Day 1 (Travel
& Arrival in China) by Metty Schroeder
The trip to Shanghai was grueling, yet fun. Everyone met at
the Columbus airport very early Saturday morning, around 6:00. After we had all
arrived at the gate and boarded the airplane, we got a disappointing update
telling us that the flight was actually delayed an hour. After several delays
for the flight to Chicago, we finally got up in the air and on our way.
In Chicago, because our previous flight had been delayed so
much, we had to rush to our next gate to check in. We didn’t have much time to
eat because we had to board the plane shortly after checking in, so some of the
people had to bring their food onto the plane with them, and some of it smelled
quite bad. This was the start of the 14-hour ordeal across the Artic Ocean. During
this time movies were watched, games were played and naps were slept. After
what seemed like a lifetime, we all checked the flight-progress channel to find
out that we were almost halfway
there! Gee, there were just eight more hours to go! Everyone kept dozing off
and waking up happily thinking they had slept away a chunk of the trip, only to
look at the clock in dismay and see that they had really only slept about 20
minutes. Everyone’s spirits were raised once it was announced we would be
landing in 30 minutes, and most of us started to get hyper.
I feel bad for all the people who were sitting around us. When
we had stopped in Chicago, we had developed a system for checking if everyone
was there. Everyone was assigned a number, and the idea was that we would count
off. When we got off the plane in Shanghai, however, we discovered there were
several problems that could occur with this method. One problem was that some
of us forgot our numbers, and somehow in the end, even though all 16 of us were
present, we ended up only counting to 15 with everyone claiming they had said a
number. Despite these complications, we all made it safely out of the airport,
where we met our guides and got on the bus. We were all very tired so we slept
for most of the ride.
After two hours, we made it to Suzhou and went to a
restaurant. At the restaurant, we were promised that “this would be a light
dinner” so I feel like we were all preparing to be hungry when we finally got
to the hotel. Much to our collective surprise, at the end of the “light dinner”
there were (I counted) 11 plates nearly full of food left on the table and not
a single empty stomach. After taking maybe a few too many photos of the
restaurant and a short bus ride to the hotel, I made a point of taking way too
many photos of our lavish (to say the least) room. A collective 33 hotel room
photos later, I dimmed the light over my bed and fell asleep.
Day 2 (Suzhou) by
Aziza Corbett
The following morning was spent watching the traffic from
the window. Wow. I don’t think I’d ever seen people on tiny scooters disregard
so any people’s (and buses) existence. On one hand, I was absolutely terrified.
On the other hand, I really had to (sort of) respect the overall tenacity of
the drivers and equally nonchalant pedestrians. We walked through a lot of
amazingly beautiful gardens today. I kept on walking around with Kristie (Sun)
saying, “ I literally can’t get over how amazing this place is” and it was 100
percent true. Each place we came to offered some breathtaking view and amusing
history. My camera may or may not have died because I used it so much in just
one garden. Ha ha. In the Lion Grove garden, a group of us went into a labyrinth-like
area of man-made stones that were all created to look sort of like lions if you
looked hard enough. We got lost. I thought I was going to fall off a ledge and
die on many occasions. After having to crawl through a tiny hole (well, I could
have jumped over it, but I saw that as far too much work), we weren’t lost
anymore and went with the rest of the group. After touring that garden, we got
to walk through the streets of Suzhou. During lunch, they offered us a whole
fish that I think they’d deep-fried and covered in this amazing sweet-and-sour
sauce. There were literally only the bones left when we were done with it. That
fish was possibly the best thing I’d ever tasted before. From there, we got to
the silk shop. There I learned three things: how real silk feels amazing, how
silk was made, and that silk worms look disgusting. All of the things that I
saw there were amazing. The fact that my fully charged camera died the first
day is testament to that.
Days 3-4 (Hefei
Home-Stay) by Aziza Corbett
I think I speak for most of my classmates when I say that
the one aspect about the China trip that I was the most worried about was being
hosted by a Chinese student. Personally, I was wondering how I’d be received
and if they had ever seen a black person in real life. This also made me wonder
if the people and students in the Hefei school would have negative views and
stereotypes about me.
I’m happy to say that I was
(as usual) worrying about nothing. We got into the school and I got a
lot of second glances, which I was ready for, but none of the hostility that I
thought I might receive. The first surprise that greeted me was seeing how
happy the students were to see all of us coming to their school. The second was
seeing and hearing how amazing some of the Chinese students’ English was.
After sitting through an environmental class that was all in
English, I was exposed to yet another surprise. In the adjacent building, there
were literally hundreds or maybe thousands of students looking at us from the
balcony. All of them were cheering or waving and taking so many pictures.
When the time came to meet our home-stay partners, I began
to start worrying again. Huang LiRong (my host) was very nice from the
beginning. To be honest, I was surprised by how happy she looked to see me.
After running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we made our way to
their physics class. They all clapped when I walked in. I was shocked to see
the math in their lesson was something we’d learned this year… in calculus.
When we walked in and sat down, LiRong’s friends spoke to me
in Chinese, but I began to shy up a lot, as I often do in these situations.
LiRong seemed to really understand this because a few minutes later, she placed
a note on my desk that read, “There is no need to be nervous. My classmates are
friendly.”
During the free period, I was taken to the art club’s room,
where I somehow got talked into SINGING A SONG IN FRONT OF A CLASSROOM FULL OF
STUDENTS. So, after all of the amazing acting and singing, they all got to hear
the American girl with massive stage freight. On the bright side, after I
finished singing, a lot of people wanted to take pictures with me (including
one guy who had the most amazing beat-boxing skills I’d ever heard). Silver
lining? I guess so. I also found out that LiRong and a lot of her friends loved
the same kind of Korean music that I listen to religiously.
This trend continued all through the time spent waiting to
walk home with LiRong. After playing real-life frogger (with me in the leading
role) on the way home, I walked into maybe one of the most beautiful apartments
I’d ever seen. Much of the first few minutes were awkward. Taking a bit of a
leap of faith into the “attempting at conversation” pool, I asked her if she
liked my favorite Chinese pop group. Much to my utter joy, it turned out that
we listen to and love almost all of the same music. So then I’d found something
to talk about.
Just as I thought things were going smoothly, it was
dinnertime. For a child with a small stomach such as mine, this type of thing
was a major struggle. Her father made a really good dinner. The only problem
was that the food was literally the most spicy food I’d ever eaten (this coming
from a girl who likes Indian food). I felt my whole face burning but I hope I
didn’t let on to that too much. I didn’t eat much at all since the spicy food
and possibly rotten egg I ate. I felt really bad because I thought her parents
thought I didn’t like the food they made, even though I pushed the fact that I
just had a tiny stomach.
After that, Huang LiRong and I “girled out” for a good 90
percent of our time together. When I told her that I spoke some Japanese while
drawing a picture for her, she begged me to teach her a little bit. We spent
the rest of the night from then with me teaching her some Japanese and talking
to her friends (and Kristie) over qq chat.
The morning came a lot sooner than I wanted it to. Even
though it had only been a few hours, our mutual love of music had brought Huang
LiRong and I very close to each other. There were even times during the night
when she’d say, “I don’t want you to go” or “You are my best friend.” I woke up
a little earlier than the rest of the house, so I wrote her a goodbye letter in
Japanese with a translation under it. It was then when I realized how much I’d
miss her and how glad I was that I liked the things I did, because those things
brought us so close. A peaceful “family photo” and less-than-peaceful drive to
school later (we did two U-turns in less that 30 seconds), we were at the
school again. Saying goodbye was so much harder than I thought it would be, and
I’m still sad just thinking about it. After we filed onto the bus after taking
a group picture, the two of us made heart shapes to each other until the bus
was out of sight.
At the Hefei ping-pong school, I learned just how terrible I
was (and still am) at ping pong. I figure a 10-year-old having to teach me how
to play is proof enough of the statement. I was worried the kids that I’d be
teaching wouldn’t like me or my book at all ( a highly acclaimed, 10-page novel
titled “Cat’s Colours”). The situation (once again) was quite contrary to my
fears. The group of five elementary children I taught, dare I say, were the
best group in the room. They were adorable, loved the book, and good artists.
Though some of them walked home with their would-be book pages that I was
supposed to collect, I’ve almost never been so proud of a group of children
ever before.
The best, cutest moment was – after spelling my name out for
them – seeing “I like Aziza” written on their papers. When it was time to go, a
group of children literally surrounded me asking me to write my name on their
pages, screaming “laoshi laoshi! Your signature! Teacher!” It was a confusing
mix of adorable and palm-sweatingly horrifying. It goes without saying though,
Heifei was the most fulfilling, connecting experience I’ve ever had the
pleasure of being a part of.
