Journals
Marc – Week #8 - Final Journal
Over the course of our eight weeks stay in Beijing, I have learned a lot about myself (在北京逗留八周的过程中, 我学到了很多关于自己的知识). I have been able to reflect on new experiences that I wouldn’t have even expected before we came. I think I have matured more and learned how to work with other people to agree on stuff. As a group, I think the nine of us have come a long way. We have been able to get over disagreements, and at the end of the trip I think I we all get along most of the time. There have been times throughout the trip when we didn’t get along at all. In Xi’an, there was a lot of disagreement but we made it out alive, and I think it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Excursions like when Billy and I went out on the town by ourselves taught us to be independent. The fact that we were surrounded by a different language; was a fun bonus challenge as well.
We learned to navigate the city, negotiate with a sparse knowledge of the language, and manage our money well. By the end of the trip we were masters of the Beijing transit system. We would go out for dinner all the way across the city then wander around under the tallest building in the city, trying to access a roof only to be denied at every stop. We could get anywhere we wanted by subway and a quick walk. The bus system wasn’t preferred but we could figure it out if needed. After one excursion to malls around Xidan(西单) and Dongdan(东单), Billy lost his subway card only to find out in the subway station while we were trying to get back. I tried to sneak him in with mine, but ended up only losing money and leaving immediately. It was a struggle but we were able to get home after hours of trying to hail a cab and reading signs. Interacting with the locals was really fun. Owners of stores and restaurants were usually really friendly and inviting. I think they might have been more inviting because we were Americans but they like to joke around and practice their English. I’m really glad I had a friend like Bill on the trip. Not only because he’s one of my best friends, but he’s really outgoing and not shy at all when meeting new people. Without him, I’m not sure I would be friends with nearly as many of the kids in our classes. I’m going to miss a lot of the kids here when we leave. We wanted to see them outside of school so we could see them off the basketball court. The girls wanted to do karaoke because they heard about it from the kids that went last year. So, we asked all our siblings if we could do it and finally David ended up being the one that set it up. We went out to barbeque, which the others didn’t seem to like, but I thought it was great. It was essentially grilled seasoned meat on a stick. After we had dinner we went to karaoke and even more kids came. There are some big obvious differences between home and here. It’s very different living in city then the rural setting we live in at home. If I wanted to hang out with my friends at home it would be a process to get a ride somewhere and we would usually just be stuck in one of our houses. Here I can just go out with Bill and we can either walk or take the subway somewhere new every day. I’m going to miss a lot of things about China when we get home, definitely how cheap things are, but I miss Wayland and am ready to go home.
Juliette – Week #8
Living in China has been such a different experience from living in America, as I have for my whole life. It is more different than I expected it would be. One cultural difference between China and America is the differences in food. In China, they have many traditional Chinese dishes and they always eat those. In America, we have traditional dishes, but a lot of the food we eat is from other countries, such as pasta and pizza from Italy, and burritos and tacos from Mexico. I noticed that in China this is not the case and they rarely have restaurants of other cuisines. The way they have meals is also very different in China. They almost always have breakfast and dinner together as a family. This is different from my house where we all eat at different times because we have busy schedules, and having dinner as a family every single night is not a top priority. One of the big things that I will miss is how food is such a big part of the culture. I will miss always having freshly cooked hot meals every day.
Another difference between the culture in China and America is how the parents treat the kids. In America, many people have more than one kid, so the attention of the parents is divided amongst all the kids. In China, most families today only have one kid because of the One Child Policy, so all their focus is on that one kid. They spend a lot of time making sure their one kid is successful in life. Even though Chinese parents usually only have one kid to focus on, from what I have seen Chinese kids tend to be more independent. Where we live the parents usually spend a lot of time helping their children with school and driving them everywhere. In China, I have noticed this is not the case because Chinese kids are often motivated to spend a lot of time studying and doing homework, and they don’t need discipline from their parents after getting a bad grade.
Something else that I have never experienced before coming to China is living in a city. Beijing has such a huge population, and you will always see so many people on the streets and in shops. This is so different from in Wayland where there is a small population and it is way less crowded. Living in an apartment is also so different from living in a house. It is very interesting to experience what it is like to live in a small apartment with only 1 bathroom. Also in Beijing, transportation is much easier than transportation in Wayland. Everything in Beijing is so close together. My host family’s apartment building is just a 10-minute walk from the school, which has been so nice. Other modes of transportation in Beijing are by subway, bus, or bike. I will really miss how easy it is to go anywhere in Beijing. This has been much easier than Wayland because here we can travel anywhere we want by ourselves, but at home we would have to get someone to drive us everywhere.
Another difference that I have noticed between China and America is the importance of family to them. In China, they spend a lot of time together as a family. They also stay close with extended family their whole lives. In my family, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles all live far away and I usually only see them once a year. This is different from China because lots of families live together in one house, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and children. Even the families that don’t, will often visit extended family every few weeks or even more than that depending on how close they live. China and America have so many cultural differences, but I am so glad I got to have the full experience of living in Beijing and I know I will miss it so much.
Jules – Week #8 - Wrapping it up:
I can’t believe I have spent two whole months in Beijing. It truly has been an experience. I have learned not only of the people (人民), the culture (文化), the food (食品), the city (城市), but also about myself. I think I have grown into a new person from this trip, and I’m grateful for that. It’s hard to believe I just witnessed the series of events that I will be remembering for the rest of my life. I just experienced the stories (故事) I am going to tell for years and years. I was just living in the place where I learned so many lessons. There is no doubt in my mind that my life would be drastically different if it weren’t for this trip. Along with learning information, facts, and stories, I learned things that helped me grow. I really stepped outside of my comfort zone (舒适区, comfort zone) and pushed myself. That resulted in learning patience, communication skills, independence, respect, and safety. Because this trip puts us into a place so vastly different from Wayland; We had to learn how to navigate a city and how to be safe in one.
Trying to communicate (沟通) with people who don’t speak your language can be a struggle, but it also helped me learn parts of their language (语言) and them, parts of mine. I learned a new way of respect (尊重). There are different expectations and norms regarding respect and I found it interesting to find out what those were. Even though at times it was hard being away from home I learned to stay positive and present. Not only have I learned about these things, but I have learned how China and America differ. I see differences in how people act in general. Maybe because we’re in a city, but everyone always seems to be in a rush (赶紧); people always look like they’re on the move. I would say it seems chaotic, but it’s not a bad thing. Also, there are great differences with the relationship between cars and pedestrians. In China, you really have to be on your A-game and keep an eye out because even if you have the signal to walk, cars are still driving through the cross walk.
Then, I see some differences at school too. One thing I noticed was that in classes, the kids will talk over the teachers throughout class and not once will the teacher tell them to quiet down. I found that very interesting because I thought it would have been stricter seeing how important school is here. I know that in America, the teachers often find it very disrespectful (不敬) and distracting if you’re talking while they are, and I have to say I agree. Another difference I saw was in places such as aquariums or some tourist attractions. They were always overrun with tiny kiosks filled with stuffed animals and games. Anywhere in the city there are always people trying to sell you things, but I thought that in an aquarium it would be focused on the animals! I was so surprised to see so many arcade games and gift shops in there when the space could have been used for more educational purposes. Also, when we went on our hike, there were countless stops along the way with shops and restaurants. Around every corner someone was trying to take a photo of us and have us buy it. Just let me enjoy nature!
There are many other differences between the two countries, and I am glad about that. Without any differences, this trip would have been very boring (无聊)! I can definitely say that this trip was far from that. Even though I am excited to go home (家), I know I will dearly miss all the people I met here. Especially my host family. I think that will be the thing I miss the most. They were so incredibly kind (特别亲切) to me and did so much, I don’t even know how to thank them. Not even just that, but they are truly fun people! I am so lucky to have spent these two months with them and I know my stay wouldn’t have been what it was without them! This is definitely not the last time I will see them, and I can’t wait until the time comes when I see them again.
Emmie - Final Journal Entry
As I expected, I definitely experienced moments of culture shock during my time here in China. The night we arrived, my family took me out to one of their favorite restaurants, which was my first moment of culture shock. I knew that the food and restaurant were going to be something new for me, but I never expected to be so shocked by the bathrooms (洗手间). They were completely different from what I was used to. This is such an odd thing to write about, but I still remember the situation perfectly, and how I was feeling at that moment. There were many other moments like this, that I had experienced throughout the duration of my trip, due to all of the differences between America and China. There were obvious differences like the food (食品) and religion (宗教), but there were also ones that I didn’t expect. One big difference that I really noticed was the social atmosphere in China.
Many kids in China don’t see or hangout with their friends outside of school due to other commitments they have, which are usually school related. I found this interesting because I spend time with my friends whenever I get the chance. My host sibling, Aspen, went straight home every day after school and rarely saw his friends on the weekend because he was busy with his extra classes. He got to spend time with a few of his friends because they did Model UN together, but that is about it. My host father was almost never home, so when the weekend rolled around, it was usually just me and my host mother. One thing that I found a little difficult to get used to was everything that had to do with transportation (运输); the crazy drivers, the pollution (污染), and all of the bikes in the street. I walked almost everywhere I went in China, and I always had to be very careful of my surroundings. It was like playing a game of Crossy Road! The cars and bikers did not stop for people, did not stop for red lights, and only cared about getting to their destination in a timely manner. Due to the large population in China, the streets at any time of the day are always busy, which makes for very chaotic (混沌) roads. The population and the number of cars is the reason for the pollution problems. Wayland does not have any pollution, so I did not enjoy this.
