, mosques. The Muslim Quarter has the largest and oldest mosque in China. It was constructed in the fourteenth century. We will see it after lunch.”