Hefei Home-Stay
Reflection by Robbie Foley
Going to Hefei was quite an experience. I was very, very
nervous on the train to Hefei. We were told that the students would be waiting
at the train station. However, when we got there, the students were not there.
Coming up the ramp out of the train station and into Hefei was very
overwhelming. Eventually, we got to sit in on an English class and had our
first interaction with students. After the class was over, our host students
rushed in and we were matched up. The crowds of students following us was
overwhelming, and we were frequently asked to take pictures with the students.
After sitting in on a math class with the students, we went to a club where
many students performed music and danced. They were much more talented than we
expected, and the atmosphere was fun and casual. After that, we each left with
our host family. Staying with the family was nice, and they were very
hospitable. In the morning, we arrived at school, took a group picture and said
goodbye. Overall, I learned a lot and it was an interesting and fun experience.
Hefei Home-Stay
Reflection by Andrew Kennedy
The train ride to Hefei was very interesting. I was nervous
yet excited for what the day may hold. We spent most of the train ride playing
card games, talking and eating snacks. We were supposed to meet our classmates
at the train station but due to several delays along the way, we had to wait to
meet them at school. Once our ride was over, we got off the train and hurried
to eat a delicious buffet. When lunch ended, we hurried off to the school where
we were able to attend an English class as a group. It was amazing to see how
great their English was in comparison to my Chinese. After the class, we met up
with our student and shadowed them for the rest of the day. Although things
started off a little awkward, we eventually began to grow accustomed to one
another. The day was incredibly interesting and a great experience overall.
Hefei Home-Stay
Reflection by James Danison
I must say my Hefei experience was very much a good one.
Initially I was quite adverse to the thought of staying in the home of a
stranger and was very shy. However, my host student and his family were
extremely accommodating and even took me out to go play badminton, a sport that
I had not played in several years. I felt more than sad when it was time for us
to part ways, despite the fact that we exchanged e-mail addresses. Later that
day, I read to the small children “Froggy Goes To Sleep” and they drew all
sorts of fun pictures (iPhone, Gangnam Style, Clerk). We also discovered that
Chinese school kids are extremely good at ping pong, and that’s pretty much
their equivalent of football.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Kendall Silwonuk
Going to Hefei, I was really nervous. I was so afraid to be alone with my host family. But when we got to the school and everyone was so excited to see us, I started to get excited, too. My host Christine was really nice and spoke English very well. The class we visited was Chemistry, which was fun because I could understand a lot of it (ionic bonding is universal). Her father picked us up from school and drove us home. Christine’s mother was very nice and made us a traditional dinner. Dinner was hard because I was not sure what I was eating and I did not really like it, but it would have been rude not to eat. We bonded over an Anne Hathaway movie, and Christine gave me western-style donuts. I was amazed at how happy and welcoming everyone was. They did not mind having a stranger in their school and house, and I made so many new friends. I was sad when we had to leave, but I will definitely keep in touch with Christine and her family. If you were to ask me what one of the most difficult experiences of my life was, I would say this night. I would also say it was one of the most incredible experiences.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Abby Kaye
I really enjoyed coming to Hefei and staying over at someone’s house. Before we reached the school, I was really nervous since I am not 100% confident with my Chinese-language abilities. As we rode up to the school, all the school kids saw us and got really excited so I started to get excited myself. It was especially fun to watch all of the students get excited if one of us waved at them. I think I was most surprised at the amount of kids that attended the school. There were at least 100 kids on the playground and probably about 2000 more in the school.
The first class that we observed was their English class. When I was listening to their teacher talk and looking at their workbook, I realized how different English is learned in China as opposed to learning Chinese in America. They knew several high-level words that our workbooks don’t cover. Their workbook, which was all in English and only had about one or two Chinese sentences, talked about global warming, transportation and traffic problems. As they talked about air pollution, I heard something that really stood out to me. The teacher asked, “When was the last time you saw a blue sky?” As an American, I thought this would be a simple question… however, no one answered. Many had never seen a blue sky. One person said when he was young, and another person jokingly said last week. Later the teacher asked the question, “Who owns a personal car?” Again very few people raised their hand. And as a follow-up question to the people that did raise their hands, the teacher asked if they owned more than one car. Only one person raised his or her hand because he said he had seven people in his family. In America, I realized that just about every family has at least two cars, and occasionally one for the kid. Many students answered the question by saying that they took public transportation. Again the difference between American and Chinese culture comes in. In America, relatively few people take public transportation. But in China if you look at any bus at any given time, it is always jammed pack with people.
Next we got to meet our buddies, which made me very nervous again. But my buddy was very nice and even though I didn’t speak and Chinese for the first few hours, she didn’t mind and used her English to talk with me. After we met, I followed her to her math class. Even though she was in a grade below me, she was doing math that I had barely seen before that might have been one or two grades above me. Later we went into a big room and some of the students put on performances for us such as dancing, singing, beat-boxing and playing an instrument. I was really amazed because I knew it must have taken a lot of courage to perform in front of complete strangers. After that we went to a calligraphy/art classroom where I was able to write some calligraphy and have someone write my name nicely.
Finally school was over and we started to walk home. During this walk, I got to see a lot of everyday Chinese culture that I might not have been able to see otherwise. After a few minutes of walking, we reached a bus stop and I got to ride in a jam-packed bus. Next we walked about 10 minutes to her house. To get there, we walked down many alleys and I got to take pictures of many street markets and see a lot of Chinese culture. My buddy said that when she or her family needed anything, they just buy things from the street venders. As we were walking, I was slightly nervous that we were going to be hit since there were several motorcycles driving in the alleys. I also was amazed at the communication in China. In America several kids might say that their parents “hover” – parents who want to know where their kids are every second of every day. My buddy and I had just walked down the streets and ridden on a jam-packed bus, and she had not once called her parents.
Finally we got to her house and I saw the different standard of living in China versus America. Even though my buddy said that her family owned another house in the country and only lived in this house because she went to school nearby, the house was not very big. There were four rooms plus a living/dinner/main room. Two were bedrooms: one for her and one for her mom, dad and baby sister. For dinner the father cooked spinach and noodles, bo cai, two different beef dishes, rice, and chicken soup (which literally was just water and chicken). I also noticed that they had three tall canteens full of hot water, which was the only source of hot water that they had. After dinner my buddy and I went to take showers. But since there wasn’t a shower at her house, we walked about five minute to a public bath/shower place. Here she paid the cashier money for two shower rooms, and he took us down a hallway and into a big room where there were three different shower rooms. In the two rooms that my buddy and I occupied, he used a special tool to turn the hot water on. Then my partner told me to put clothes in a cabinet located in the shower room and put on other sandals that were provided when taking a shower. Finally we walked back to her house, she finished her homework and we went to bed.
In the morning I had eggs, bread, yogurt and some rice for breakfast. Then we took a taxi to her school, where we said goodbye. After taking pictures with everyone and riding the bus, we finally arrived at the ping-pong elementary school. Again I was amazed with the amount of kids that attended the school.
First we got to see some of the kids play ping-pong. These kids seemed to be practicing very intensely, having very precise movements and always knowing where they wanted the ball to go. Even though it was slightly embarrassing to play ping-pong with them since they were so good, I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we got to watch the kids have morning exercise. At first I couldn’t tell what they were holding, but after zooming in with my camera I realized that they were doing morning ping-pong moves. Next we got to do our storybook activities with some of the kids.
This was very fun and I strongly recommend doing it again next time. The kids seemed so excited for us to read the book to them and then draw/write some of the story. In my group, one girl read a page from the book, and I was amazed at how well she read since she only stumbled on one or two words. After the kids drew and wrote their pictures, it seemed as though a different group of kids had the idea to take a sheet of paper and get all of our (the American students) signatures, which was very cute to watch. You could really see the excitement in these kids’ eyes as we did these activities with them.
Overall, I really enjoyed coming to Hefei and doing these different activities. I strongly recommend them for the next group of kids that come.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Sydnie Boykins
Before arriving at the Chinese host family’s house, I was really worried. I had tried to imagine what the living conditions would be like, how the family would treat me, and how I would be able to communicate with them, including remembering the polite things to say in Chinese.
Before meeting our buddies from Hefei Number 10 High School and their families, we had the chance to see an English class. For the most part, the students were really attentive and took lots of notes. I was surprised that the students chuckled at their classmates if they stuttered or struggled with their English, and that they did not learn a bunch of English vocab or grammar structures. Instead, their textbooks taught English through real-life situations, such as fixing pollution.