The school aspect in China compared to America is also very different. Every morning, the students and staff are required to participate in “morning exercises” and flag raising (升旗), which is mandatory and has strict rules that the students must follow. The whole school and education system in general is just very different from Wayland High School, with much longer days and much more pressure to excel in academics. One thing I’ve noticed and didn’t like was how the teachers kept boys and girls separate from each other. Any time there was a group activity going on that included boys and girls, they were made to separate into categories of their own sex. In the classroom, only girls are paired to sit with girls, and only boys are paired to sit with boys. I find this quite sexist (性别歧视), and I believe it portrays a very negative expectation and message for the students to follow.
Although there are many differences between China and America, there are also some similarities (相似 之 处). I always thought that Americans used an excessive amount of technology (技术)—which we do—but Chinese people do as well. For some reason, I thought that people in China would use less internet and be less technology driven since the government censors much of their media, but that is not the case. Chinese people are almost always on their phone. Another thing that I was very surprised about was the behavior of Chinese students. I had the stereotype in my head that they were very respectful to their teachers, and that Chinese classrooms were very strict, but they really are not. From what I experienced, the students call out, make snarky remarks to their peers and teachers, and often times don’t pay attention. The Chinese students are much more similar to American students than I thought. Since the Chinese students typically have a lot of studying to do, I also thought that they would be too busy to take part in sports (体育), but I was wrong once again. Volleyball, basketball, running, badminton, soccer, and dancing are very popular here, and a lot of kids from school are involved in these activities.
My time here in China is shockingly almost over. These past two months have consisted of so many amazing things that I will never forget. I really enjoyed living in the city. Wayland is a very secluded town, and you have to drive everywhere. Living in the city makes everything so much easier, and very convenient. Beijing is such a large city, and fortunately we got to visit all over. Every place we visited had its own unique aspect to it, and felt different from the others.
One of the highlights from my exchange was our day trip to 798 District. This place had such a good vibe to it, and was full of art, which I am super interested in. I would go back there in a heartbeat. Another thing that I could never forget is how nice everyone was to me. I remember on our first day of school, everyone would come up to me and say hello, no matter their age. It made me so happy and I felt so welcomed. Their kindness didn’t stop. Up until my last day of school, they continually still greeted me with such enthusiasm. I felt as if I were friends with everyone, and there is no better feeling than that.
I will miss everyone so much (我会很想念大家的). Of course, there is no way to forget the famous attractions we saw. China has so much history, and it is all incredible! I still cannot believe that I got to see the Great Wall of China (中国长城), when I was only 15 years old. I feel so fortunate to have been given all of these opportunities. This exchange was such a learning experience for me, and I could not have wished for a better trip.
Duncan – Week #8 Journal
I would never have thought that I would go to China, but I am so glad that I did. When I first went to the informational meeting for the exchange program, I was too afraid of the commitment and I thought I would never sign up. But my Father convinced me, even though I knew it would take up a lot of time and make much extra work. But, an expression that I have learned here is: “风向转变时,有人筑墙,有人造风车” which means: “Through sacrifice/hard work comes greatness”. A 5-page essay, 3 recommendations and an interview later, I was condemned to be sent to China. I barely thought about the trip at all until about a month before we were scheduled to leave.
Once I got here I was bewildered, tired, and hungry. This trip has been a huge journey for me, possibly the greatest learning experience I have ever partaken. Through these 2 months I have been completely baffled by Chinese customs, as well as American customs. What I mean by this is that after seeing some Chinese customs I began to question my native American customs: As a whole the Chinese people I saw were restrained in showing affection in public. Maintaining eye contact was considered intrusive and a physical embrace was reserved for close relationships. I thought that these were very strange at first, but I realized that some of their customs such as being more reserved in public are not any stranger than showing much emotion in public, like we do. After all, I consider it strange because it is foreign, but it is actually more “efficient” at creating a smoothly working society, similar to a well-oiled machine.
Shaking hands is something that the Chinese expect to do with foreigners but it is not traditional according to my research. Things that we take for granted have only recently been accepted in China, for instance clapping hands used to be used to drive out evil spirits not to show appreciation. Facial expressions are kept to a minimum and these characteristics have made foreigners such as I use the term ‘inscrutable’ to describe the lack of apparent reaction. I find this creepy in the way one might think a horror movie with moving stone statues creepy, but after all, it does make for a well-oiled society.
Whilst in China we thought that spitting was disgusting, but apparently spitting is a cultural tradition. Apparently it was considered unhealthy to swallow spittle and so spitting is something that still occurs particularly in rural areas. Strangely, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was admired for his ability to spit with perfect aim directly into a spittoon. Spitting was also considered a defense against demons, they don't like being spat at, so, strangely a passing funeral was a focus for spitting. In recent years the government has tried to reduce spitting in public but with limited success so far. Though we as Americans think that spitting on the ground is very unruly, it really isn't much more than a basic bodily function to salivate. In America we think that bodily functions are gross, but Chinese consider them natural: farting, burping, and spitting are all acceptable. I would argue that this is a sign of a more advanced culture, as these things happen anyways, and we might as well accept them, instead of denying that they happen.
On the other hand, Chinese culture is much more oppressive of females: I rarely see males taking care of children unless they are grandparents, similarly I have never seen a male cook unless it was at a restaurant and there I have never seen a professional female cook, I notice that the societal norms for women are long skirts even though it consistently reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit. In America we might consider these things to be oppression, but the Chinese don't even think about it.
I am so grateful to have been able to come to China and be able to think critically about these things. I will miss China when I leave, but until then I will try to make the most of it. As the Chinese say: “读万卷书不如行万里路” which means “Reading ten thousand books is less than journeying ten thousand miles”. In this spirit, I could never have learned what I’ve seen from books. I will never forget this, and for that I am so unwaveringly grateful.
Billy - Week #8 Final Journal
Looking back at these 8 weeks, I feel as if I don’t even know where to start. I think this has been the quickest 2 months of my life, and I believe that my fellow peers and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.
I can remember the first day here just like it happened yesterday. After the long car ride home from the airport, I sat in my room and took everything in. I couldn’t even realize that this room, bed, and desk were going to be mine for the next 2 months. I would not even be able to picture me in 2 months writing my final journal of our trip. This trip has been compiled of things that I have expected and not expected, but both did never disappoint. I would say that the first couple weeks of the trip were the rockiest. We were just getting settled in and it was starting to dawn on us that this would be the normal routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, walk to school, have morning exercise, begin classes, leave after school, have dinner and go to sleep. It felt so alike to being back home in Wayland, yet it also felt so different. After our week in Xian, we started to begin our back end of the stretch to June 3rd.
With more experience around in the city, came more freedom to be alone. If I was not going to go to my grandparents after school with Tony, I would leave school early and tell my parents. We were starting to understand the neighborhood and how to get around on trains or buses. I was feeling more confident walking around in the city alone.
I think that one thing that always forgets to be remembered is how much your own host family has an impact on your trip.
Every family has different rules, hobbies, personalities and more; so everybody has a trip that is reflected on by their host family. For example, I would go to eat with Tony after school every weekday at our grandparents’ apartment that was in-between our school and our house. At the same time, Marc never met his host grandparents. This is an example of how one person’s trip can be altered greatly by the family, but of course this does not mean that one trip was “greater” then the other .
During our stay, we were gifted with seeing some of China’s greatest accomplishments, such as the Great Wall of China, Terracotta warriors, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Drum Tower and more. Of course the Great Wall stands out of all of these structures and visiting this might be the most memorable moment of this trip, but I do not believe that this is what I am going to take away the most.
I believe that the one thing I learned most about this trip is the amount of untrue stereotypes given to Chinese people. As soon as Marc and I got to the school, we easily started making friends with people in our class. The easiest way to connect with somebody is to be able to share and find your similarities together and avoid your differences. Of course there were some differences of culture that were rooted to some stereotypical truth, as all stereotypes root back to some reality in all cultures. One big connection that we had with some of the students in our class was basketball. Not only did they love playing it whenever they could, but they were also big fans of the NBA. This was fun because at the time of our stay, currently, the NBA playoffs were unfolding (.这是有趣的, 因为在我们的逗留时间, 目前 NBA 季后赛正在展开。). We were able to have some fun and hold joking conversations about basketball and our cultures. Coming into this trip, I did not think I was going to be able to befriend some kids in our class because of stereotypes.
And that to me is what I believe is the most important part of this trip. When this is all over and we are back in Wayland on our regular routine, what is the one thing that the people we interacted with are going to remember about us? Was this person the shy quiet person that seemed secluded, or was this person the outgoing friendly kid that always tried to talk to me? The impression that we give our friends and family here is the direct thought that is considered when Ethnicity, Country and Race is thought of as a whole. It needs to be remembered that for some of these people, this is the first time that they are interacting with somebody that does not look like them and possibly the last. Everybody knows that first and last impressions matter and I hope I left a good one.
I think that this trip has grew me out of myself and shown to be the most life changing experience that I have ever seen. I have become more interested in learning about different cultures and experiences. After just 2 months of growth, it is hard to believe where I am now; I almost thought this level of growth would be unattainable.
