Aug. 22 - A day at West Edmonton Mall [Day 7]

Today is the day I had been waiting for since the day I saw the schedule! The day that we would go to west Edmonton mall; I was couldn’t wait to show my new friends the place I spend countless holidays and weekends! We divided up into three little groups to explore Galexyland. My group started out with the ‘Orbiter’- one of the newest additions to this amusement park. When we were al seat belted and ready to go, my buddy turned to me and asked: “Are we gonna fly out??” I laughed at her and assured that it was very safe! Throughout the ride was a lot of screaming (especially coming from the younger few), every time we went down a steeper slope or curved a sharper corner there would be a small eruption of shrieking from our cart! It was lots of fun, but no one wanted to look at our action photos that were taken while we were on the ride, because everyone was looking slightly crazy with hair flying all over the place and expressions startled. We went on a few other rides, the flying galleon, swing of the century, bumper cars and the newest ride. All of these rides right after the other left a few of us feeling slightly light-headed!

After rides came lunch, we ate at a ‘Sichuan style’ fast food place in the food court. A little taste of home for or ChengDu youth! After we were almost done eating one of the youth challenged our interpreter-Elaine to a staring contest, their intense expressions was definitely something to see!

After lunch came the shopping! We split up into many many different groups because we all wanted to buy different things. After instructions were given we were free to roam, my little group headed towards H&M, because it was a brand that my buddy recognized from home. She picked out some clothes to try on, by the time we made our way to the change room she already had 7 items in hand. She stopped right before she got in line, turned to me and asked: “Are we allowed to bring so many things to try? Back home we never try more than one item at a time!” (Haha! Culture shock!) We assured her this was completely normal in Edmonton and pushed her into the line. She modeled clothes for us which was quite fun, she ended up buying something for her best friend back home! Afterwards she asked me where my favourite place to shop was, and I led her to the biggest clothing store in the mall-Forever 21! We began doing what girls do best, rapidly leafing though racks and racks were, I stumbled upon a really nice dress, so my buddy and I both went and tried it on! She tried on a different dress and we knew she just had to get it, she looked absolutely stunning! We told her that the others would not recognzie her the transformation was that great! She no longer had that tomboy-ish sfeel that she always complained about. We agreed that it could use a little jacket, so a member of our group went around the store and came back with about 10 different little jackets, all sorts of short, long, dark light jackets of assorted colours were tried on! After about 8 jackets, 20 minutes and about $70 dollars, she walked out of the door with a dress and a jacket, and the biggest smile on her face! She was so eager to show off her purchases that she went to change into her new outfit right away! Shopping time passed by way too fast, on the bus ride to dinner everyone talked about all the things they had bought, the list consisted of assorted candies and chocolates, bags and wallets!

Our dinner was at Lee Garden’s today. We sat at a long table (which was really 5-6 tables all pushed together), and everyone was extremely courteous and passed the food around because it was difficult to eat food that was halfway across the long table. After we were done eating there was a long break between dessert and dinner, so the people sitting near me began talking. The things that stuck out from this talk was when the youth began to open up and share their firsthand experiences battling with the earthquake and what happened afterwards. It’s definitely one thing to hear the stories on the news, seeing video clips and images of people I don’t know in places halfway across the globe. But hearing the youth talk about their experience was something else. These people I now proudly call friends talking about this earthquake that changed their lives and took their parents. It really made me think, there is much to be grateful for in my own life. Out of the countless stories that were told, the one that really stuck out for me was from one boy. He told us ten minutes before the earthquake started he was talking to his dad on the phone. Really I suppose it was less of a story but more of a statement, a statement that proved to me just how merciless this earthquake was. I could not imagine if that were me, how I would always regret all the things I never said that last time I had the chance to. I realized that despite the fact that the ChengDu youth have a past that’s been filled with grief they have been able to move on with their lives.

After dinner we went back to West Edmonton Mall to go bowling at Ed’s. We helped our buddies to find the right shoe sizes, and split into groups. My buddy claimed she never touched a bowling ball in her life, yet she beated us all in the first game! Everyone had a lot of fun, and with only a few days left we took many pictures together hoping to savour every moment we have left. There were pictures with crazy poses, serious poses, poses with our bowling ball as we tried to capture every side of us! Even though there are still three entire days left before their departure, it feels like much too soon.

It still shocks me that I have only spent less that a week with this group, because my connection with them feels stronger than with many people that I see every day. It is truly incredible! How this friendship is growing with every hour that we spend together makes me wish that this trip would never end.

Hylann