WW #4, Group Uno

Taking my first step outside of the bus, my eyes immediately stung from the glare of the sun. The scorching 110-degree weather made the air feel like a thick quilt, with humidity heavy enough to sweat for me. Nonetheless, we had made it. After a grueling two-hour bus ride, my group had finally arrived in Suzhou, a popular art city in China. As we gathered outside of the bus, our program director announced, “We will now be entering the ‘Venice of China.’” I saw a canal- 100 meters long at most- with crowds of people standing beside it, anxiously waiting for their turn to take a boat ride. After seeing this, I walked further down the canal and found that either side of it was packed with vibrantly colored souvenir shops, selling anything from traditional Chinese fans to painted caricatures of President Obama. This was clearly a tourist attraction, and while it was very appealing to the eye, I had the urge to explore the genuine village outside of it. I made my way down an alley between two of the souvenir shops and then around a large wall along the main road. I exited the canal area, and I was astonished. The village was living in devastating poverty. The people lived in crammed, run-down shacks, constructed of garbage, mud, and scrap wood. These homes were lined up along a dirt road, with no running water and scarcely found electricity. This sudden transition was nothing short of shocking. I had walked no more than a few minutes outside of the thriving, energetic tourist attraction, and saw the polar opposite: over-populated, crowded shacks in extremely poor conditions.