Aydan - Week #8 - Reflection on Trip
I was reading over my daily 日志 (journal) entries and I was shocked to read about how fast I became comfortable in a completely new 房子 (house), 家庭 (family), and 国家 (country). Right away I was hanging out with the family, going to a painting class, and loving school. I immediately felt so at home with my host family and it felt so normal so quickly. The trip went by so fast and although of course there were hard times when I was missing home, overall it was an 精彩体验 (amazing experience). Although China is on the other side of the 世界 (world) and has very different characteristics than America, some things are very similar. It surprised me to realize that these 2 countries could be so far apart but so similar at times. One big 相似 (similarity) that I noticed was in school, kids in both countries have roughly the same attitudes. I talked about this in another journal, but I had really expected everyone to be super serious during school hours but; just like at home, kids are talking and joking during class. A 差异 (difference) that I noticed in school was that in China everything they do revolves around the huge test senior year. Although sometimes they are joking around, 学校 (school) is very intense and many of them take extra classes. My host sibling usually only has one free day on the weekend since the other is taken up by extra classes. I asked him why he takes so many extra classes on top of his normal school classes and he explained that it’s all to prepare him for the huge test senior year. Here in China at school, I haven’t seen any competitive 体育 (sports) teams that you can join. They all practice basketball and volleyball during free time but not on actual teams that compete against other towns. Everyone’s main focus is school where as back at home, sports can be just as important as school. In Wayland, there are so many sports teams to join every season and many kids take them very seriously. Another big difference that I’ve constantly been noticing is that in China, girls and boys are separated. Any time they have to line up, whether it’s for a field trip, morning exercise or anything else, there are two lines, one for boys and one for girls. They are also mostly separated into desks with the same gender. During P.E, girls and boys do laps in two separate groups and the teams are all girls and all boys. There was also only a volleyball tournament for the boys and the girls just had to stand on the side and watch. I don’t understand why the school separates girls and boys so much. What’s the point? That definitely affects friendships and causes girls to only be friends with girls and boys to be friends with boys for the most part. Even though I’ve been pointing out many differences, so many times throughout the trip I have forgotten that I’m actually in China. I’ll be doing something and then think “Wow I’m actually half way across the world.” Just from looking around, it doesn’t seem very different from America at all. Before I got here, I thought it would be a drastic difference but I was surprised to find that it actually isn’t. I think what I will 想念 (miss) most from China is the food and my host family. I love noodles and dumplings and I’ll be sad to leave those. I’ve also built such a great relationship with my host family and I’ll miss spending time with them along with the grandparents. I hope they come to America and visit my family. I’ll also miss how close everything is in the city. I love just walking to the mall or to markets. It was great to experience living in a city for so long. I’m ready to go 家 (home) but I will also miss my time here so much and I hope to come back later in my life. I think this trip has really influenced my personal growth. It has taught me how important it is to experience different cultures, and step out of your boundaries and experience something new. Being apart from my family for such a big chunk of time has also shown me just how much I love them and how important they are to me.
Audrey - Week #8 - Final Journal
Throughout my stay in 北京,中国(Beijing, China) I have noticed many 相似(similarities) in the ideology of China and 美国(America), but also many 差异(differences). I think that the 学校(school) system is very different in China versus the United States. Both countries do take education very seriously, and are big parts of both countries, but there are two different systems of education. In China, each high school student takes eight classes every day and more classes after school. I have noticed while here that all of the Chinese students are constantly doing 功课(homework) and schoolwork and studying very hard in each of their subjects.
In both China and the United States, 购物(shopping) is a big part of 文化(culture). At 家(home), I go shopping at the mall a lot, and in China we are constantly going to different parts of Beijing to see different little shops and explore the city. Although in both countries shopping is normal, in China bargaining is also normal. In America people can almost never bargain, except for on cars and house, but not much else. Whereas in China; you can bargain on almost everything. At first, I thought that 讨价(bargaining) was rude, but now I have gotten used to it, and actually really enjoy getting a huge 折扣(discount) just by punching in numbers in a calculator.
Another thing that is very different between the two countries that took me a while to learn and adjust to is meals and etiquette. At home, there aren’t that many rules surrounding etiquette and table 礼仪(manners), and everyone in my family kind of just made their own meals and ate separately. But in China, eating together is a must, and there are many rules that are just known. Over the last several weeks, I have picked up on a few rules that we follow at the table like, we wait for everyone to finish eating before we go to our rooms, we should try every dish, we shouldn’t leave food in our bowls, it should mostly be silent while eating, try not to drop food while lifting to our bowls from the center dishes, and eat with the chopsticks properly. In America, I think that most people would tell you if you are making a mistake or doing something wrong, but in China people will not tell you because they want to be polite. So, if you are doing something wrong, no one will tell you anything, so you have to be very careful not to offend anyone.
One last similarity between America and China that I have noticed is the train system. Both of the train systems are very big and important to both countries. In America and in China you can get almost anywhere by the train in the cities. At home, I have taken the train with my friends many times to get into Boston, and navigating is very easy. In China, after school and on the weekends, we often take the 地铁(subway train) for about an hour to an hour and a half and we are then exposed to a completely different part of the city. The train systems are very easy to use and very modernized in both countries.
Although I am excited to see my 朋友和家(friends and family), I will definitely be sad to leave China. I will miss my overprotective and caring Chinese family that did everything possible to make me feel welcome in their home. I will miss being able to go on so many small trips to different parts of the city with all of the kids, and shopping at cute little stores to get gifts. I have learned so much about the Chinese culture throughout my time in China, and I am so lucky that I got such an amazing opportunity to see what daily life is like for students on the other side of the world.
Week #7 Journal - 798 District
My host family introduced the 798 District to me in the beginning of the week, and I was immediately interested. They described this as a very artistic (艺术) and creative (创造性) place, that is different from most other places we have visited. I couldn’t really picture a place like this in Beijing, due to the environment (环境) I have been living in. I imagined that this district would just consist of different art galleries (美术馆), and possibly some interesting artwork on the street. 798 exceeded my expectations, and had all of this and so much more. It took a little over an hour drive to get there, and it was so worth it. Many of the walls had very detailed paintings and graffiti covering them, and occasional sculptures that were made in the streets. Almost instantly, just from looking around I knew that this was considered a nicer area of Beijing, and that I would not find many vendors (供应商) trying to sell their stuff here. Although there were no markets, there were plenty of cute shops where we could buy things. I found this pretty refreshing because for once, I didn’t have to bargain to get an item for a reasonable price. One of my favorite aspects of this place is the uniqueness of the area. Every store has its own funky feel to it, and interesting things to buy. I bought a lot of items for my family, friends, and teachers that I think they will like. There were so many different cafes, and you could find at least one on every street. We explored a couple of them, and they were very trendy. We ate at a bistro for lunch and everyone ordered a salad (沙拉), which was a little taste of home for us. For the most part, this was a very clean location and it was put together really well. Even though there were so many different styles found within the district, somehow it all blended together in a way that works, which is just like the art that is found here; one of a kind. I am so glad that we got to visit this area, and it was definitely a highlight of my experience in China so far. I think that this district helped with my understanding of the Chinese culture. I learned that there are many different lifestyles that people are choosing to live. I proved to myself that I can get past my preconceived vision (先入为主的愿景), and it opened my eyes to see the all of the aspects that China has to offer. We all really enjoyed our day trip here, and I am hoping that we get to go back before our time in China is over.
