Since Guan Shan is a fairly small town, everyone here knows about the only waiguo ren (foreigners) who live in this community; me and the five other Fulbright English Teaching Assistants that I am here with. At first I wasn't sure how we would be received into the community, and if we could do anything to become more of a part of the daily lives of the people living around us. Little did I know that it would just take a "go with the flow" attitude, and then the people of Guan Shan took us right in!
There's no better way to describe the welcoming nature of the people of Guan Shan than through a description of the night we were invited to participate in one of the town's biggest celebrations of the year, the Guanshan Night Tour. When we were invited, we thought we would be taking a leisurely walk around the town and learning more about Guan Shan's history. We were told to go to the temple in the center of town at 5:30 to start the walk. When we arrived, however, the courtyard of the temple was filled with people surrounding a group of elementary school students who were performing on drums. It was exciting and chaotic— definitely not the walking tour we expected.
We were welcomed by a staff member from the local elementary school, given snacks and water, and told that we would be carrying a dragon through the streets as a part of the celebration.