The textbook page they were reading featured a story about solutions to the pollution issue written all in English, and the students had to read it and then answer the teacher’s questions. The teacher mentioned how people in other places had gym memberships and a car, and she said that it was stupid to spend so much money on both when you could just jog around the neighborhood. This was interesting because it shows how much we as Americans take for granted. She asked how many people had multiple cars in their family. We Americans were a little uncomfortable because it seemed as though we were the only ones. I was hoping to hear a local’s opinion on the bad air pollution, and I did. The teacher asked how long it had been since they had seen a blue sky, indicating that they hadn’t seen one in a while. It was almost as if their English lesson that day had been meant for us to hear. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, but I think it was good to hear their opinions on pollution. As the teacher seemed to suggest, following the textbook’s six steps will not solve the problem of pollution. The class homework was to write about how they would fix China’s pollution problem.
We then met our buddies. Mine was a girl my age named Zhou Ming Qian, but she told me to call her Qian Qian. After taking some pictures, it was immediately time for her to take me to their last class of the day. She linked her arm through mine and we hurried off to Chemistry. Walking through the school, I noticed that the girls link arms while walking. Though it appears weird at first, you later realize that it’s a sign of friendship.
In Chemistry, the teacher spoke and the students took notes. They were talking about covalent bonds, but I couldn’t understand most of the Chinese. As soon as I entered the room, the class clapped, and they looked at me until the teacher continued to teach. The teacher would often walk around the room to answer questions, and the students he was not talking to would talk with each other and ask questions about what the teacher had just said. This seemed similar to what we do back in America.
By the end of class, the students gathered around me and rapidly began speaking in Chinese. Qian Qian tried her best to translate everything. I got a few shy waves, said “Hi” a few times, and then a few people asked my name. A few of my buddy’s friends came over to meet me, and they told me it was time for them to do activities. Qian explained that every Wednesday, they had time to sing karaoke, play basketball and write calligraphy. We first went to the karaoke room, where one of my buddy’s friends spoke with me about Justin Bieber and Rihanna while kids stood at the front of the room and sang, and one boy even tried to beat-box! In the art room, Qian Qian’s friends wrote my Chinese name, gave me a Chinese poem and folded both up for me to take home.
We were then supposed to play basketball, but we stopped at the library and Qian Qian and her friends asked me if I knew about Taylor Swift or Kristen Stewart. I said yes, and I asked them if they knew how to do “the jerk,” but they didn’t know the song or the dance, so I tried to teach them. They all smiled and said they didn’t understand how I was doing it, but they tried their hardest. After that, one of the girls asked me if I knew how to jump rope. “You want me to jump rope?” I smiled and asked. They nodded excitedly, and I did. When I asked them if they could double dutch, a girl jumped in with me, so they didn’t understand what I meant.
By the time we finally got outside, it was time to leave school and go home. One of Qian Qian’s friends commented that they had a lot of homework, but Qian Qian didn’t have to do any since she was touring me. My buddy introduced me to her parents, and one of her friends helped me put my stuff in the trunk. She would be spending the night with my buddy. Her name was Shi Wen Jing. On the way to the family’s apartment, the traffic was really bad and since Hefei is a really big city, it took a while to reach their apartment. Qian’s parents asked me a lot of questions about America, since they are planning to visit America this summer. I tried to imagine what it would be like to visit America for the first time. I tried my hardest to answer them in Chinese – since they didn’t know English – and Qian Qian would translate for us. They asked me how many people were in my family, and I said seven. I have three sisters and one brother. Their mouths literally fell open. Some people take having a lot of siblings for granted, but we shouldn’t since in China that is not allowed.
Their house was pretty nice. Qian Qian gave me her bedroom, and she and Shi Wen Jing slept outside the room. I took a bunch of pictures with the family, and then Qian’s mother cooked dinner. It consisted of cucumbers, eggs with tomatoes, rice, meat dumplings, pig’s ears with vegetables, and peach juice. Qian Qian explained what order to eat the foods in, and I was surprised to hear her say that the rice came last. The mother noticed that I didn’t eat much, so she was constantly putting more food into my bowl, specifically the pig’s ears, and that was the only thing I did not try. I kept saying that I was full. I showed the family my photo album, and they helped me say different family member names in Chinese. Qian Qian asked me if my house was like hers. I explained that some people lived in apartments, but that some people lived in houses like me. It was just hard explaining it to her because I didn’t bring a picture of my house.
After dinner, Shi Wen Jing had homework to finish. She showed me the English homework she was working on, but I didn’t understand it since her notes were in Chinese. Qian Qian went on her computer, and Kristen Stewart popped up as her desktop picture. Qian Qian said she was beautiful, and then we watched the beginning of Twilight. We also discussed music. They introduced me to Jay Zhou and I introduced them to Ne-Yo. Shi Wen Jing showed me how to write some Chinese characters. That was pretty cool. She also showed me how to use chopsticks at dinner, but it was just hard to communicate with her because her English was not very good, but thankfully Qian Qian helped translate. Right before bed, Qian Qian gave me a present. I had given her parents one, but in Chinese culture you do not open a present as soon as you receive it. Her present to me was a Chinese picture in a frame. She wrote a message welcoming me to China on the back.
In the morning, Shi Wen Jing left for school early. Qian Qian explained that it was because she took an extra class. We went downstairs, and the host mom cooked vegetable dumplings while Qian Qian and I ate apple slices on sticks and some kind of sesame paste on bread. It was delicious. Qian Qian asked whether or not I had apples in America. I was kind of amused by this question at first, but then I decided that it was not a silly question, especially since she did not know much about our country and had never been to America. These types of questions continued, and she eventually asked if my mother cooked meals or whether my dad did. I answered that my mom did, but that my dad could make some foods pretty well.
On the way back to the school, the traffic was still pretty bad. While caught in traffic, Qian Qian and her parents asked me more questions about America and how much traffic we had there. I guess that the “rush-hour traffic” back home isn’t that bad. At the school, we had to say goodbye to our buddies and their families. I politely thanked them for hosting me for a day, and they said that I could come back to see them if I ever visited China again.
Overall, this was a very good experience. Staying with a host family taught me a lot about Chinese culture that I hadn’t known before. Even though I didn’t always understand the family’s Chinese, it was still good practice for me to speak as much Chinese as I could. It turned out that I was nervous for nothing, but I guess that is all part of the experience.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Catherine Lange
The home-stay was a really fun part of the trip. While we were driving to the school, I was really nervous. I didn’t know if my host and I would like each other, or if I would be able to communicate with her or her parents. When we drove up to the entrance, there was a sign that said “Warmly welcome friends from Columbus Academy.” As we got off the bus, there was a huge crowd of students, and they all waved at us. We went into a meeting room to talk to the principal, and when we came out, almost all of the students were outside and waving at us. It was really weird!
Then we went to one of the English classes and met our hosts. As it turns out, my host’s English name was Catherine, too! I went with her to her math class and had no idea what was going on. After that, we went to “art troupe” where students performed songs or dances. They were all really talented!
After school was over, it was time to go home. Catherine lived in an apartment building a block away from the school, so her mom and dad came to walk us home. Neither of them spoke any English, which made communicating with them a little harder. While I was walking towards the apartment, I was a little bit nervous. Their apartment was on the top floor of a really old building, and the staircase didn’t have any lights. When we got to the apartment, though, I was really surprised! It was decorated really nicely, and it was really cute inside. Catherine told me that they rented the apartment monthly because their actual house was far away from the school.
They gave me the choice of going out to eat or eating at home, and I chose to eat at home. Her mom started cooking dinner, and I started to get really hungry. We had a beef dish, a chicken-and-potato dish and tomato-egg soup. It was really good and I ate a lot, but there was still some left after dinner. Catherine’s mom kept apologizing that the food was so bad, but I kept telling her that I thought it was really good and I was just full!
After dinner, they decided to take me out to see different parts of Hefei. We went to a huge mall to go shopping. It was gigantic! We got some Dairy Queen, and then Catherine took me to the arcade part of the mall. We played some games and won a little duck keychain in the claw machine. Catherine said that I could have it because it was lucky. Her mom and dad had fun, too. Later, she told me that it was the first time that her mom and dad had played with her at the arcade, and she was very happy.
When we finished playing, we headed back to the car. After somehow ending up in a Walmart, we found our spot in the parking garage and headed home. Catherine let me sleep in her room while she slept in the other room. The day before, she and her mom had gone out to get things that I would need, and they bought me a toothbrush, a cup, some slippers, some shower shoes and a set of bear-patterned pajamas. I was really tired that night, so I went to bed soon after we got home.
In the morning, her mom made us breakfast. Catherine’s English teacher had told her that all Americans eat bread and milk for breakfast and that they only drink soda and hate water, so she was surprised when I only drank water. Her mom made congyoubing (scallion pancakes) and some kind of rice porridge. Both of them were really good, and I ate a lot. Then I gave them their presents, and they seemed to like them a lot. Her dad immediately put on the OSU hat that I gave him.