Emmie
Week #7 Journal
Amusement Park
Saturday, May 19 th , the eight of us planned to meet Bābǎoshān (八宝山) station at nine o’clock and go to Happy Valley amusement park. We had been planning this trip for a while. Well… we never had a good plan we just kept saying, “We should go to the amusement park”. We finally decided that we were going to go. We were going to take the subway by ourselves but James’ and Lilly’s dad said that they would take us. It was a pretty long drive because I think the park is on the other side of the city. As we sat outside the gates waiting for tickets we received a voice message from Mr. O’Connor. He didn’t think going across the city by ourselves, on the subway, was a good idea. None of us were going to worry about it till Monday though (我们没有人会担心它, 直到星期一, 虽然). As it is we got a ride and didn’t take the subway. We entered the park and right at the front the largest roller coaster there looms over the entrance. Excited, we walked around in search for the line to get on the ride. We were quickly disappointed when we saw how long the line was. I wasn’t that disappointed because after seeing how high it was I was kind of scared. I’m usually fine on roller coasters, but when I was young I was terrified of them and some PTSD of that still lingers on. Anyways, we quickly moved on to another roller coaster. The next one was threaded in and out of a fake mountain put in the middle of the park. This one’s line was significantly shorter, but still a wait. Close up from the line, you could see how scarily close the roller coaster went to the sides of the fake mountain. This also wasn’t a traditional roller coaster. The track was overhead, and you sit in chairs that lock you in till you can’t move. Then the seats all flip back so everyone is staring at the ground. I didn’t think it was that scary until we started climbing and we were dangling over nothing. I was quickly distracted from this though when I saw a woman wearing a 76’ers jersey waiting in the line. It’s funny how fast my feelings of fear changed to anger and pride for Boston when I saw that women…Back to the roller coaster. Going down was maybe the worst part of the roller coaster. The feeling of free falling, head first, was not fun; even though we were strapped into the seats beyond belief. Loops facing outwards were also a new experience for me because I haven’t been on that many rollercoasters. I think we had a lot of fun on this excursion. I think as a group we can tend to argue quite a lot about almost every decision. On the contrary, during that day, I think we did a pretty good job of not arguing about anything. Aydan, Jules and Juliette seemed to be the least comfortable around roller coasters, but in a group, it’s hard to sit out. They all quickly, and impressively may I add; grew out of their fears. As for me, I think I grew because through debates like where to go next, or what to eat for lunch, I fought between my eternal natural instinct to try to make all decisions and my other instinct to hide all my anger and not make any decisions. I think I was able to find a healthy balance and help the group and participate in decision making, and just not saying anything and going with the flow. I’m still working on it but I try my best to practice the daily preaching’s of Mr. O’Connor, “Be flexible.” (灵活)
Marc
Week # 7 Journal
East Beijing
This weekend we went into 東北京 (East Beijing) for the first time. Some of the boys had been there before and had said it was really cool, but I had never seen it and wasn’t sure if it was going to be as amazing as they had made it sound. For the first time, we went on a weekend trip without all the parents. We were all excited since it would be more chill without them and we could now do our own thing and make our own plans. However, this did mean that we would have to pay attention to everything around us and figure out where we were going and which stops to get off at on the subway since there was no one there to tell us where to go. Before we got on the 地鐵 (subway), Mr. O talked about how it was possible that we might get split up since there are so many people and if that happened we should wait and meet up at the next stop. I was a little nervous we wouldn’t be able to find where we were headed, but I knew that in the end we could all figure it out. We easily made it from our part of Beijing to East Beijing. When we got out of the subway station and onto the road, this area seemed not too 不同 (different) than where we lived. I was confused on how this could be seen as such an amazing and different part but as we kept walking it started to change. Everywhere we looked we saw cool little 咖啡館(cafes) and 餐館 (restaurants). The cafes had lights hanging everywhere, plants scattered throughout, and long nice wooden tables.We don’t see much of that here in West Beijing. And for the restaurants, they weren’t the typical 中文 (Chinese) ones with the food spinner at the center of the table. These were really nice and they all seemed like they had great 食品 (food), unlike some of the restaurants that we usually see. This area looked like somewhere that could be seen in America. This section was a pretty big 對比 (contrast) to where we are living. Where we live, some parts are more run down. Here, we could see that a lot of 錢 (money) went into everything, and it was definitely the 富裕 (wealthier) part of Beijing and more upscale. There were huge malls all around us, even outside malls that went on forever. Although these 2 areas are in the same city, they are so different. For almost all of the 2 months we are in the same section of Beijing so it was really nice to leave that area and explore a different part. I love where we live but I also loved seeing a new section of the city. By exploring East Beijing it has reminded me to make sure I always see and explore all parts of somewhere, not just the part that I’m use to and comfortable with.
Aydan
Week #7- Out and About
Recently in Beijing, us students have been allowed to walk (走zǒu, walk) to and from home (家 jiā, home) and school (学校 xué xiào, school) alone (独自dú zì, alone). Seeing as it’s the nearing the end of the trip, I feel that’s appropriate. From the beginning, I felt I had a pretty good grasp on my surroundings (环境huán jìng, surroundings), but I certainly do now. When my host sister Lily had to go to a Model UN conference for a few days, I was on my own (靠我自己kào wǒ zì jǐ, on my own). Thinking back on it, walking around alone didn’t even feel like it had any significance. Maybe this was because I had been walking only with someone my own age and not an adult so it softened the blow to when I was alone, but I was still surprised. If you really think about it, you’re fifteen, alone in a city half way around the world, and unable to speak the language. That seems pretty intimidating (恐吓 kǒng hè, intimidating)! Yet, when it came down to it, it wasn’t. It’s the norm for kids to get around on their own when they live in a city, and that’s not just for Beijing. Kids who live in New York have the same responsibilities (责任 zé rèn, responsibilities). Coming from a small suburban (郊区 jiāo qū, suburban) town where you have to drive everywhere, walking around was different enough. However, I thought that being on my own would come with this exciting feeling, but in reality, it just felt normal. Earlier in my trip while Lily and I were walking to the food store, I asked her if she would usually just go alone to run errands such as these. She said yes and that it was normal for kids to just go out on their own to restaurants (餐馆cān guǎn, restaurant) or the mall (商场shāng chǎng, mall). That is not the case back home, but one of the big roadblocks is that it’s basically impossible to walk anywhere! I thought that was very interesting, and it must be cool to grow up and live in a city where everything you could ever want is right outside your front door. I’m wondering if things will feel different when we get home. Maybe because we’ve been exposed to this independence, we will feel restricted (限制xiàn zhì, restricted). I think that at home, it may even be safer than it is here! The way people drive here is very different from in America. As a pedestrian (行人xíng rén pedestrian), you really have to be cautious and aware of your surroundings. Of course, whenever you’re walking around a city you need to be careful, but especially in Beijing! Before I came, I didn’t think how being a pedestrian would be different. I did think about being more independent, and I think I have grown in that respect. I will definitely take the things I’ve learned about living and being in a city and apply them when needed. These are great skills (技能 jì néng, skills) to have!
Jules
Week #7 The Amusement Park
This Saturday we had the opportunity to go to by far the biggest amusement park I have ever seen. It is located in the southeast of Beijing and is called Happy Valley. I’m not a very big rollercoaster person myself, and these rides were something I have never even seen before. Not only was the park extremely huge, but every ride had an absurd amount of twists and turns. When we got there, I had a combination of nervousness of the ride and a past stomach ache, so I wasn’t feeling too great to ride one of the biggest amusement rides in the world. Happy Valley had many amazing rides that were all extremely thrilling, but there was one ride that was much scarier and bigger then the rest. This mammoth of a rollercoaster was called the Railway Speedway. You start out not moving, and immediately bolt straight forward like a rocket ship and then straight up in a corkscrew shape. You then immediately turn into a gigantic drop, which was the highest point in the park. You then go straight down underground and back up for a couple more loops and flips until you stop and it’s all over. Looking at this, I would definitely not have done this alone. I only did this because of the pressure of my friends. As we waited in the long line my anxiety would increase the closer we got to it being our turn. I kept seeing groups and group of people enter the building that the rollercoaster started in, until it had been about 30 minutes of waiting and we were just ready to board our “Spaceship”. The group of people in front of us that we were going to be riding with seemed about as scared as us, and they even translated on an app to ask if we wanted to go in the front because nobody wanted to see that drop. Thankfully, Marc, two other guys, and I got the best part of the rollercoaster. Not in the very front to see everything, but not in the very back to get dragged down on the drop. The guy next to me was very funny and nice, and we were able to joke with him the whole time. We even took a photo with him after. The most stressful part is the countdown to the speedy part. You can hear a faint (yì èr sān) from a speaker and away you went. The blast jerked all of ourheads forward and I felt like a couldn’t move. We then immediately jolted straight up into a corkscrew and braced for the gigantic drop. The view from the top was magnificent (If only I had my eyes open). After the big drop, the rest of the ride was a breeze. To me, I really felt like I personally grew from this experience. There was nothing better then finally being done with the ride after it was bugging me for so long. I forgot just how great it feels to be accomplished with something. I think that the one thing I learned from this is to seek discomfort, because it means that in some way, you are growing either mentally or physically.
Billy
Week #6 - Overcoming shyness one experience at a time!
Last Sunday night, Lydia, the girl that stayed at my house two years ago when my brother John took part on the same program, invited me for dinner with her family. Going into the night I was a little nervous because I had never met her family, and the last time I saw her was over two years ago. She and her parents picked me up at my building at four o’clock. I won’t sugar coat it; the beginning was very awkward. I wasn’t quite sure why they wanted to invite me in the first place. I suppose it’s just the Chinese nature (我想这只是中国的天性).
On the way to their apartment we picked up Jessica, who stayed at someone else’s house two years ago. I remember her being good friends with Lydia but there’s no chance I could pick her out of a crowd. When we arrived at their building we waited outside for a couple minutes for a friend of Lydia’s mom. I think the only reason she came was because she wanted to meet an American. As we walked in to their apartment I wondered if this is what is was like for my brother everyday while he was here. It felt weird thinking that the area I was walking through he had walked through every day for six weeks.
Once in their apartment, the adults chatted in Chinese while Lydia, Jessica, and I played a game. I recognized the game to the point that I had flashbacks of playing when I was much younger. I still needed a quick refresher of the rules. The game was like Tetris. Everyone had their own color and a bunch of shapes made out of multiple squares. I won the first game and the father was impressed but I got the impression that it wasn’t that hard to win, and each game was up to chance.
We went out for dinner at a restaurant walking distance from the house. It was a chain restaurant that I had been to in a different location already with my host family but there are certainly worse restaurants we could’ve gone to. At dinner, I sat in between Lydia and her father (晚餐时, 我坐在丽迪雅和她父亲之间). Her dad seemed really nice and cool. He didn’t let not knowing English stop him for a second. He would say something to me in Chinese and I would hope Lydia was listening so I could quickly receive a translation from her then give her dad a simple response, usually not more complicated than a yes or no with an appropriate nod or shake of the head just in case.
Although the night started awkward I think it was a good experience to learn how to just talk to new people. I think it’s cool that I can meet up with a group of people on the other side of the planet and just have dinner with them. As for personal growth… I think I’m typically pretty shy with new people. So, I think it was a connection with, as my dad always says, “These are the people that you’ll be able to call when you’re older when you need something.” Although I feel weird around people I don’t know well, I think that experiences like going and playing a board game or a card game with Lydia and Jessica will help me personally grow out of my shell a little bit.
