朋友 = friends

Me and Li

I'm making friends! The group of volunteers I work with at the Velodrome consists of, well, mostly Purdue students, but three of the volunteers are Chinese: Eric, Li and Rita. I love talking with them, hearing stories about their lives in China. I've gotten to know Li more than the others, as I met him early on in our FQR adventures. Li attends the Communication University of China (where I stay now) and studies International Economics. He hopes to work in Shanghai when he graduates.

We have become film and literature buddies.

Li's a movie buff. A few days ago he introduced me to the movie Cinema Paradise. I loved it! He also recommended the book, A Year in Provence. His good track record has convinced me to check it out. Many young Chinese eat up Western pop culture. I'm happy to hang out with someone who can introduce me to non-mainstream-Western entertainment.

Rita is my controversial issue buddy.

We're sitting and chatting about innocuous issues before work today and, out of the blue, she asks, "Have you seen the L Word?" I told her I hadn't, but I'd heard of the series, which revolves around a group of lesbian women and gay men. She proceeded to ask me about how Americans treat gays and what rights they have. She said being gay in China is "forbidden." Her gay friend can never tell his parents about his sexual orientation. He's 30 years old and his parents are still trying to marry him off. She said though that young Chinese people accept gays much more than their parents.

I'm used to foreigners ask about American politics, but I didn't expect a questioning about gay rights... I suppose I'll count it as a cultural experience.