Before we start swapping sounds and images, let's get some of our questions out in the open. We'll work toward a single, shared topic for our individual time spent recording in the "field" of our hometown.

hey over there in china! I was just wondering if you guys would take some pictures of a building from each side staright on....? that would be super cool. Also i wanted to get some pictures of you guys at social gatherings or partys. I have a hole bunch of our kinds of partys i would love to check out what you do!

Latest Questions

From Jefferson

1. Do you have housepets?

2. Is Hello Kitty popular over there? What's up with all the cats?

3. In California, our jails are really crowded. What are jails like there?

Questions from China to California

"Do students there think that Hong Kong must be boring? It's so small..." - Tommy (conversation, 12/2007)

Believe me.... Its not as small as Mount Shasta... we only have about 5,000 people at most here. Our entertainment is mostly obtained at pizza parlors(all year long), by skateboarding(seasonal), snowboarding(seasonal), and hanging out with friends at Lake Siskiyou in Summer. Otherwise... There is nothing else to do except watch TV. - Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

"Are you pressured by your parents to get married?" - Hang (conversation, 12/2007)

My greek relatives are constantly telling me to wear dresses and to get married soon before I turn into a bitter old hag. But those are just my greek relatives... Most of American parents don't typically stress the marriage factor... just grades, jobs, and money responsibilities.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

From students in Ervin's hometown in Northern Sichuan:

1． What’s your hometown look like? Any Mountains? Or…can you give us a introduction to your hometown?

There is a very prominent mountian in the area. It's name is Mt. Shasta. We will upload some pictures for you to see.- Emily- Mt. Shasta City

2． There are 56 groups of peoples in China, among which there are 55 different minorities. In our area, there are three main groups, Han (the majority Chinese, 95% of Chinese are Han), Tibetan, and Qiang people. Each group has their own language, and even more interesting, take Tibetan for an example, there are mainly 6 branches of Tibetan, different branches maintain the general Tibetan culture while keeping their own unique costumes. You can tell the difference by their wearing and dialect (by the way, in most occasions, different branch speak their own dialect, which is not understandable to other branches). So what about your place, do you have minorities there? Do you have some dialects different form English?

We don't have many different dialects from english but there are a few. I know that in Weed, a town close to Mount Shasta, has many laucian and spanish dialect speaking individuals. There are also many african american individuals as well but they have been americanized and only speak english. -Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

3． How many years do you have for high school? And what do you learn? We mean how many subjects do you have? We heard that you have optional courses which you can choose to take. This is not a case here. Everyone studies the same stuff here. We are curious what are the optional courses like? And what you learn from these classes?

Normal High School lasts for four years, although in some parts of the U.S. it is just three years. There are some classes, or courses, that every person in High School has to take. The main ones are; Science, Math, History, and English. There are also "electives", which are optional. Some people take drama as an elective, others learn a foreign language.- Emily- Mt. Shasta City

You are also required to learn at least one foreign language to graduate in some cases. The available choices for those courses are usually French or Spanish. Mount Shasta High School used to also have a German class, but they took that off the curriculum due to the teacher having been caught speaking Russian by an exchange student.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

4． Everyone here studies English for entire high school time. Do you have to study a foreign language? Do you happen to have Chinese lessens?

We don't have chinese lessons, unfortunatly. We only have french or spanish. We have the option of going to an independent teacher to teach us other languages but our parents would have to pay for those lessons.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

5． How many hours do you spend every week for school? And we notice that, because we have really different cultures, which leads to different school schedules, which part of the year do you have school?

6． In China, most families put the stress on good education, most parents want their kids to go to top colleges, so what we do here are just study, and study more. What about your place? Do you have a lot of free time, or are you able to do something you are really into?