Then it was time to go to school. Her mom said she hoped to see me again, and her dad drove us in their car to the school. It was sad to say goodbye to Catherine, but we gave each other our e-mail addresses and promised to send each other messages.
The whole experience turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I was really nervous about it beforehand, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it through the entire thing. I’m glad that I stayed, though, because I had a really good time!
Going to Hefei, I was really nervous. I was so afraid to be alone with my host family. But when we got to the school and everyone was so excited to see us, I started to get excited, too. My host Christine was really nice and spoke English very well. The class we visited was Chemistry, which was fun because I could understand a lot of it (ionic bonding is universal). Her father picked us up from school and drove us home. Christine’s mother was very nice and made us a traditional dinner. Dinner was hard because I was not sure what I was eating and I did not really like it, but it would have been rude not to eat. We bonded over an Anne Hathaway movie, and Christine gave me western-style donuts. I was amazed at how happy and welcoming everyone was. They did not mind having a stranger in their school and house, and I made so many new friends. I was sad when we had to leave, but I will definitely keep in touch with Christine and her family. If you were to ask me what one of the most difficult experiences of my life was, I would say this night. I would also say it was one of the most incredible experiences.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Abby Kaye
I really enjoyed coming to Hefei and staying over at someone’s house. Before we reached the school, I was really nervous since I am not 100% confident with my Chinese-language abilities. As we rode up to the school, all the school kids saw us and got really excited so I started to get excited myself. It was especially fun to watch all of the students get excited if one of us waved at them. I think I was most surprised at the amount of kids that attended the school. There were at least 100 kids on the playground and probably about 2000 more in the school.
The first class that we observed was their English class. When I was listening to their teacher talk and looking at their workbook, I realized how different English is learned in China as opposed to learning Chinese in America. They knew several high-level words that our workbooks don’t cover. Their workbook, which was all in English and only had about one or two Chinese sentences, talked about global warming, transportation and traffic problems. As they talked about air pollution, I heard something that really stood out to me. The teacher asked, “When was the last time you saw a blue sky?” As an American, I thought this would be a simple question… however, no one answered. Many had never seen a blue sky. One person said when he was young, and another person jokingly said last week. Later the teacher asked the question, “Who owns a personal car?” Again very few people raised their hand. And as a follow-up question to the people that did raise their hands, the teacher asked if they owned more than one car. Only one person raised his or her hand because he said he had seven people in his family. In America, I realized that just about every family has at least two cars, and occasionally one for the kid. Many students answered the question by saying that they took public transportation. Again the difference between American and Chinese culture comes in. In America, relatively few people take public transportation. But in China if you look at any bus at any given time, it is always jammed pack with people.
Next we got to meet our buddies, which made me very nervous again. But my buddy was very nice and even though I didn’t speak and Chinese for the first few hours, she didn’t mind and used her English to talk with me. After we met, I followed her to her math class. Even though she was in a grade below me, she was doing math that I had barely seen before that might have been one or two grades above me. Later we went into a big room and some of the students put on performances for us such as dancing, singing, beat-boxing and playing an instrument. I was really amazed because I knew it must have taken a lot of courage to perform in front of complete strangers. After that we went to a calligraphy/art classroom where I was able to write some calligraphy and have someone write my name nicely.
Finally school was over and we started to walk home. During this walk, I got to see a lot of everyday Chinese culture that I might not have been able to see otherwise. After a few minutes of walking, we reached a bus stop and I got to ride in a jam-packed bus. Next we walked about 10 minutes to her house. To get there, we walked down many alleys and I got to take pictures of many street markets and see a lot of Chinese culture. My buddy said that when she or her family needed anything, they just buy things from the street venders. As we were walking, I was slightly nervous that we were going to be hit since there were several motorcycles driving in the alleys. I also was amazed at the communication in China. In America several kids might say that their parents “hover” – parents who want to know where their kids are every second of every day. My buddy and I had just walked down the streets and ridden on a jam-packed bus, and she had not once called her parents.
Finally we got to her house and I saw the different standard of living in China versus America. Even though my buddy said that her family owned another house in the country and only lived in this house because she went to school nearby, the house was not very big. There were four rooms plus a living/dinner/main room. Two were bedrooms: one for her and one for her mom, dad and baby sister. For dinner the father cooked spinach and noodles, bo cai, two different beef dishes, rice, and chicken soup (which literally was just water and chicken). I also noticed that they had three tall canteens full of hot water, which was the only source of hot water that they had. After dinner my buddy and I went to take showers. But since there wasn’t a shower at her house, we walked about five minute to a public bath/shower place. Here she paid the cashier money for two shower rooms, and he took us down a hallway and into a big room where there were three different shower rooms. In the two rooms that my buddy and I occupied, he used a special tool to turn the hot water on. Then my partner told me to put clothes in a cabinet located in the shower room and put on other sandals that were provided when taking a shower. Finally we walked back to her house, she finished her homework and we went to bed.
In the morning I had eggs, bread, yogurt and some rice for breakfast. Then we took a taxi to her school, where we said goodbye. After taking pictures with everyone and riding the bus, we finally arrived at the ping-pong elementary school. Again I was amazed with the amount of kids that attended the school.
First we got to see some of the kids play ping-pong. These kids seemed to be practicing very intensely, having very precise movements and always knowing where they wanted the ball to go. Even though it was slightly embarrassing to play ping-pong with them since they were so good, I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we got to watch the kids have morning exercise. At first I couldn’t tell what they were holding, but after zooming in with my camera I realized that they were doing morning ping-pong moves. Next we got to do our storybook activities with some of the kids.
This was very fun and I strongly recommend doing it again next time. The kids seemed so excited for us to read the book to them and then draw/write some of the story. In my group, one girl read a page from the book, and I was amazed at how well she read since she only stumbled on one or two words. After the kids drew and wrote their pictures, it seemed as though a different group of kids had the idea to take a sheet of paper and get all of our (the American students) signatures, which was very cute to watch. You could really see the excitement in these kids’ eyes as we did these activities with them.
Overall, I really enjoyed coming to Hefei and doing these different activities. I strongly recommend them for the next group of kids that come.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Sydnie Boykins
Before arriving at the Chinese host family’s house, I was really worried. I had tried to imagine what the living conditions would be like, how the family would treat me, and how I would be able to communicate with them, including remembering the polite things to say in Chinese.
Before meeting our buddies from Hefei Number 10 High School and their families, we had the chance to see an English class. For the most part, the students were really attentive and took lots of notes. I was surprised that the students chuckled at their classmates if they stuttered or struggled with their English, and that they did not learn a bunch of English vocab or grammar structures. Instead, their textbooks taught English through real-life situations, such as fixing pollution.
The textbook page they were reading featured a story about solutions to the pollution issue written all in English, and the students had to read it and then answer the teacher’s questions. The teacher mentioned how people in other places had gym memberships and a car, and she said that it was stupid to spend so much money on both when you could just jog around the neighborhood. This was interesting because it shows how much we as Americans take for granted. She asked how many people had multiple cars in their family. We Americans were a little uncomfortable because it seemed as though we were the only ones. I was hoping to hear a local’s opinion on the bad air pollution, and I did. The teacher asked how long it had been since they had seen a blue sky, indicating that they hadn’t seen one in a while. It was almost as if their English lesson that day had been meant for us to hear. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, but I think it was good to hear their opinions on pollution. As the teacher seemed to suggest, following the textbook’s six steps will not solve the problem of pollution. The class homework was to write about how they would fix China’s pollution problem.
We then met our buddies. Mine was a girl my age named Zhou Ming Qian, but she told me to call her Qian Qian. After taking some pictures, it was immediately time for her to take me to their last class of the day. She linked her arm through mine and we hurried off to Chemistry. Walking through the school, I noticed that the girls link arms while walking. Though it appears weird at first, you later realize that it’s a sign of friendship.
In Chemistry, the teacher spoke and the students took notes. They were talking about covalent bonds, but I couldn’t understand most of the Chinese. As soon as I entered the room, the class clapped, and they looked at me until the teacher continued to teach. The teacher would often walk around the room to answer questions, and the students he was not talking to would talk with each other and ask questions about what the teacher had just said. This seemed similar to what we do back in America.
By the end of class, the students gathered around me and rapidly began speaking in Chinese. Qian Qian tried her best to translate everything. I got a few shy waves, said “Hi” a few times, and then a few people asked my name. A few of my buddy’s friends came over to meet me, and they told me it was time for them to do activities. Qian explained that every Wednesday, they had time to sing karaoke, play basketball and write calligraphy. We first went to the karaoke room, where one of my buddy’s friends spoke with me about Justin Bieber and Rihanna while kids stood at the front of the room and sang, and one boy even tried to beat-box! In the art room, Qian Qian’s friends wrote my Chinese name, gave me a Chinese poem and folded both up for me to take home.
