Meeting With the Local Population
“A pirouette!” exclaims the Chinese dance teacher.
This time Nayla is meeting the young ballerinas in Taiwan.
In each country, Nayla meets the local people. And our bikes are often an excuse. Every time we can, we stop at playgrounds. On Hokkaido Island, at each break, Nayla played with children of all ages, developing her social skills, as well as empathy. Language is never a problem, especially between children. They take each other by the hand and go play!
She discovers the customs and traditions of the countries. On Shikoku Island in Japan, she learns to pray in Buddhist temples as we follow the pilgrimage of the 88 sacred temples. She discovers the Geishas in the narrow streets of Kyoto. She marvels at the fabulous Angkor temples in Cambodia. She learns how to make the Chinese tea ceremony in the heart of the Yunnan mountains. She watches a child taking part in a buffalo race in Thailand. She participated in the Bunun Festival, one of the indigenous tribes of Taiwan. She is amazed by the draft horse races, called Ban’ei, in Hokkaido.
“I would like to sleep here!” exclaims Nayla.
Nayla makes friends all over the world. This time she refuses to leave. She wants to stay alone for a few days in a Taiwanese family that we know well. They are our friends, and we stayed in their home for two weeks. We agree! Nayla plunges into Taiwanese life for three days. She tries to eat noodles with chopsticks, like her hosts, a fun game! It is also in this family that she will learn some Chinese words. It was in this way that she learned Japanese, simply meeting people. She is also fluent in French and English.