I believe that compared to you, we have alot of free time. We just don't use it very well. Well, most of us anyways. We concentrate more on our looks, love life, music, anything commercial really. We strive to be perfect in every way, while becoming imperfect in the process.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

7． In China, teenagers are not encouraged to get into a relationship, and most parents think dating someone will distract us from studies. So not many high school students have a girl or boy friend, even there are a small amount of students, who date, they aren’t do it openly. What about you guys there? We’ve seen a polar different situation in American movies, is it real?

Yes, it is real. We date like crazy. We tend to begin a relationship every week unless we are sincerely interested in our current partner... then we tend to stay with them for a long period of time before suddenly cutting off the relationship and moving on once again.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

8． Can you describe the impression you have toward Chinese?

They are elegant people.... who like dragons.... who really like dragons a lot.-Jamie, Jefferson, Mount Shasta

9． What do you do for entertaining? For weekend? And what so you do in summer or winter holidays?

10． What do you know about the west part of china? Is there any particular place in China that you want to visit? Could you please put down the reason?

Questions from California to China

From the Jan. 23 meeting at GECS:

- What music do you listen to?

• Mostly Taiwanese music because our local music industry is contacting and there are not that attractive. - Sum, Hong Kong

- How are the towns laid out?

• Well, the tall buildings are all clustered together, nearly all buildings are at least with 20 storey - Sum, Hong Kong

• they are on the hills, and roads are like random web. - Tommy S., Chongqing

- What do people do for fun?

- Do people spend time outside? What's the relationship with nature?

• As Hong Kong people are always busy, most of the Hong Kong people don’t spend time outside. You know, for the people who work in the service industry, they usually need to work for at least 6 days a week or even the whole week. So, they tend to go for entertainment instead of spending time outside. - Sum, Hong Kong

• yes, they do. they are closed to nature. - Tommy S. Chongqing

- How do people shop for food? What's the relationship to food?

• Traditional method of shopping for food is to visit the wet market in different district. However, the supermarkets replace the wet market now as it’s more hygienic and convenience. Or, I should say, as people usually go home late, the wet markets are usually closed while the supermarkets are still running, so people shifted to shop in supermarket for food or they may order take-away from restaurant nearby. - Sum, Hong Kong

- Where do you find beauty?

• We find beauty as slim and white skin. - Sum, Hong Kong

• in my heart. - Tommy S., Chongqing

- What does your bedroom look like?

From the Jan. 25 workshop at Jefferson High School:

- What's your school day like?

• School started at 8:15 and we usually get 9 to 10 period a day in which each period last for 35minutus. We will have our lunch at 1p.m. and school usually ended at 4 p.m. - Sum, Hong Kong

- What kind of clothes do you wear?

- Do you say anything like the Pledge of Allegiance at school? Other daily 'rituals' ?

- Do you have jobs? When do you start working?

• no ,I don’t have jobs. My parents ask me to concentrate on my own study and to work when I have graduated. I think most of the people in Hong Kong are same as my family. - Sum, Hong Kong

- Do you drive cars? When can you get your license?

- Is it illegal to follow Tibetan religion in China?

• i am not sure. - Tommy S., Chongqing

- Are there racial disputes in China?

• I don't think so. - Tommy S., Chongqing

- Are genders treated differently?

• Yes, but it’s better in Hong Kong. Male are usually treated in a more lenient way. Take and example, I know that in some part of China, girls cant eat until all the male have finished their meal. And usually the male have the priority to eat meat. - Sum, Hong Kong

• i think so, men are still prefered, especially in countryside, for they need labor. - Tommy S., Chongqing

- Are there bums and losers?

Mt. Shasta students think China students would like to see/hear:

- the ski park

- school life

- how our town looks from the air

- the music we listen to

China students think Mt. Shasta students would like to see/hear:

(our collaborator Ervin arrives in his hometown in Northen Sichuan soon)

Theme Ideas - What main themes have come up in our discussions as possibilities for the focus of our filming/recording?

• Day in the life - record video and sound from a single day - home, school, work, fun, etc