Marc
Week #6 - The Concert!
When we got back from the Great Wall of China and ready to rest and get back to the usual schedule for the week ahead, we were struck with the news that we would be singing with our class at a music performance in the east campus the next day. We had about 1 day to learn the 2 songs that we are singing in a different language and the dance moves and formations that go along with it. After careful memorizing of the song and dance, we just decided that it would go better if we would wing it and guess on the spot. The next day after lunch when we were changing into our black pants, white shoes, and tight pink “Cimber lovers” supreme style font on the t shirt, we all made our way over to the east campus auditorium to get ready. Our class all had the same exact shirt on, but the guys would wear black pants and the girls had a white skirt. Class 2 had Emmie, Aydan, and Jules, Who wore a white shirt under what looked like a German elf costume. The older grade went first, with the crowd clapping and snapping to the beat like it was a type of music performance back home.
When our class was about to be on deck for our stage time, we slipped out the back door of the auditorium and made our way downstairs and up again to get right behind the stage. Sadly while we were in the back preparing, The girls of class 2 and the other kids were performing, so we were not able to watch them. When class 2 was done and the muffled applause faded from the other room, we got into lines and slowly marched out into the formation we were to get into. The first thing I noticed in the crowd of the whole JSYY School was the principal and her council next to her sitting in the front row (我在整个 JSYY 学校的人群中发现的第一件事是校长和她的议会坐在前排。). But there was no time to take it all in, as the background music for our song came through the speakers. The longer that the song would go on, the easier that we could remember the chorus and be able to sing it.
Looking around at the crowd and people joking and laughing, I realized that this was not that important. I found the American girls in the crowd laughing at us, and I couldn’t help giggling on stage. Aydan’s exchange student, Lorrie, suddenly took out his phone and turned on the “flash setting” and started waving his phone like a concert in an arena. Suddenly one became 2, and more, and more, until a whole chunk of the crowd looked like a music tour from a pop singer. As much as people say that China is strict, these kids are just like any other.
Billy
Week #6 - Summer Palace
Today we visited the Summer Palace (頤和園) as a school field trip. We started out at 7:10 a.m. in about 3 coach busses. After about a 20 minute bus ride we all piled out of the bus, and were immediately welcomed with 95 degree air, with 80-90 percent humidity. First, we all receive our tickets from a guide, then piled onto a boat, which took us through some of the canals in the Summer Palace. After cruising round for a little bit, we got off of the boat and started a walk around a man made pond covered in willow trees. Apparently, willow branches ward off disease according to Chinese legend, which is why they were planted around the Emperor’s mother’s palace. After we made our way around the man made lake we were greeted by a large palace, with many buildings. Each and every building was painted in bright and vivid hues of green, yellow, blue, and red. From the other side of the lake we could see oriental looking boats giving tourists rides around the lake. Strangely enough, most of the tourists were Chinese, and I only saw a few people that looked European. After a while, we stopped to eat lunch.
During lunch, we all sat in a pagoda like structure, laughing and eating. Then we started actually learning about the summer palace. The palace’s construction started in 1153, and was ordered by emperor 完顏宗幹. The hill that the buildings are built on is called longevity hill, and is shaped like a bat because bat in Chinese sounds similar to good fortune in Chinese. The design of the Summer Palace was based on a legend in Chinese mythology about three divine mountains in the East Sea, namely Penglai, Fangzhang (方丈) and Yingzhou (瀛洲). The three islands in Kunming Lake– Nanhu Island (南湖島), Tuancheng Island (團城島) and Zaojiantang Island (藻鑒堂島) – were built to represent the three mountains, while the lake itself was based on a blueprint of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Besides, many architectural features in the palace were also built to resemble or imitate various attractions around China. For example: the Phoenix Pier (鳳凰墩) represented Lake Tai; the Jingming Tower (景明樓) resembled Yueyang Tower in Hunan. I didn’t understand anything the tour guide was telling us, but my host sibling filled in the gaps for me. After all this learning, we took some pictures and waited for the bus, all of us exhausted. After a bus ride back that I slept through, we all went home, and that was the end of a very interesting day.
Duncan
Week #6 - The Xi’an Bazaar
Throughout the weeks that we have spent in China, we have had many shopping trips and excursions. One of my favorite shopping trips in China and in my whole life has been visiting the 市场(Bazaar) in 西安(Xi’an). The Bazaar is an enclosed marketplace or street where goods are sold. The bazaar that we visited was very busy, extravagant, and full of people. There was a main street where mostly foods and snacks were sold, and then surrounding the main street there were little side streets where they sold almost anything. There were a lot of fake brands and small souvenirs’. We all split up and then went off to go stop for about three hours. At first, I started to look around and I found a lot of things that I liked, but when I went to different stores I realized that all of the same things were at different prices, so I knew that I had to 砍价 (bargain).
At first it was hard, and a little awkward to bargain, but after a while I realized everyone was doing it. I came up with a strategy and steps to follow to definitely get the lowest price. In one of the stores I found a really beautiful 玉 (jade) necklace that I wanted to get for my mom. So, I asked the owner of the shop how much it was and she said four hundred and eighty yuan. I told her that that was way too much. Then she told me that she would give me a “student discount” and would make the price only two hundred and forty yuan, which was actually not that bad but I thought that I could get it even lower. I stood there waiting for a while pretending to think about it, and then the owner lowered the price to two hundred yuan. After that I countered with one hundred yuan and she said no, but offered one hundred and fifty yuan. So, then I started to walk away and say that it was too much, but she called me back with one hundred and twenty yuan. But I told her that I only had one hundred yuan, so she reluctantly agreed.
These methods really worked for me, and I soon got insane discounts on everything that I purchased. Sometimes after I decided that I didn’t want something and I walked away, the store owners would yell after me and it would sometimes make me feel very uncomfortable, but I knew that it was not personal and they do that to everyone. I think that stores and markets in 美国(America)are very different. In America, it could be seen as rude to ask for such a large 折扣(discount), but in China it is just normal. 这是一个有趣的经历,我学到了很多(It was a very fun experience that I learned a lot from). This experience taught me how to bargain well, but also to do so politely to not be rude. I have learned more about the Chinese culture from experiencing Chinese shopping.
Audrey
Week #6 - Making New Friends
I have noticed during my time in China so far that all the people here are so 友好 (friendly), outgoing, and eager to 用英语说 (speak in English) with us. Whenever I pass someone in the hallway at school, they always wave or say hello. This is so different because when our 交换学生(exchange) students were in America, everyone at school treated them as regular students, and they acted the same way towards them as they would to anyone else. But in China, they are so 欢迎 (welcoming) towards anyone from a different country. I experienced this 差异 (difference) when I was walking home with James one day.
James had just finished his last class and we left school to go home for the day. We had just walked through the gate into the area where our apartment building was. Then I heard two little girls across the 操场 (playground) yell “Hello!” At first, I didn’t think they were talking to me, but then I realized I was in China and they wouldn’t be saying hello in English unless they were talking to me. I waved and said “Hi” back and the two girls came running over. The first one asked me where I was from and I told her I was from 美国(America). The other girl said, “Are you one of the exchange students from Wayland?” The first one hit her and said, “you know she is!” We all laughed. “How long have you been here for?” They asked me. I told them I have been here for a few weeks.
We started talking some more and I found out they were 双胞胎姐妹 (twin sisters), which didn’t surprise me because they looked exactly alike. They continued to tell me about their 家庭 (family) and their pet dog, and their favorite things to do here in China. I talked to them about what my life was like in America. They asked me tons of questions before we got to their building. The two girls told me to have fun during the rest of my time here and waved goodbye. It surprised me how fluent their English was the whole time we were talking. They seemed about the same age as the kids we talked to in English corner, but these girls could talk in full sentences without pausing at all. As we were walking away, even James commented on how good they were at speaking English.
This experience showed me how different the people are in China when it comes to foreigners in their country. In America, people usually aren’t as accepting of people from other countries living in the United States. I feel like in China everyone is so much more excited to welcome foreigners into their country. They are willing to try to learn about what life is like in the other countries and become friends with them.
Juliette
Week #6
Shopping lamp; Bargaining
Being five weeks into this exchange program, we have had many different shopping experiences from grocery stores (杂货店), markets (市场), malls (商场), and a bazaar (集市). China has so many interesting items that it is hard not to shop! Although there are many differences from back home, there are also many similarities! In the grocery stores, they have a lot of the same products and food that we have in America. The only things I have personally bought from the grocery stores are different candies (糖果), as presents for my family and friends. The checkout is mostly the same as back home, besides the fact that we have to pay for our grocery bags (杂货袋)! The mall is pretty similar to the grocery stores. All things on display are labeled with a price—which is usually so expensive—and if that is so, you cannot bargain (讨价还价) for it. The reason you cannot bargain at malls is because the stores have verified prices through a legitimate company, opposed to something on the street.
At the markets, the checkout is a little different. A lot of markets don’t have their items priced. Once you ask how much a certain item is, they tell you and we decide if you want to bargain or not. If we are at a convenience store or food market, I usually don’t bargain for a price, because the prices are typically reasonable. If I am at a market that sells clothes or shoes, that is where I begin to bargain. The cashiers see that I am American, and they think I am gullible (容易受骗) of buying something for an insane price. If I really like the item, I bargain for a decent price, and sometimes I just walk away to show the cashier that I am not foolish (愚蠢) and I will not waste my time on their cheap and often fake items.