We were then supposed to play basketball, but we stopped at the library and Qian Qian and her friends asked me if I knew about Taylor Swift or Kristen Stewart. I said yes, and I asked them if they knew how to do “the jerk,” but they didn’t know the song or the dance, so I tried to teach them. They all smiled and said they didn’t understand how I was doing it, but they tried their hardest. After that, one of the girls asked me if I knew how to jump rope. “You want me to jump rope?” I smiled and asked. They nodded excitedly, and I did. When I asked them if they could double dutch, a girl jumped in with me, so they didn’t understand what I meant.
By the time we finally got outside, it was time to leave school and go home. One of Qian Qian’s friends commented that they had a lot of homework, but Qian Qian didn’t have to do any since she was touring me. My buddy introduced me to her parents, and one of her friends helped me put my stuff in the trunk. She would be spending the night with my buddy. Her name was Shi Wen Jing. On the way to the family’s apartment, the traffic was really bad and since Hefei is a really big city, it took a while to reach their apartment. Qian’s parents asked me a lot of questions about America, since they are planning to visit America this summer. I tried to imagine what it would be like to visit America for the first time. I tried my hardest to answer them in Chinese – since they didn’t know English – and Qian Qian would translate for us. They asked me how many people were in my family, and I said seven. I have three sisters and one brother. Their mouths literally fell open. Some people take having a lot of siblings for granted, but we shouldn’t since in China that is not allowed.
Their house was pretty nice. Qian Qian gave me her bedroom, and she and Shi Wen Jing slept outside the room. I took a bunch of pictures with the family, and then Qian’s mother cooked dinner. It consisted of cucumbers, eggs with tomatoes, rice, meat dumplings, pig’s ears with vegetables, and peach juice. Qian Qian explained what order to eat the foods in, and I was surprised to hear her say that the rice came last. The mother noticed that I didn’t eat much, so she was constantly putting more food into my bowl, specifically the pig’s ears, and that was the only thing I did not try. I kept saying that I was full. I showed the family my photo album, and they helped me say different family member names in Chinese. Qian Qian asked me if my house was like hers. I explained that some people lived in apartments, but that some people lived in houses like me. It was just hard explaining it to her because I didn’t bring a picture of my house.
After dinner, Shi Wen Jing had homework to finish. She showed me the English homework she was working on, but I didn’t understand it since her notes were in Chinese. Qian Qian went on her computer, and Kristen Stewart popped up as her desktop picture. Qian Qian said she was beautiful, and then we watched the beginning of Twilight. We also discussed music. They introduced me to Jay Zhou and I introduced them to Ne-Yo. Shi Wen Jing showed me how to write some Chinese characters. That was pretty cool. She also showed me how to use chopsticks at dinner, but it was just hard to communicate with her because her English was not very good, but thankfully Qian Qian helped translate. Right before bed, Qian Qian gave me a present. I had given her parents one, but in Chinese culture you do not open a present as soon as you receive it. Her present to me was a Chinese picture in a frame. She wrote a message welcoming me to China on the back.
In the morning, Shi Wen Jing left for school early. Qian Qian explained that it was because she took an extra class. We went downstairs, and the host mom cooked vegetable dumplings while Qian Qian and I ate apple slices on sticks and some kind of sesame paste on bread. It was delicious. Qian Qian asked whether or not I had apples in America. I was kind of amused by this question at first, but then I decided that it was not a silly question, especially since she did not know much about our country and had never been to America. These types of questions continued, and she eventually asked if my mother cooked meals or whether my dad did. I answered that my mom did, but that my dad could make some foods pretty well.
On the way back to the school, the traffic was still pretty bad. While caught in traffic, Qian Qian and her parents asked me more questions about America and how much traffic we had there. I guess that the “rush-hour traffic” back home isn’t that bad. At the school, we had to say goodbye to our buddies and their families. I politely thanked them for hosting me for a day, and they said that I could come back to see them if I ever visited China again.
Overall, this was a very good experience. Staying with a host family taught me a lot about Chinese culture that I hadn’t known before. Even though I didn’t always understand the family’s Chinese, it was still good practice for me to speak as much Chinese as I could. It turned out that I was nervous for nothing, but I guess that is all part of the experience.
Hefei Home-Stay Reflection by Catherine Lange
The home-stay was a really fun part of the trip. While we were driving to the school, I was really nervous. I didn’t know if my host and I would like each other, or if I would be able to communicate with her or her parents. When we drove up to the entrance, there was a sign that said “Warmly welcome friends from Columbus Academy.” As we got off the bus, there was a huge crowd of students, and they all waved at us. We went into a meeting room to talk to the principal, and when we came out, almost all of the students were outside and waving at us. It was really weird!
Then we went to one of the English classes and met our hosts. As it turns out, my host’s English name was Catherine, too! I went with her to her math class and had no idea what was going on. After that, we went to “art troupe” where students performed songs or dances. They were all really talented!
After school was over, it was time to go home. Catherine lived in an apartment building a block away from the school, so her mom and dad came to walk us home. Neither of them spoke any English, which made communicating with them a little harder. While I was walking towards the apartment, I was a little bit nervous. Their apartment was on the top floor of a really old building, and the staircase didn’t have any lights. When we got to the apartment, though, I was really surprised! It was decorated really nicely, and it was really cute inside. Catherine told me that they rented the apartment monthly because their actual house was far away from the school.
They gave me the choice of going out to eat or eating at home, and I chose to eat at home. Her mom started cooking dinner, and I started to get really hungry. We had a beef dish, a chicken-and-potato dish and tomato-egg soup. It was really good and I ate a lot, but there was still some left after dinner. Catherine’s mom kept apologizing that the food was so bad, but I kept telling her that I thought it was really good and I was just full!
After dinner, they decided to take me out to see different parts of Hefei. We went to a huge mall to go shopping. It was gigantic! We got some Dairy Queen, and then Catherine took me to the arcade part of the mall. We played some games and won a little duck keychain in the claw machine. Catherine said that I could have it because it was lucky. Her mom and dad had fun, too. Later, she told me that it was the first time that her mom and dad had played with her at the arcade, and she was very happy.
When we finished playing, we headed back to the car. After somehow ending up in a Walmart, we found our spot in the parking garage and headed home. Catherine let me sleep in her room while she slept in the other room. The day before, she and her mom had gone out to get things that I would need, and they bought me a toothbrush, a cup, some slippers, some shower shoes and a set of bear-patterned pajamas. I was really tired that night, so I went to bed soon after we got home.
In the morning, her mom made us breakfast. Catherine’s English teacher had told her that all Americans eat bread and milk for breakfast and that they only drink soda and hate water, so she was surprised when I only drank water. Her mom made congyoubing (scallion pancakes) and some kind of rice porridge. Both of them were really good, and I ate a lot. Then I gave them their presents, and they seemed to like them a lot. Her dad immediately put on the OSU hat that I gave him.
Then it was time to go to school. Her mom said she hoped to see me again, and her dad drove us in their car to the school. It was sad to say goodbye to Catherine, but we gave each other our e-mail addresses and promised to send each other messages.
The whole experience turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I was really nervous about it beforehand, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it through the entire thing. I’m glad that I stayed, though, because I had a really good time!
Day 5 (First Day
in Xi’an) by James Danison & Nathan Salon
After eating breakfast for our first day at Xi’an, our group
immediately set off to a factory where souvenir terra cotta warriors are
produced. The factory was okay and its products were rather good, but it was
very crowded. We left the place eager to see the first emperor’s tomb and talked
a great deal during the hour-long bus ride to his burial site. I found it very
interesting that the terra cotta warriors were more or less found in fragments
and had to be painstakingly reconstructed. We saw all three burial pits, the
most interesting being pit 1 where three-quarters of the emperor’s troops stood
guard. We ate a hearty, but far from spicy, lunch of noodles in the museum
cafeteria before fighting our way through a gauntlet of street vendors who were
guarding the tomb compound’s exit. We were spirited off to another very large
museum that covered dynasties Qin to Tang. For dinner, we ate a traditional hot
pot meal, which I understand is an integral part of Shaanxi cuisine. Afterword,
we attended a Tang-style opera and then practically collapsed of exhaustion at
the mere sight of our hotel again.
