Eric's Beijing Diary

KFC in Lanzhou. This place is packed to the gills. Or as we say in China, "People mountain, people sea." With the noise of people talking, and Shania Twain whining in the background, the decibel level is rather high. Noise pollution. When I am on the road, I sometimes look for a KFC or McDonald's as a place to study. Next best thing to a coffee bar. Coffee is cheap in these places, and they are usually pretty well lighted for reading. But this place is hopeless.

There is a new KFC opening every other day in China. The huge success of KFC in China is due in part, of course, to the great fondness the Chinese have for chicken. A couple years ago, I was at one of those all-you-can-eat buffets near my apartment in Beijing. The sign said that the place featured chicken, but I could never see any on the buffet table. My question was eventually answered when I saw a guy walking away from the buffet table. His plate had absolutely nothing on it except for one huge mountain of chicken. He had cleaned out the whole supply. The recipe here is not quite like chicken is usually prepared in China. Kentucky Fried Chicken is Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is exactly the same here as it is in the States. But people here love it.

But it isn't just the food. It is the venue. China just doesn't have places like this where Chinese young people can go and have something to eat and/or drink and sit and talk. There are no coffee shops in China. Coffee bars, yes. But they are expensive (unless you live in the University district of a big city). There is nothing like Denny's or Village Inn in China. KFC and McDonald's serve that purpose. They are imports from America, of course, but in any sizeable Chinese city, they have become institutions. There is a whole generation of young people in the cities who could not imagine life without McDonald's. I'm not sure that is such a good thing, because as Chinese people become more affluent, they have more money to take their kids to places like this, where the food is somewhat less than nourishing, and really not that healthy.

I had a great time with Jessica's kids this morning. I taught them a song and a hand game, and worked with the older kids on some pronunciation drills. This afternoon, the teachers took me to the bus stop and helped me flag down a bus going into Lanzhou. I told them I would really like to come back next summer. I am very impressed with the work they are doing. These young teachers are a credit to their country. They have grown up with very limited financial resources, yet they have not only done well for themselves, but are giving back to their community in the best way they know how. If you want to see true greatness, you have to look no further. In America, young people pay large amounts of money to go to a concert or ball game and see some celebrity. In my opinion, most of those celebrities are very trivial people who live shallow lives. I would rather go to the countryside of China and meet people like these young teachers. They are much greater people.