My favorite shopping experience so far has been the bazaar. There are just streets filled with all different kinds of things! We went to one in Xi’an, and I spent around 600 yuan there. There are a lot of the same things throughout the bazaar, and so if one seller is asking for too much money, you can go to another vendor and find the right price. Since there are so many vendors, the sellers are very persistent, which makes it easy to bargain the items down to a low price. My proudest bargaining moment was for a Chinese robe for my dad. The woman at the vendor asked for 485 yuan ($80 USD), which was crazy, and I bargained it down to 50 yuan ($8.3 USD)! It took a lot of time and convincing, but it was worth it. The trick to bargaining is to start really low, so you can come to a price that is fairly inexpensive, but still decent for the seller. I would also pretend to walk away like I wasn’t interested, and she would call me back immediately and offer a lower price. There were robes all over the bazaar, so I wasn’t worried if I couldn’t get this one, but the lady selling it was easy to convince so I stuck with it. When I finally got it to 50 yuan I was extremely excited. I wasn’t just excited about the actual robe, but I was proud of my techniques and abilities that I applied while I was bargaining. From this experience, I believe that I gained more confidence in my bargaining, as well as knowing how low I can really get certain things.
Emmie
Week #6
A new home sweet home
Although initially I had a hard time adjusting and acclimating, I’ve found that I am very comfortable here now. I really saw the transition from how I used to feel to how I feel now when we were coming back from Xi’an. Most vacations (假期 vacation) you take are usually around one week, which is the same amount of time we were away. While we were packing up on the last day, I found myself excited to be back in my Beijing home (家 home). I was surprised that this familiar “going home” feeling (感觉 feeling) was coming over me. I have definitely felt this feeling before, but it’s usually when I’m going home home. This really showed me that not only had I gotten through that homesickness (想家 missing home) funk, but that I had made a home for myself here in Beijing.
There is no doubt in my mind that my host family (接待家庭 host family) is to thank. They are the ones who really made it easy for me to acclimate. Just as anyone’s family would, they give me space when I need it, always offer food or anything else I might need, always help me get anywhere I need to be, and more. It really is a great feeling knowing that even when you’re halfway around the world (世界 world), you can just plop yourself into a family and still feel just as loved (爱 loved) .
Before I left for Xi’an, I hadn’t yet realized that I had become so comfortable (舒适 comfortable) in Beijing. Although all the amazing activities I took part in while we visited Xi’an are great takeaways, this realization I had is also something I’m grateful (感激 grateful) for. I think that when I go back to America I will be more than happy to see my family and be back in my own routine, but I will also dearly miss this home that has been made for me. I know that this is true for my friends too. I truly hope that Lily felt the same way when she came to America. I can imagine how hard this experience would be if you didn’t enjoy being in your home. As the weeks have gone on I have been able to be and act more myself at home and when I’m with Lily. This is such a great feeling. I am beyond grateful for all that my host family is doing for me and happy to say that I have another home here, halfway around the world.
Julianna
Week #5
The Great Wall
On Sunday, the Wayland kids and Chinese families took the 2 hour trip out to the country to witness one of the greatest man made accomplishments of all time, the astounding Great Wall of China (在星期日, 韦兰的孩子们和中国家庭花了2小时的时间去乡下, 目睹了有史以来最伟大的人之一, 这是中国令人惊叹的长城。). We woke up super early to leave on a private ordered bus that met at the front of the East campus at 6:30 on the dot (not including a late arrival by Juliette and Jules forgetting her passport at the last minute). As we drove out to the country, Marc and I were closely watching the Celtics playoff game on his phone, with an outcome in our favor. We first saw the wall before we were even prepared, with what looked like a never-ending line that stretched so far out until it was not visible.
We all got out and made a group decision that it would be better to hike up the top instead of cheating and taking a lift to the top. I think seeing the Great Wall in person really shows just how big it is. Seeing just with my eyes the distance that it protected, and knowing that such a little fraction of the wall is visible for me right now isn’t comprehensible. This part of the wall that we visited was built during the Ming Dynasty, meaning that it must have been built around 500 years ago. That means that with the technology that was accessible by the Chinese people in the 16th century was used towards the making of this wall. Not only was the wall huge, but this was some of the toughest terrain to carry stones up and down. Marc, Duncan and I hiked ahead of the group with my host mom just not so far behind us. May I note that this was NOT as hard as climbing the mountain in Xian, but it definitely comes in as a close second.
After about 2 or 3 times that we thought was the absolute highest point that we could reach, we were greeted again by yet a higher mountain with a crowd of busy people running up and down. With us huffing and puffing for breath, my 5 foot host mom is right behind us and hasn’t even looked like she has broken a sweat. When we finally got to the top of the highest accessible point, I reenacted the scene from “Rocky” where he throws his arms in the air on top of the steps. The view from this point almost looked like it was from a postcard. You could see the Great Wall stretch forever and a mist looked down on the mountain valleys. A lot of people have asked me about that trip, saying, “Was the Great Wall of China actually worth all of the hype?”
This would be my response: Coming out of this trip there are 2 things that I’m always going to remember. Always expect the unexpected, but at the same time have no expectations. Almost every good or bad stereotype I have pictured when thinking about Chinese people, culture and landmarks has been shoved right back in my face. However, now seeing the Great Wall of China, I can tell you that it is everything you have ever pictured and more.
Billy
Week #5
Fight the Landlord!
One of my favorite memories that I have had with my host family so far has been playing 打牌 (cards). After dinner Linda and I were talking in the living room when my host 爸爸(father) came in carrying cards. Linda then asked me if I wanted to play a Chinese card game and I excitingly agreed. We played a very confusing game called 鬥地主 (Fight the Landlord). You play by dealing out all of the cards to the players and leaving the extra cards in a pile. Then whoever had the three of hearts was called the “Landlord” and the other people were all on a 队(team). Then the landlord picks up all of the extra cards and shows the other people those cards. The landlord would go first and put down the first card, and then the next person would have to go and put down a card even higher. If you did not have a card higher, and therefore could not go, you would say, 过 (pass). Then this would go in a circle until no one else could go, and the last person to put down a card would start.
The goal was to get rid of your cards, or have your partner get rid of all of their cards. It seems pretty simple, but you can put down doubles, triples, triples with one extra card, triples with two extra cards if they are the same, or cards that are all in a row like 五,六,七,八,九,十 (5,6,7,8,9,10) if there are more than five.
When we played I just happened to have the three of hearts and was therefore the “Landlord”. I was very confused and overwhelmed by all of the 条例 (rules), so I tried to just follow along and mimic what Linda and my host 妈妈 (mom) were doing. I found it very interesting that in the game they used 小子 (jokers) because in most American card games we discard the jokers. The order that the cards were in was also different from most American card games, the jokers were the highest and then the two’s followed by the normal order (king, queen, jack, ten etc.).
While playing the game Linda and my host mom would often quickly throw down cards and start shouting Chinese words really fast, so I think that they are very competitive and get really into card games. 我真的很喜欢和家人打牌 (I really enjoyed playing cards with my family), and I am so excited to get better and play again, or to maybe teach them one of my favorite American card games.
Audrey
Week #5
Biking the Wall
Day one In Xi’an (西安) and Abby has us riding bikes on The Xi’an wall. It’s pretty self-explanatory that the Xi’an wall is a wall that goes around what used to be all of Xi’an, but now there are buildings outside of it. I didn’t really know what to expect before we got there. We walked up the crooked steps to the top of the wall and I thought it was pretty crowded to be riding bikes (骑自行车). I guess it would be like riding bikes on the street but safer because there’re no cars driving seemingly aimlessly. Soon we would be the nine ugly Americans riding bikes aimlessly.
We noticed there were a lot of tandem bikes and instantly Billy and I were in. We asked Abby if we could take one of them and she was happy to rent one for us. I was a little nervous due to my lack of confidence in Billy’s bike riding ability, but I made up for it in my false confidence in my own. I do have a little fear of heights, and anywhere falling from heights is possible makes me a little nervous. Luckily, the satire of a couple of guys riding a tandem bike on a wall distracted me from all nerves. Once we were on the bike all my previous nerves only intensified. We had quite a lot of trouble getting going the first time. It was really hard to balance at first and not being able to do so scared me a little because I didn’t want to be the kids that held back the group. It’s a good thing we have determination in urgent times like these. With a lot of awkwardness, we were able to start crawling forward foot by foot. Once we started really cruising all the imbalances were balanced out. Our Yin (阴) and Yang (杨) were flowing now. As soon as we got the hang of it, it became really fun. So fun it was disappointing when we had to get down and walk a portion of the wall. We felt like pros when we got back on the bike farther around the wall. We led the pack the rest of the way around. Billy and his lack of biking ability didn’t do much pedaling in the back. He was busy taking videos on his GoPro. The closest feeling to when he started pedaling is when you’re playing Mario kart and you get a golden mushroom.
Looking back, I don’t regret trying the tandem bike at all. I think that the Xi’an wall is probably one of the cooler places to try one. I think it symbolizes our trip pretty well so far (我认为它象征着我们的旅程相当好到目前为止) . Trying something new because you most likely won’t have the chance again is almost always worth the nerves before. After four weeks, here I realize almost every aspect of life is different. I think that means I might as well try everything I can if it means riding a two-person bike on a wall or taking a roller coaster down the side of the Great Wall (长城).
