As Chinese as Apple Pie

As we walked to watch the marathon this morning, I noticed this poster on the public bulletin board near the student dorms -- it explained the stage that had been put up in the park. I thought it was a funny enough name for a Chinese band to take a picture. After lunch, we walked in the park and were just in time to hear the sound check. It turns out they play mostly American music -- apple pie, indeed! I found out a little more about them on the web at the Xiamen English-language newspaper's site. The name of the article? My Way of Happy Banding!

During the sound check, the girls alternated between bopping to the beat and holding their hands over their ears. I'm sure the band members were thrilled with that. Or maybe that's a pretty common reaction to their music!

As is often the case when we stand still long enough, a young man stopped to practice his English with us. Zoe and Maya have taken to confusing onlookers by speaking their own language. Really. They have completely made up a language that sounds pretty realistically like a language. I think it's a reaction to the looks and attention they get when they speak English. And people are puzzled as they move between English and their own language and what little bits of Chinese they know. What a hoot!

We skipped the concert, BTW. The girls decided during the sound check that the drums were too loud. Ah, if only that attitude will last through their teenage years!