Day 6 (Second Day in Xi’an) by Robbie Foley & Andrew Kennedy
Our last day in Xi’an was probably the most fun and got better through out the day. We started out by waking up earlier than normal and driving for an hour to a Han Dynasty tomb. We were able to compare the Han Dynasty tomb to the Qin Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors. We drove back to the city and visited the Big Goose Pagoda. We ate lunch at KFC, which was different from an American KFC. Within the Da Ci’en Temple around the Pagoda, we saw some of the most splendid Buddhist idols and statues. Some of us also tried bargaining at the gift shop. Next, we visited the Muslim area of Xi’an. We made our way through some of the most crowded and claustrophobic areas we have ever visited and found ourselves in an old and unique mosque. After enjoying the old architecture, we shopped in a narrow alleyway and had a great time bargaining for really cheap and very funny merchandise. Next was the bike ride on the Old City Wall. This was so fun. The wall was fairly smooth, the bikes were nice and there was a great view. Whether you raced the nine miles or slowly biked along one side of the wall, it was a highlight of the day. We visited the hotel for a break but then left again to go to a local Islamic restaurant for some lamb and other food. The food was very good and the meal was great, but we were all very hot at the end and ready to go back to the hotel and sleep. Overall, it was one of the most fun days of the trip, being able to interact with locals by bargaining for prices and visiting the Old City Wall.
Day 7 (First Day in Beijing) by Zach Shepelak and Carter Kistler
We began our morning on this beautiful day by waking up at the unreasonable hour of 4:00 a.m. Still slightly jetlagged, we packed our carry-ons and walked down to breakfast. The previous night we had placed our checked luggage in the hallway to be picked up prior to the flight. Two anonymous people, the type of individuals who you would not expect to be such troublemakers, had decided that the decorative Chinese spiked brass knuckles and ninja stars that had been bought from a Chinese street vendor in the shady, back-alley section of Xi’an would be a great idea to bring on a plane and that nothing could possibly go wrong in this situation.
Our class rode to the airport and sure enough when we got there, two of the bags had not passed inspection due to metal objects hidden within. A Chinese airport official led these two people into a separate room away from the rest of the group. I had refused to participate in these weapon-purchasing shenanigans so I was unable to see what happened behind the frosted window of the Chinese airport security. When I saw my classmates come out of the room, I saw sadness and despair written across their faces because of what just transpired. I asked them what happened in the room and they responded with, “Yeah they just said we couldn’t have sharp things in our checked luggage, so they made us throw them away.”
The rest of the day was a blur as we all walked around in a half-meditative state due to a lack of sleep. I do recall that the Summer Palace was quite incredible due to its vast body of water surrounding the temple. It was also fun because there was a mass amount of people that we could photo-bomb (sneaking next to someone for an awkward picture). Another highlight of the day was when we arrived at our lavish Beijing hotel, and they had a 24-hour McDonalds next door. Overall it was a great day.
Day 8 (Second Day in Beijing) by Emily Cipriani and Leya Mohsin
In the morning, we finally got to sleep in until seven! Yay! At breakfast, we saw people drinking suspicious looking green stuff, so we went to go investigate. It was… kiwi juice! When it was time to get on the bus, we ran kind of late because a couple guys, who will remain unnamed, got lost in the hotel.
We went to the Temple of Heaven, which has been converted into a park for senior citizens. The actual temple was a place where the emperor went to worship. There a lot of old people dancing, playing badminton and practicing Tai Chi. It was adorable. Our tour guide Angela brought a microphone today, so we could hear her!
Then we went to a pearl factory. We watched a woman murder an oyster, and then we raided the bathroom in a magnificent stampede. Then it was time to shop, which consisted mostly of spending large sums of money, drinking tea and eating corn-flavored candy. There was a lovely translation on our paper teacups which I will type up for your enjoyment: “Tea it is for drinking, hair absolute being agriculture surname, smell in the ru a king’s. The as early as absolute being agriculture is period, tea and its medicines use the value already disheveled hair now, and be used by medicine to turn into gradually daily life beverage.” Inspirational.
After that, Leya and I rode in a rickshaw together. As we were riding, a woman rode up next to us on her bike, waved some scarves in our faces and shouted, “Hey! Silk Scarf!”
We looked at each other, and I (Emily) said, “No thanks. We’re not interested.”
“Oh! Not interested? How about Chopstick!”
“No. We don’t want that either.”
“Not interested? Say, are you two American?”
“No, we’re Canadian.”
“Oh, Canadian. Bye!”
She biked away, and Leya started laughing. Later another street vendor on a bike asked the woman, “Are they American?”
“No, they’re Canadian!”
Later we confessed to out rickshaw driver that we are indeed from the U.S. of A. We rode to lunch, which was awesome. We went to an old couple’s home and ate real home-cooked food… probably the best food we’ve eaten this whole trip.
The old man (Zhang Shushu) was an extremely talented artist. We learned that during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, most of the people in his art school were sent to work in the fields, but he was assigned to paint pictures of Chairman Mao’s face to place in every family’s home. After lunch, the old woman Bai Ayi taught us how to make dumplings. A lot of people gave it a try, but most of the dumplings we made turned out looking more like crocodiles or canoes rather than actual dumplings.
Then we visited a Buddhist temple called the Lama Temple. It was beautiful, though the smell of burning incense made some people feel not so fabulous. The temple was originally built to send a message to Tibet that China is on their side. The signs above the entrances were written in Manchurian, Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian, which is an excellent example of cultural diffusion (our history teachers would be so proud). Angela turned off her mic and told us quietly that there used to be a lot of Buddhist people in China, but when Mao Zedong took over all religious people were mocked as “superstitious.” Instead of focusing on religion, people were forced to focus on Mao, reciting Mao’s book every day and learning to obey his command more than a god’s.
Then we had dinner, which involved not only many dishes but also enormous bowls of noodles for each person that were bigger than our faces. Only two people succeeded in eating the entire bowl: Nathan – which was not surprising – and me (Emily), which was also not surprising considering my Italian genetics.
Then we went to a tea house to see a show. The show had several short acts ranging from traditional Chinese opera to rapping. I’m not sure how popular the opera was. It kind of sounded like a very high-pitched fire alarm. Libby ran on to the stage when volunteers were requested for a magic show. Some of our favorite acts were a hand puppet show and kung fu.
Day 9 (Third Day in Beijing) by Kristie Sun and Sydnie Boykins
So this morning we first went to a jade shop, where we were shown how to sculpt and craft jade, and learned about the different types (soft, hard) and what they’re used for (sculptures, jewelry). We also learned about how jade is considered to be good luck and protection, different traditions involving jade like the giving of a family bangle from mother to daughter on the daughter’s 16th birthday, and the idea that a jade bangle on the left wrist will promote blood flow because it is closer to your heart. Then we visited the shop part, where they had things for sale ranging from under 100 yuan to well over a thousand. Most of the pieces were very beautiful, and they had display cases of things inlaid with gold and silver.
After the jade place, we went to the site of 13 emperors’ tombs as well as some for their concubines and such. There we explored the spirit walk, which consisted of many loyal subjects of the emperors and animals that were supposed to protect them. There were always two pairs of animals, one standing and one sitting/resting. This is because when it was being constructed, the people believed that the animals watched and rested in pairs, and that they would switch places with their partners every night. There were animals both real and mythical, like lions, camels and dragon turtles. The walk was pretty long, but a lot of the animals were fun to sit on and take pictures with.
Then, we went to a cloisonné shop and learned about how they made things like pots and vases out of copper and then painted them. Basically, you know how everyone thinks Ming pots are porcelain? They’re not. They’re made of copper and paint. Then we went upstairs for lunch before going back down to shop. And then two huge groups of Caucasians just flooded in!! The first was French and the second American. Talk about culture shock!! We also saw a vase that cost about $2.5 million yuan. It was pretty huge.
After a brief lunch, we headed out to the Great Wall. It was farther out from the center of Beijing than I had originally thought. After driving for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, we began to see the mountains leading to the wall and we took lots of pictures. We had a couple hours to climb a certain section. We set out. Some people instantly took off, while the rest of us stopped to take pictures. There were so many people holding on to the rails on each side of the wall – not to mention all the people climbing this certain section of the wall at the same time – so staying in big groups helped with all of this. As we climbed higher and higher, we took lots of breaks. It takes a lot out of you climbing that wall. We ended up taking off layers of jackets and sweatshirts that we had been wearing because the weather got warmer, and it was a pretty nice day to climb. My group finished climbing to the highest part of the wall on the small section that we climbed, and we were worn out. Some of my group had to sit down and catch their breath while a few people wanted to keep going higher and higher up the mountain. It was surprising to find so many shops and street vendors along certain parts of the wall. Seeing pictures of the Great Wall before coming to China, you would expect just the wall but the vendors were selling “I climbed the Great Wall” shirts and sweatshirts. There were hats, scarves, mittens and gloves, stamps, and a bunch of other things. Even though it was hard to get up to the high point we reached, it was totally worth it. The view up there was so cool, and you could see nothing but mountains and more of the wall in the distance. It was really pretty.