Marc
Week #5
Weekend after Xi’an
We got back from Xian at about 9:30 on Friday night. We were all exhausted so we all went to bed almost immediately. On Saturday I stayed in, and my only excursion outside was to get a hair comb, and a nail file. I got a little distracted on my errand and ended up purchasing a calligraphy brush and ink. I learned many new characters while trying to find a suitable last name for myself. I ended up deciding on the last name 石; which means stone. I picked the name because my favorite activity has been stamp carving. So, at this point in time my Chinese name is 石 冬川 Shi DongChuan; which means Stone Cold River, with Stone being my last name. After practicing calligraphy for a while some of us connected on the group chat, and then we all went to sleep.
The next morning we all got up very early, ate breakfast, packed our bags frantically, then met at the front of the school at 6 o’ clock a.m. From there we all took a 2 hour bus ride to a section of The Great Wall 中国的长城 in a place called Badaling 八达岭长城. After we had all regrouped and gotten our tickets; Marc, Billy and I began our journey to get to the highest guard tower. The wall was very crowded, but everything seems to be crowded in China, so it did not bother us too much.
The wall had stairs in some places and simple ramps in other places to deal with the hilly landscape. This made the hike significantly harder, but still not that hard, all said and done. The view from the wall was fantastic! The mist in the valleys between emerald green mountains looked so serene it seemed unreal. Once we finally reached the top we had to wait for the rest of our group, which arrived about 30 minutes later. From there we started the trek down, which was significantly faster, also aided by an alpine slide like contraption that took us to the bottom of the mountain from halfway up for a fee of 10 dollars.
After getting down there were some miscommunications about where certain individuals were and while that was being sorted out we looked at some cute bear thingies that I could not describe if I tried. After chilling out with the bears for a solid 20 minutes, we regrouped again, and waited. We must have waited for about an hour until the bus finally came to pick us up. I do not believe I have ever felt such gratitude for AC as that moment getting on the bus. From there we all went home and took “a rest” as our parents like to say. And such the journey to the Great Wall was concluded.
Duncan
Week #5
Dumpling’s w/ My Family
Every weekend, my host family and their relatives get together for at least one meal. It was Saturday morning, and my mom told me that after breakfast we would be going to her sister’s house to make dumplings (饺子). I was excited because dumplings are one of my favorite Chinese foods, and I had yet to cook food with my host family. I had gone to the aunt’s house twice before, but I was not allowed to help in the kitchen until now. My mom and I walked over to their apartment, with everything I needed for the rest of the day, since I had plans later that afternoon. My sibling, Aspen, had classes that day so he wasn’t able to join us.
When we got there, the aunt and grandparents were working in the kitchen. Aspen’s cousin was sleeping. The aunt told me sit down on the couch, and she fetched me some tea (茶). I had some tea and snacks (小吃) while I waited to be put to work. My mom called me over to the dining room table, as she was rolling out the dumpling dough. There were two large bowls filled with the dumpling filling, and mats for each of us to put the made dumplings on. I was told that one bowl had only vegetables, and the other bowl had both vegetable and meat. The grandfather showed me the steps of how to make the dumplings, and had me try along the way. We both laughed at 试图沟通 (trying to communicate) with each other in our own language, even though we knew neither of us could understand each other. My mom and my aunt kept telling me I was doing a great job, but I could tell that I wasn’t. There was one step that I found very difficult; squeezing the dumpling to give it a more circular-shaped look, after the edges were creased. Before we started making the dumplings, I had no idea how we were going to use all of the filling in the two bowls, but it actually went rather quickly. The grandmother kept coming out with more and more, and we filled, flattened, and creased until the dough was all out. They informed me that the remaining filling would be put into buns later on.
I went to the bathroom to clean my sticky hands, and when I returned all of the dumplings were gone from the table, and put into the water to cook. They cooked in no time, and before I knew it they were on the table waiting for me. I could tell which ones were mine, due to their floppy shape. The dumplings were so good (饺子太好吃了)! Personally, I liked the vegetable and meat one the best, but they were both delicious (美味). Instead of plain soy sauce, they dipped their dumplings into a sauce mixed with vinegar (醋), and I really enjoyed it. I ate way more dumplings than my stomach could handle, but each and every one was amazing.
I was so happy that I was invited to cook with them. At first, I was worried about how we were all going to communicate since Aspen was not there to translate (翻译), but it ended up being a great time. I got to bond with my family in a different way than I could by just eating a meal together, and I got to experience the cooking methods behind a very 传统食品(traditional food). My personality (性格) really came out during our dumpling making, and they made me feel that I have always been a part of the family (家庭).
Emmie
Week #5 Journal
A Trip to the Doctor
An interesting experience I have had so far in China is going to the Chinese 医院 (hospital). When I woke up on Friday morning, my 喉咙 (throat) hurt really badly. At first, I thought it was just a cold, but by the afternoon I had a 喉咙 (fever) and my throat hurt even more. Mr. O’Connor, Claire, and I went to the 护士办公室 (nurse’s office) in the primary school. Claire had to 翻译(translate) for us because the nurse didn’t speak English. We told her that my throat hurt and I had a fever. The nurse kept saying I just had to 休息 (rest) and drink more water and I would be fine. Mr. O’Connor was smart enough to recognize 症状 (symptoms) of strep throat, so he told the nurse that. The nurse still insisted that I should just lay-down and have 热水 (hot water) to drink. Eventually, the nurse agreed to let us go to the hospital to see what they could do.
We had to go the hospital because they don’t have doctor’s offices in China, so everyone just goes to the hospital when they are sick. At the hospital, we went to the front desk to pay for the appointment. Neither of our credit cards worked, so we were worried we wouldn’t have enough cash. Then we found out the appointment was only about 12 American dollars, which is a big difference because in America it could cost 200 dollars just to get an appointment. We went into the room where the 医生 (doctor) was, and at first he kept telling us the same thing as the nurse. We had to try to explain a strep test to him, but they did not get it because they don’t have normal strep tests in China. It took a very long time for them to understand we were talking about strep because there is no translation for that in Chinese. We had to look up the name of the actual bacteria and show them it. They told us they could do a blood test to see if I had strep. We waited for a while in the hospital waiting room for the test to come back.
It turns out that I did have strep throat, so it is a good thing Mr. O’Connor insisted that I get a test. They first gave me a normal medicine, but they also gave me Chinese medicine to help reduce my fever and make my throat hurt less. The Chinese medicine came in the little glass bottles that you drink with a straw. The Chinese medicine tasted terrible and I could barely drink it. I am glad I got to experience Chinese medicine and what going to the doctor is like in China.
Juliette
Week #5 Journal
An interesting occurrence with police…
On the Friday night before our trip to Xi’an, my host mom and I went to the food store to get some snacks. Everything was normal, we took our normal route which consisted a “short cut” (捷径) through a little park (公园 park). It really doesn’t save any time, but it’s pretty. We get to the store and do what we have to do and head back out. At this point it’s dark but there’s still plenty of people out and about. We started walking and proceeded to go into the little park as we always do. There are no lights in there, so the only thing guiding us is the small slivers of light that seeped in from the street. When we popped into the park, we happened to start walking behind three police officers (警察 police officers). Well, I’m assuming they were police officers.
In China, there are many police-officer-like people, meaning there are many different levels for such jobs. For example, there are people who just have a uniform (制服 uniform) with a badge (徽章 badge) and nothing else, but at the train station (火车站 train station) there were people who looked ready for military (军事 military) action. They were all done up with immaculate uniforms and topped off with a giant rifle (步枪 rifle). They were perched all around the area on little podiums, surveying the crowds. My point is; there are different grades of police officers.
The ones we started walking behind seem to be somewhere on the spectrum. They looked a little more official than others I’ve seen, but not nearly as intimidating as the men at the train station. We started walking and I didn’t really think much of it, I noticed they were the police, but I wasn’t worried. Then, when Lily’s mom and I were about five or so feet behind them, they kind of glanced back and acknowledged us. She grasped my arm and slyly pulled me tight to her side. As we continued out of the dark park, she still held me close. While we were walking I didn’t really have any crazy thoughts going through my mind, just to keep close and quiet. We stopped at an intersection and the three men went straight while we waited for the light to change so we could go left. Once we got to the intersection, she let go of my arm and neither of us said anything, we just carried on with our evening.
I knew that I had just experienced something noteworthy. There were many questions (问题 question) formulating in my head. Was this because I was an American girl (美国女孩 American girl)? Would she have done the same if it were Lily? Were they dangerous? Would my mom have done the same thing to Lily if they were walking behind three policemen at home? It was quite the interesting and thought-provoking experience that definitely impacted my stay, and I guess you could say I’m happy for it to have happened because it really does make you think.
Julianna
Week #5 – One of the 7 Wonders of the World
My whole life I’ve thought of 中国长城 (The Great Wall of China) as such an incredible, well-known place. When I thought of China, I thought of this wall. A few years ago, my family and I were planning on taking a 旅行 (trip) to China in the summer. Everything was booked and I was most excited for the Great Wall. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our plans because there was a flu going around China that we didn’t want to risk getting. From then on, I was always hoping to get to the wall at some point in my life.
