Promptly at 6 o'clock on the hot humid morning of August 9, a
beautiful 17-year-old Ethiopian girl arrived for morning exercises
at the outside practice arena of
Wuqiao Acrobatic
School. But for her the steam-like air was nothing. "Here it is
much cooler than in Africa," she said.
And she was not alone. She and 22 other students from Ethiopia
and Kenya, aged 13 to 22, were studying Chinese acrobatics at the
school in Hebei Province.
Hard and Hardy Work
Shortly after breakfast, Hapati arrived at the acrobatic
training hall and took her place on her gym mat, wearing a
protective steel-reinforced mask. Then with her feet she lifted up
a large crock several times larger than her head. The crock began
to dance on her agile feet and beads of sweat began to roll down
her face.
Meanwhile a 15-year-old young woman chose the more difficult and
risky task of balancing a wobbling wood block on top of a pole held
in her mouth, while placed at the very top is a potted flower. If
this were not enough, she also spun several colorful plastic
circles around both arms. It took her several months to master the
technique.
The 13-year-old, Susan is the youngest among the 23. Her
favorite exercise is plate-spinning. Several plates spin at once
atop thin poles.
Observing the wide variety of Chinese acrobatic events, the
vivacious Kenyan girl, Helen, has decided to master each. Currently
she practices several styles, such as foot juggling, playing
diabolo, plate-spinning and vaudeville. Her favorite is the
juggling table. "We do not have this kind of big red table in
Kenya. I think it's typically Chinese stuff. I really like it!"
Each day after drills, Helen has a sore midsection and an aching
back. However, she enjoys her life here. She especially enjoys
drilling and playing with students from the same continent and of
the same age. Meanwhile, she experiences an oriental culture very
different from her own.
Life in China
The young students are learning to enjoy Chinese cuisine. Helen
explained that not long ago she knew nothing of dishes like
stir-fried eggplant and beans in a pod. Her favorite Chinese food
is mantou (steamed bread) with scrambled eggs and potatoes, and the
popular Wuqiao Braised Chicken.
In her spare time, Helen likes to meet new Chinese friends and
shop. However, according to the strict regulations of the school,
the students are not allowed to leave the grounds without
supervision. Helen says she understands the purpose of the
regulation. "We like this kind of rigorousness. There is a Chinese
saying that a severe teacher brings up brilliant disciples. Though
the regulation is strict, we can sense our Chinese teachers'
concern for us."
Compared with other students, one particular young Ethiopian man
seems to study his acrobatics with particular vigor. Before coming
to China, he was a commercial photographer and operated his own
photographic studio. Lively in disposition, he would like to make
more Chinese friends, but his Chinese is an obstacle. So he has
determined to master the language. He talks with Chinese teachers
at every opportunity. The interpreter sent by the school to assist
the foreign students has become his favorite Chinese teacher.
Each of the students has his or her own hobbies. The 20-year-old
Ethiopian man, Salaman is fond of music. He was formerly the
keyboardist and chief singer with a band in Addis Ababa. He
purchased an electronic keyboard here in China, and he often plays
and sings songs of his homeland for the other students.
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A foreign student practicing.
Fiscal Future
Though only 17 years old, one young woman already has a firm
plan for her future. After her study in China, she will return to
her country to perform and teach Chinese acrobatics to others. In
this way can she also earn a relatively good income. "I will get
300 BIRR for each performance," she counted on her fingers. Every
month she can give 15 performances and earn 4,500 BIRR per month,
equal to 4,500 yuan. "This is a large income in my country.
Generally, people earn no more than 300 BIRR each month." Her
father has been a worker all his life, and today he makes about 300
BIRR a month.
Foreign students play with their Chinese
schoolmates.
The dream of Alamu is also to give performances when she returns
to her country. She hopes to perform in western nations, like
Germany and the US, with many other classmates. "For one
performance in the US, I can get US$100. That's a big account!" She
looks forward to acquiring a set of props for the performance of
juggling swinging board. "You know, we can never get these things
in Africa, but they are so important for my performance."
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The 16-year-old twin brothers moving adeptly about their routine
already have five years of experience in performing and touring and
they have developed an extraordinary sense of coordination. This is
very obvious in their cooperation of caps juggling. The two
brothers are confident about their future, "It is for sure that
we'll be popular, because we learned the best art in the best place
of the world." After returning to their country, they will take
their act on tour in the capital and big cities. To them, the most
important goal is "to take the precious Chinese acrobatic culture
to Africa and let more and more African people understand the
Chinese culture."
The 23 African students are enthusiastic about their drills and
rehearsals as they prepare for their performance at the
Sino-African Summit held on November 4, 2006.
(China Pictorial October 18, 2006)