After the wall, we drove to a theater. It was time for us to see a Chinese acrobatic show. Before getting our seats, we bought all this food. Some stuck with popcorn and a drink, and some of us found Korean cookies, Chinese oreos, skittles and potato chips. Once the show started, we were all staring at the stage in amazement. One man was able to balance on a chair really well, but then more and more chairs were added until the last chair almost touched the lighting at the top of the stage, and the man was still perfectly balanced. There was a big sphere-shaped cage where all these guys rode motorcycles into, and the door to the sphere was closed and they circled round and round perfectly. Some girls rode on bicycles, but then all piled onto one. At the very end, all the performers came onstage for bows, and the girls returned dressed as all of the Disney princesses. Overall, it was a very amazing performance.
The show was really good, but the highlight had to be eating at Quan Ju De, the Beijing Roast Duck restaurant. Before actually getting the roast duck, we were served other foods, too. First came the tea, then rice, vegetables, pork and fried duck. Finally, a man came out with the roast duck. It was a nice brown color and looked delicious. We started taking pictures and watching the man slice the duck into very thin slices right in front of us. As soon as it reached our table, we immediately took a thin circle-shaped slice of bread or pancake, put several slices of duck meat on it, added some thin slices of celery and spread a thick brown sauce over top. We were shown the proper way to wrap the bread up into a mini sandwich, and we dug in. I actually wasn’t expecting the duck to be spectacular or anything, but it was. We spent the next half-hour or so rapidly serving ourselves the crispy slices of duck meat and wrapping them up in the sauce, vegetables and bread. That was one of the – if not the best – meals we have had in China, and this was also the best day we have had in China.
Day 10 (Final Day in Beijing) by Kendall Silwonuk and Libby Sirak
This morning we woke up early to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo. We were all a little shocked at how dirty they were because of the smog, but they were still very cute. One spent 20 minutes pacing around the door of his cage, waiting to be fed. He even stood up on his hind legs and did a “spin move” twice. Next we visited Tiananmen Square, which was exciting. It was packed with tourists and locals alike, and had a monument and huge LED screens. Here we took pictures with adorable babies. After this we walked to the Forbidden City. We were shocked when a baby peeing on the ground welcomed us, but the rest of the city was humongous and beautiful. The many buildings looked alike and it was very confusing. We were relieved when we got to go to lunch and ate some authentic food. The only disappointing part was the rice because the rice in Beijing is nothing compared to the fried rice in Suzhou. The restaurant served egg drop soup and dumplings along with meatballs and fried noodles.
After lunch, we took the bus to a Beijing school where students go to classes in the morning and then practice sports the rest of the day. We got to watch students of all ages training. We saw gymnastics, martial arts, badminton, boxing, ping-pong and golf. We all felt lazy when we saw 6-year-olds tumbling on the balance beam when we could barely walk up the stairs. Next we went to the teahouse, where we sat through a tea ceremony and got to sample different types of tea. Some were cleansing teas and had a lot of health benefits to help with high cholesterol and other problems. There was also a dried fruit tea, and you could eat the dried fruit used to make it. If we purchased anything at the store, we got a clay “pee-pee boy” which is used to tell if the water is hot enough to make tea.
Finally, we arrived at the most anticipated site of the day: the silk street mall. On the way there, Yan Laoshi demonstrated how to bargain with the shopkeepers, and we tried to haggle the tour guide for more shopping time. We had two hours to cover a six-story mall full of small stores selling everything from phone cases to Chairman Mao t-shirts. There were a lot of impressive bargains that people found. Nathan was able to bargain a 2000 Yuan pair of (fake) blue Gucci shoes down to 300. We also encountered some mean storekeepers, who pushed us and aggressively questioned us if we did not buy their products. We were excited to compare all of our souvenirs on the bus ride to dinner. Dinner was okay; it was a little bit like a transition meal back to Western food, but we all would have rather had authentic food, like more Beijing duck. Also, they did not serve fried rice or tea, which have been staples at every meal on this trip. At dinner we all talked about how we were surprised by how much fun we had on this trip, and that we did not want to get on a plane back home. We even asked our tour guide Angela if she could make us miss our flight in the morning. If we did, we would stay at her house and baby-sit her adorable daughter for free. Overall, the trip was amazing – everything went very smoothly, yet we still had a lot of fun. We will come home with many inside jokes and memories that we will never forget.
Day 6 (Second Day in Xi’an) by Robbie Foley & Andrew Kennedy
Our last day in Xi’an was probably the most fun and got better through out the day. We started out by waking up earlier than normal and driving for an hour to a Han Dynasty tomb. We were able to compare the Han Dynasty tomb to the Qin Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors. We drove back to the city and visited the Big Goose Pagoda. We ate lunch at KFC, which was different from an American KFC. Within the Da Ci’en Temple around the Pagoda, we saw some of the most splendid Buddhist idols and statues. Some of us also tried bargaining at the gift shop. Next, we visited the Muslim area of Xi’an. We made our way through some of the most crowded and claustrophobic areas we have ever visited and found ourselves in an old and unique mosque. After enjoying the old architecture, we shopped in a narrow alleyway and had a great time bargaining for really cheap and very funny merchandise. Next was the bike ride on the Old City Wall. This was so fun. The wall was fairly smooth, the bikes were nice and there was a great view. Whether you raced the nine miles or slowly biked along one side of the wall, it was a highlight of the day. We visited the hotel for a break but then left again to go to a local Islamic restaurant for some lamb and other food. The food was very good and the meal was great, but we were all very hot at the end and ready to go back to the hotel and sleep. Overall, it was one of the most fun days of the trip, being able to interact with locals by bargaining for prices and visiting the Old City Wall.
Day 7 (First Day in Beijing) by Zach Shepelak and Carter Kistler
We began our morning on this beautiful day by waking up at the unreasonable hour of 4:00 a.m. Still slightly jetlagged, we packed our carry-ons and walked down to breakfast. The previous night we had placed our checked luggage in the hallway to be picked up prior to the flight. Two anonymous people, the type of individuals who you would not expect to be such troublemakers, had decided that the decorative Chinese spiked brass knuckles and ninja stars that had been bought from a Chinese street vendor in the shady, back-alley section of Xi’an would be a great idea to bring on a plane and that nothing could possibly go wrong in this situation.
Our class rode to the airport and sure enough when we got there, two of the bags had not passed inspection due to metal objects hidden within. A Chinese airport official led these two people into a separate room away from the rest of the group. I had refused to participate in these weapon-purchasing shenanigans so I was unable to see what happened behind the frosted window of the Chinese airport security. When I saw my classmates come out of the room, I saw sadness and despair written across their faces because of what just transpired. I asked them what happened in the room and they responded with, “Yeah they just said we couldn’t have sharp things in our checked luggage, so they made us throw them away.”
The rest of the day was a blur as we all walked around in a half-meditative state due to a lack of sleep. I do recall that the Summer Palace was quite incredible due to its vast body of water surrounding the temple. It was also fun because there was a mass amount of people that we could photo-bomb (sneaking next to someone for an awkward picture). Another highlight of the day was when we arrived at our lavish Beijing hotel, and they had a 24-hour McDonalds next door. Overall it was a great day.
Day 8 (Second Day in Beijing) by Emily Cipriani and Leya Mohsin
In the morning, we finally got to sleep in until seven! Yay! At breakfast, we saw people drinking suspicious looking green stuff, so we went to go investigate. It was… kiwi juice! When it was time to get on the bus, we ran kind of late because a couple guys, who will remain unnamed, got lost in the hotel.
We went to the Temple of Heaven, which has been converted into a park for senior citizens. The actual temple was a place where the emperor went to worship. There a lot of old people dancing, playing badminton and practicing Tai Chi. It was adorable. Our tour guide Angela brought a microphone today, so we could hear her!
Then we went to a pearl factory. We watched a woman murder an oyster, and then we raided the bathroom in a magnificent stampede. Then it was time to shop, which consisted mostly of spending large sums of money, drinking tea and eating corn-flavored candy. There was a lovely translation on our paper teacups which I will type up for your enjoyment: “Tea it is for drinking, hair absolute being agriculture surname, smell in the ru a king’s. The as early as absolute being agriculture is period, tea and its medicines use the value already disheveled hair now, and be used by medicine to turn into gradually daily life beverage.” Inspirational.
After that, Leya and I rode in a rickshaw together. As we were riding, a woman rode up next to us on her bike, waved some scarves in our faces and shouted, “Hey! Silk Scarf!”
We looked at each other, and I (Emily) said, “No thanks. We’re not interested.”
“Oh! Not interested? How about Chopstick!”
“No. We don’t want that either.”
“Not interested? Say, are you two American?”
“No, we’re Canadian.”
“Oh, Canadian. Bye!”
She biked away, and Leya started laughing. Later another street vendor on a bike asked the woman, “Are they American?”
“No, they’re Canadian!”