Last weekend, on the 总线(bus) ride over, we were all tired and listening to music until one of my friends jumped up and pointed out the window. There it was: The Great Wall of China. We could see one section of it heading up a 山(mountain). We took our earbuds out and sat up, shocked that it was finally there in front of us. A few minutes later we got out of the bus and got our tickets. From that vantage point we could barely see the stones making up the wall since it was packed with people moving across it. I was annoyed by the amount of 人 (people) there but that’s what I had expected. We started 走 (walking) and the 视图(view) was even more insane than I had imagined. I didn’t think we would be able to see it snake over the mountain but that’s exactly what we saw.
Like all the 著名 (famous) pictures, we could see the wall traveling up and down various hills into the distance. The grey wall was easily distinguishable against the dark green 树 (trees) that went on for miles. It was nice to see so many trees since we haven’t seen this many in a while. The air was 新鲜 (fresh) unlike the polluted city. As we made our way across the wall, I noticed all the individual 砖 (bricks) that made up the wall. Just trying to think about how many materials were needed to make the whole thing was unimaginable. I couldn’t possibly believe that at one point all of this wasn’t here and people actually used their hands to put it together. How do you just start building that? Just imagine carrying tons of bricks up the mountain and plastering them together to make this magnificent wall. I was shocked to see it go on forever.
When our time was almost up, I wondered when I’d come back here. Maybe I’d be back here with my kids and think back to this exact moment when I was here as part of the China Exchange Program. It amazed me to think that even though I’m in that moment right now, there will be a time when this is 20 years ago. I took my final picture of the Great Wall and then we headed down. I couldn’t believe that I had just been to one of the seven wonders of the 世界 (world). Check one off the bucket list!
Aydan
Week 4 - Xi’an Journal - Village School
It was our second to last day in Xi’an, and probably the day I was looking forward to the most. We were headed to the village (村) primary school (小学)! I had no idea what this village would look like, or if it was even a village or just more rural (农村) than the city. It was around a 45 minute drive to the school, and it was definitely a village. It was so interesting to see such a different environment (环境) to what we are used to, especially since we are half way across the world (世界). There were stray animals in the street, and very run-down houses. Our bus stopped in front of the school, and as we walked through the big door of the school, kids that were once huddling in anticipation, ran away due to their own shyness. They quickly warmed up to us, and swarmed us with pens asking for our signature (签名). I signed mostly papers, but I also signed arms and hands as well. I felt like a superstar (巨星).
After a little while, the students had to go back to their classes. After having a brief meeting with the school board, and a short tour of the school, we headed to a classroom full of ten and eleven year olds. Right as we walked in, the kids’ faces lit up with joy, and mine did as well. I was so excited to be there with all the students, and I sat with one girl who I remembered from before. I’m glad I did because she is someone that I will never forget. Since they spoke very little English, she started telling me the few compliments she knew, that were along the lines of “You are so beautiful!” (你真漂亮!) & “I love you!” (我爱你!) I assume that they were in English class because they took out their textbooks (教材) and asked us for our help. From what I could tell, she was very educated on the things their class was learning. Every time she would say a phrase that was slightly incorrect, I would correct her mistake and she was so grateful. She held my hand as she was reading, and would hug me occasionally for helping her. We did this activity for the majority of the time, and just before departure time the Wayland group did introductions about themselves. I would peer over at her, and see her smiling at me when I talked. Her smiling was contagious because when I saw her beaming, I couldn’t help but crack a smile in her direction. As we were saying our farewells, she ran over to me clutching two personal items. One was a mini toy, and the other was a hair tie she made. It had three thin black elastics that were tied together, and six red beads on the ends of the ties. We took a couple of pictures, and said our goodbyes.
When I reflect back on this day, I think of her, and it is sad to say that I will never see her again, and I don’t even know her name. Being four weeks (四周) into this exchange I miss my family, and since I have two little sisters of my own, I feel that I really got a deep connection with her because she reminded me of them. I feel that if I didn’t meet this one little girl, my experience at this school could have been completely different than it was.
Emmie
Week #4 Xian Trip
The Village School
During our amazing trip to 西安(Xian) we had the opportunities to participate in many fun activities and try many new things. One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting Pingliu 农村(village) and getting to visit their 小学生(primary school). On our way to the school, a former student and teacher came onto our bus to come with us to the primary school. He explained briefly the history of the school, and education in rural parts of China. I learned that students living in the 田园(rural) parts of China have a harder time gaining a good 教育(education) because the government gives the majority of the money for education to the schools in the cities.
I was so surprised when I walked into the school and saw so many cute little kids all excited to see us. They all waved to us, said hello, and kindly welcomed us to their school. They gave us little pieces of paper and a pen, and at first, I was really confused on what we were supposed to do, but quickly caught on that we were supposed to sign our names. I signed many papers, notebooks, hands and even arms of eager students. We met with the 校长(principals), who told us a little about the history of their school and what school life is like for Chinese children. I was saddened to hear that only students who are very confident in their academics would move onto high school after middle school, and that the rest of the students would go on to another school to learn skills to help in adult life. I think that it is very interesting that in China education is much better in the city because in the United States I think that most people move to the suburbs to gain a better education.
During our short visit to the school, we were able to go into a fourth-grade class and talk to them in English. We all introduced ourselves briefly in English, and then some of the Chinese students introduced themselves in 英文(English) as well. They were very nervous, but very good at English. After they introduced themselves we got the opportunity to look over their textbook with the children and help practice English with them. I would say one sentence and all of the students in my little group would repeat after me, but sometimes when I would ask them questions they would just repeat after me instead of answering my question. They were quick learners and when I would try to help them pronounce the words better, they would quickly fix their pronunciation. That was probably the first village that I have ever visited, and I really liked it. The school was very beautiful, and the students and teachers were very welcoming. The school was a lot smaller, and had a lot less resources than the Beijing Jingshan School Yuan Yang Branch, but the school had many happy and helpful students and teachers. I learned a lot about the differences between rural and urban schools, and what school life was like for students living in rural areas of China. I feel deeply changed from this experience, and feel very lucky for the great school that I attend in Wayland, and the great opportunities that I have.
Although the JSYY school and Wayland High School have many differences, there are many more differences between the village school and our school at home. While at school I never think that my having endless supplies of paper, notebook, pencils and pens is not normal. I think myself and many of my classmates take for granted the lucky situation we have at school. 我很感激我拥有的一切,以及我拥有的所有机会(But I am grateful for everything that I have and all of the opportunities that I have). Visiting this school has made me appreciate everything that is easily accessible to me, but is not for these students in this village school.
Audrey
Week #4 - Xi’an Journal
Markets, Markets, Markets
One of my favorite parts of Xi’an was shopping at the Bazaar on the last day. The whole week was amazing and a nice break from the rest of the trip, and this was a great way to end our Xi’an experience.
The whole week I had been stressed out about finding presents for all of my family and friends. I didn’t know where I would be able to find a bunch of cheap stuff that would be perfect for everyone. Right as we entered the markets, I knew I didn’t need to worry anymore. There were shops after shops of similar things going on forever, and they had everything I needed; clothes, notebooks, bowls, stuffed animals, bags, you name it. As soon as we walked into the first section I was overwhelmed. There were different colors all around us, and everywhere you looked there were shops. I could hear people arguing over the price and I could smell the food that was at the end of the street. There were too many things that I wanted to buy and I wanted to make sure I got it for the best price. I was so happy to finally find somewhere where I could buy everyone something for a good price.
Everything at these markets is fake so bargaining is fairly easy since the vendors want you to buy it so badly. After I had finished shopping for my family and friends, I wanted to buy something for myself. I had already bought so much but I knew I was giving it away so I wanted one thing to keep. As I passed a shop, the women kept saying, “I have so many shirts, come take a look, come on, just come in.” I felt bad just walking away so I decided to check it out. She pointed at tons of shirts that didn’t interest me. I wasn’t looking for fake Gucci shirts with sparkly cats on them. She kept bringing out more for me to look at but I kept saying no. Eventually a red Champion sweatshirt caught my attention. The woman was very happy that something interested me. I asked how much it was, expecting her to say around 150 yuan. She told me it cost 450. I was shocked. There was no way I would ever pay that much. I wouldn’t even pay 150. I immediately said no and tried 100 yuan. She told me that the material on the inside was very nice and that she’d give it to me for 300. I wondered if any foreigners actually paid the first price that was said. I would be surprised if the vendors actually got someone to pay that much for something fake. You know it’s fake if they keep bringing the price down. We went back and forth until eventually she said the lowest price was 120 yuan and she wouldn’t budge. I still wasn’t sure I wanted to pay $20 for the sweatshirt so I said no and walked away; ignoring everything else she started to say. It annoyed me that they don’t stop even when you say no. I hate how they don’t care about how pushy they’re being. A few minutes later, I came back hoping she would bring the price down, but she still wouldn’t budge.
When I’m bargaining, I start to feel bad trying to bring the price down even though I know I shouldn’t. I feel bad since it seems as though they don’t have much if they are working this hard to sell one thing so I eventually end up buying it. I bought the sweatshirt and got out of there quickly. I had to walk away fast since they kept trying to sell me more. My friend and I walked into the next store only to find that it was the same people working there so we left immediately. When I bought the sweatshirt, it seemed like it would fit okay but it was behind a few others so I never saw how big it was. I had wanted to get out of there so I forgot to check the size and realized it was an XXL when I got home! