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Reporter: Jenny Zhang
Photographer: Mark Brauninger
On Sunday, April 6, fifteen Chinese students from three St. Louis universities overcame the challenges of heavy rain and the loss of an hour of sleep to bring food and friendship to forty members of the Rock Hill Baptist Young Adult department. Bill Lail, the organizer of Chinese Cultural Sunday, stated the purpose of the event is "to help foster new cross-cultural friendships and to expand the appreciation of young Americans for the international students in St. Louis."
The Chinese students from Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Webster University attended a Bible class the church started recently for international students. The group received an introduction from the Gospels of John and Matthew about the origins of the upcoming Christian observance of Easter. Afterwards the group attended the formal worship service, where they sang hymns and listened to the preaching of the senior pastor. The Chinese students gained a better understanding of Christianity and its importance in American culture.
At noon, over twenty dishes prepared by the Chinese students were served to their American guests. At each table, the Chinese students taught their American friends how to use chopsticks. Dr. Qilong Lu, an electrical engineering doctoral candidate at Washington University spoke to the group contrasting his educational experiences in China and America. Ms. Lirong Zhang, a MBA student at Webster University, provided an introduction to international business and explained how culture influences business. Both presentations generated numerous questions from the American attendees.
American students saw pictures of a Chinese wedding ceremony and of the beautiful campuses of Tsinghua University and Beijing University. American students mingled with Chinese students and chatted about many different topics. An American woman named Mary asked how much a Play Station costs in China. Another St. Louisan resident known only by her beautiful voice commented that she had never seen wedding pictures bounded together in a pocket size format. Tina, an African-American student from Webster University, was busy learning how to say "Thank You" and "stupid" in Chinese. Jamie, a first year student at Meremac Community College, said what he liked best about the event was that he had an opportunity to talk with Chinese students and learned about Chinese culture.
All the Chinese students were very excited about the interest their new American friends showed in Chinese culture and the Chinese people. Dr. Yun Zhou who works at the Medical School of Washington University said he had been in American for a short time. Dr. Zhou had everyone he talked with write down his or her contact information. Obviously, Dr. Zhou was considering long-time friendships. Mr. Kuo Guo was busy working in the kitchen. Mr. Guo was the food coordinator of the event. Mr. Guo recently was baptized as a new member of the Rock Hill church family. He was astonished to see so many American students show up. He became nervous, wondering whether he had enough food to feed everybody. The Americans were unaware of the expectation in Chinese culture to provide a large excess of food for the guests. In typical Chinese culture, empty plates - - even if all the guests are full- will leave the host with feeling guilty. Leftovers mean abundance and hospitality. The Americans were unconcerned as large excesses of leftovers are avoided as it means food will be wasted. During the presentations, an American teacher at Rock Hill and a Chinese student made a trip to a local Chinese buffet to buy more food. The American guests were heard sighing after the extra food arrived, "Oh, my! Maybe I can try some more."
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