Later we confessed to out rickshaw driver that we are indeed from the U.S. of A. We rode to lunch, which was awesome. We went to an old couple’s home and ate real home-cooked food… probably the best food we’ve eaten this whole trip.
The old man (Zhang Shushu) was an extremely talented artist. We learned that during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, most of the people in his art school were sent to work in the fields, but he was assigned to paint pictures of Chairman Mao’s face to place in every family’s home. After lunch, the old woman Bai Ayi taught us how to make dumplings. A lot of people gave it a try, but most of the dumplings we made turned out looking more like crocodiles or canoes rather than actual dumplings.
Then we visited a Buddhist temple called the Lama Temple. It was beautiful, though the smell of burning incense made some people feel not so fabulous. The temple was originally built to send a message to Tibet that China is on their side. The signs above the entrances were written in Manchurian, Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian, which is an excellent example of cultural diffusion (our history teachers would be so proud). Angela turned off her mic and told us quietly that there used to be a lot of Buddhist people in China, but when Mao Zedong took over all religious people were mocked as “superstitious.” Instead of focusing on religion, people were forced to focus on Mao, reciting Mao’s book every day and learning to obey his command more than a god’s.
Then we had dinner, which involved not only many dishes but also enormous bowls of noodles for each person that were bigger than our faces. Only two people succeeded in eating the entire bowl: Nathan – which was not surprising – and me (Emily), which was also not surprising considering my Italian genetics.
Then we went to a tea house to see a show. The show had several short acts ranging from traditional Chinese opera to rapping. I’m not sure how popular the opera was. It kind of sounded like a very high-pitched fire alarm. Libby ran on to the stage when volunteers were requested for a magic show. Some of our favorite acts were a hand puppet show and kung fu.
Day 9 (Third Day in Beijing) by Kristie Sun and Sydnie Boykins
So this morning we first went to a jade shop, where we were shown how to sculpt and craft jade, and learned about the different types (soft, hard) and what they’re used for (sculptures, jewelry). We also learned about how jade is considered to be good luck and protection, different traditions involving jade like the giving of a family bangle from mother to daughter on the daughter’s 16th birthday, and the idea that a jade bangle on the left wrist will promote blood flow because it is closer to your heart. Then we visited the shop part, where they had things for sale ranging from under 100 yuan to well over a thousand. Most of the pieces were very beautiful, and they had display cases of things inlaid with gold and silver.
After the jade place, we went to the site of 13 emperors’ tombs as well as some for their concubines and such. There we explored the spirit walk, which consisted of many loyal subjects of the emperors and animals that were supposed to protect them. There were always two pairs of animals, one standing and one sitting/resting. This is because when it was being constructed, the people believed that the animals watched and rested in pairs, and that they would switch places with their partners every night. There were animals both real and mythical, like lions, camels and dragon turtles. The walk was pretty long, but a lot of the animals were fun to sit on and take pictures with.
Then, we went to a cloisonné shop and learned about how they made things like pots and vases out of copper and then painted them. Basically, you know how everyone thinks Ming pots are porcelain? They’re not. They’re made of copper and paint. Then we went upstairs for lunch before going back down to shop. And then two huge groups of Caucasians just flooded in!! The first was French and the second American. Talk about culture shock!! We also saw a vase that cost about $2.5 million yuan. It was pretty huge.
After a brief lunch, we headed out to the Great Wall. It was farther out from the center of Beijing than I had originally thought. After driving for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, we began to see the mountains leading to the wall and we took lots of pictures. We had a couple hours to climb a certain section. We set out. Some people instantly took off, while the rest of us stopped to take pictures. There were so many people holding on to the rails on each side of the wall – not to mention all the people climbing this certain section of the wall at the same time – so staying in big groups helped with all of this. As we climbed higher and higher, we took lots of breaks. It takes a lot out of you climbing that wall. We ended up taking off layers of jackets and sweatshirts that we had been wearing because the weather got warmer, and it was a pretty nice day to climb. My group finished climbing to the highest part of the wall on the small section that we climbed, and we were worn out. Some of my group had to sit down and catch their breath while a few people wanted to keep going higher and higher up the mountain. It was surprising to find so many shops and street vendors along certain parts of the wall. Seeing pictures of the Great Wall before coming to China, you would expect just the wall but the vendors were selling “I climbed the Great Wall” shirts and sweatshirts. There were hats, scarves, mittens and gloves, stamps, and a bunch of other things. Even though it was hard to get up to the high point we reached, it was totally worth it. The view up there was so cool, and you could see nothing but mountains and more of the wall in the distance. It was really pretty.
After the wall, we drove to a theater. It was time for us to see a Chinese acrobatic show. Before getting our seats, we bought all this food. Some stuck with popcorn and a drink, and some of us found Korean cookies, Chinese oreos, skittles and potato chips. Once the show started, we were all staring at the stage in amazement. One man was able to balance on a chair really well, but then more and more chairs were added until the last chair almost touched the lighting at the top of the stage, and the man was still perfectly balanced. There was a big sphere-shaped cage where all these guys rode motorcycles into, and the door to the sphere was closed and they circled round and round perfectly. Some girls rode on bicycles, but then all piled onto one. At the very end, all the performers came onstage for bows, and the girls returned dressed as all of the Disney princesses. Overall, it was a very amazing performance.
The show was really good, but the highlight had to be eating at Quan Ju De, the Beijing Roast Duck restaurant. Before actually getting the roast duck, we were served other foods, too. First came the tea, then rice, vegetables, pork and fried duck. Finally, a man came out with the roast duck. It was a nice brown color and looked delicious. We started taking pictures and watching the man slice the duck into very thin slices right in front of us. As soon as it reached our table, we immediately took a thin circle-shaped slice of bread or pancake, put several slices of duck meat on it, added some thin slices of celery and spread a thick brown sauce over top. We were shown the proper way to wrap the bread up into a mini sandwich, and we dug in. I actually wasn’t expecting the duck to be spectacular or anything, but it was. We spent the next half-hour or so rapidly serving ourselves the crispy slices of duck meat and wrapping them up in the sauce, vegetables and bread. That was one of the – if not the best – meals we have had in China, and this was also the best day we have had in China.
Day 10 (Final Day in Beijing) by Kendall Silwonuk and Libby Sirak
This morning we woke up early to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo. We were all a little shocked at how dirty they were because of the smog, but they were still very cute. One spent 20 minutes pacing around the door of his cage, waiting to be fed. He even stood up on his hind legs and did a “spin move” twice. Next we visited Tiananmen Square, which was exciting. It was packed with tourists and locals alike, and had a monument and huge LED screens. Here we took pictures with adorable babies. After this we walked to the Forbidden City. We were shocked when a baby peeing on the ground welcomed us, but the rest of the city was humongous and beautiful. The many buildings looked alike and it was very confusing. We were relieved when we got to go to lunch and ate some authentic food. The only disappointing part was the rice because the rice in Beijing is nothing compared to the fried rice in Suzhou. The restaurant served egg drop soup and dumplings along with meatballs and fried noodles.
After lunch, we took the bus to a Beijing school where students go to classes in the morning and then practice sports the rest of the day. We got to watch students of all ages training. We saw gymnastics, martial arts, badminton, boxing, ping-pong and golf. We all felt lazy when we saw 6-year-olds tumbling on the balance beam when we could barely walk up the stairs. Next we went to the teahouse, where we sat through a tea ceremony and got to sample different types of tea. Some were cleansing teas and had a lot of health benefits to help with high cholesterol and other problems. There was also a dried fruit tea, and you could eat the dried fruit used to make it. If we purchased anything at the store, we got a clay “pee-pee boy” which is used to tell if the water is hot enough to make tea.
Finally, we arrived at the most anticipated site of the day: the silk street mall. On the way there, Yan Laoshi demonstrated how to bargain with the shopkeepers, and we tried to haggle the tour guide for more shopping time. We had two hours to cover a six-story mall full of small stores selling everything from phone cases to Chairman Mao t-shirts. There were a lot of impressive bargains that people found. Nathan was able to bargain a 2000 Yuan pair of (fake) blue Gucci shoes down to 300. We also encountered some mean storekeepers, who pushed us and aggressively questioned us if we did not buy their products. We were excited to compare all of our souvenirs on the bus ride to dinner. Dinner was okay; it was a little bit like a transition meal back to Western food, but we all would have rather had authentic food, like more Beijing duck. Also, they did not serve fried rice or tea, which have been staples at every meal on this trip. At dinner we all talked about how we were surprised by how much fun we had on this trip, and that we did not want to get on a plane back home. We even asked our tour guide Angela if she could make us miss our flight in the morning. If we did, we would stay at her house and baby-sit her adorable daughter for free. Overall, the trip was amazing – everything went very smoothly, yet we still had a lot of fun. We will come home with many inside jokes and memories that we will never forget.
