女子十二楽坊 or 12 Girls Band
Mike Downs, Evangeline and Rosie
Evangeline and Rosie aged 16 and 15 respectively, are students at the Middle School Attached to the Northwestern University in Xi'an, Shanxi Province. And they like 女子十二楽坊 or 12 Girls Band.
We've been lead into a small auditorium/classroom to meet with a group of students from this school. Nine independent school heads from the US and about 75 students, all of whom study English.
At first, it is not clear what form this encounter will take. Being well accustomed to speaking on the fly, the heads take charge and generate some questions of our own for the students to answer. Most are too shy to speak up, except for a boy who lived in Silicon Valley for four years and is enthusiastically elected by his peers to be the spokesman.
Soon, the ice has been broken and as their curiosity overcomes their trepidation about speaking English in this public forum, they begin to ask for the mic from their more experienced colleague.
"What did you expect from the Chinese school system?"
"How can someone like me from China apply to a university in the US?"
"How much time do US students spend on sports?"
Through all this, I notice a girl directly in front of me, seemingly interested in speaking but too shy to risk it. Towards the end of our time, as the topics have shifted to some more cultural questions such as "What's your favorite movie or TV show?" I remember a CD I purchased on a hunch at the Beijing airport enroute to Xi'an.
"Does anyone listen to the 12 Girls Band?" I ask the crowd of students. There is a moment's hesitation as the band's name is translated in their minds from the Chinese name 女子十二楽坊, which I am sure is more evocative than "12 Girls". Suddenly, the girl opposite me stands and asks for the mic. "I listen to them and I like them a lot," she tells me. "They take traditional Chinese culture and make it more interesting," she says and asks which CD I have.
"I don't know, it's in Chinese," I say, drawing laughs from the students. I describe the CD cover and she knows immediately which one I have. "You should get the new one. It's brilliant!"
After the formal panel Q&A, the heads mingle with the students for small group conversations. "My name in English is Evangeline," the 12 Girls' student tells me, "and I am Rosie," says her friend. They ask for my email address and it occurs to me that they could easily dial up this blog, so I give them that address, too. "I'll put your picture on the blog," I promise them. Done!
And from Mounds Park Academy to Evangeline and Rosie and all of their friends...
Listen to or watch 女子十二楽坊 - the 12 Girls Band - on the Muture Communications Inc. site. You will need Windows Media Player and click on any of the movie or music links.