I remember one day years ago telling a friend how interesting World Showcase was - she told me that she’d rather just take her kids to the real countries. Only she never did.

Oh, it’s easy to make fun of the cliches and the condensed versions of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Morocco, France, the UK, and Canada (plus the grandiose America and the afterthought of an Africa). But for a lot of people this might the only chance a person will ever get to know someone from Paris, or talk to an Islamic kid, or taste Kjottkaker.

The best thing to do a few hours before dinner is to go to World Showcase, get a drink and circle around looking for the entertainment

that comes from all over the world. It’s all over and one of the biggest crowd pleasers are the Chinese acrobats at the China pavilion. The Dragon Legend Acrobats put on 20 minute shows in the tradition of the famous Shanghai Circus  at 3:05, 4:15, 6:15 and 7:15 every day. These amazingly talented kids  are between 9 and 12 years old are students from the Pu Yang School for Acrobats. They are intense in a kind of scary way - I’m sure this isn’t true but they have the look of a kid who is going to get beaten if they make a mistake. Hopefully it’s just extreme pride in their performance and a little perfectionism.

I hope to go to China some day, but who know. I may never get there. World Showcase gives me the chance to get little bits of exposure to people and cultures I don’t know nearly enough about.

I don’t see how anyone can turn up their noses at that.

Here’s a youtube clip of the little acrobats!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tajk9SAKnS4