Virtual China '98

The HKIS seventh grade has been biking in southern China for the past four days. While biking on the morning on the fourth day we came across a group of people making bricks. Everyone stopped and watched how they made the bricks. The picture shows one of the hard working brick makers doing her job very, very quickly.

Slap, pat and squish over and over again. In twenty seconds another brick joins the pile of hundreds. I was the second to be made. We are made in groups of two. The makers take the extra clay and some more from a big pile that has been dug by hand. The clay is then slapped and patted until it is just the right size for the simple mold. It is actually two molds put together. A rounded stick with a tight string attached to it is pulled quickly between the thin gap between the two molds and the extra clay falls off. The molds are separated and the clay brick removed and piled. We are then left to dry in the sun. There are from 800 to 1000 bricks a day and the daily salary for this hard work is only 30 dollars. Then, when all the clay is gone, more clay is collected and the process begins all over again. Here in China the bricks are not made by a machine but by the hands of group of hard working people determined to make their way in life. These people work hard for the small amount of money they earn and deserve every penny of it.

Our subject is about the marketplace. There were many animals ready to be slaughtered, and a snake was one of them. We have a picture of a snake getting its skin cut open by a sharp knife.

I was in my cage on the day of my death, when a group of red shirted animals came over to my cage. They were very complex, and walked on their hind legs. They communicated by making verbal noises. One of the others was taken out of my cage, and was taken over to a corner, though I didn’t see what happened to him. The red shirts had funny instruments over their neck that had flashing lights. They flashed other animals in cages, including me. I didn’t think that these animals were from here. Mainly because of their unique features. They were very similar to the butchers of the other animals. Some features were hair, that had different colors among other animals of that species, large ears, some had very long hair, and some had short hair. After a while of studying these creatures, more of my kind was taken out of the cage, and around the corner. I always wondered what happened around there. These red creatures started to come closer to the corner, and some even went around there. There was much communication between them when the passed the area. When some of them came to my view, they were crying, and some even looked very sick. One of the snakes close to me was taken out of the cage, and brought the corner, and there was more sobbing and nauseousness. I got worried, so I crawled over some other snakes to try and escape the hand that would take me out. Soon enough, every one except me was taken out of the cage. After a few minutes of struggling, I was taken from the cage. I was brought out to the corner, and there was very sharp and large blade placed upon the table. There was a reddish black color on the ground, and I think I remember it from another snake when she was injured. The sharp blade that I saw came down, and cut my neck. My head fell to the floor, and I still struggled to stay alive. I moved my head back and forth, while I saw the same blade strike down through my stomach. I squirmed and struggled, but the hands held my body still. The similar dark red color cam dripping through the open cavity from my neck down to my stomach. The liquid oozed out, and hit the floor. I looked over, and the same red creatures were watching. A disgusted and mournful expressions on their faces. I saw my intestines and my heart being taken out of my body, right before I took my last breath on this earth.

Hi! My name is Linsey Sluk and this person next to me is Zon Wang. On Wednesday the 22^nd of April we visited a village. Since we had two Chinese speakers with us we could talk to them to find out interesting facts. Zon helped us speak with the friendly people in the pagoda resting for lunch. There was about 10 people including children. We asked one person by the name of Ah Xiu (Female). Here below we have the interview that was done by the glorious Ms. Han’s group, which includes Me and Zon, Jamie Knell, Robert Marney, and Julian Ma.

Q: How are the fields fertilized? How are they cared for and what does it cost? Is it worth it?

A: They use pesticides to kill the insects that eat the crop. Pesticides cost $10 per bag, it’s as big as a pillow. That’s $10 HK which is approximately $1.30 US. They use four bags a month.

Sorry, that is all we found out for that question.

Q: What kinds of foods do you eat everyday? On special occasions?

A: They usually eat rice and vegetables they grow. If they have enough money they would eat chicken, fish, pork, and beef.. On holidays they would have more food on the table. They would have a special cake, nian gao it is made out of sticky rice.

Q: How and when are the foods harvested? Who are they sold to? Where and for how much? How much profit do you make annually?

A: They harvest their fields two times a year. May or June, and November. They cut the rice with a hand tool. They usually have enough for them to eat. If they have extra they sell it. They sell it for $4 HK a kilo. If they have five people in a family they will have five fields. Their profit depends if the harvest was good.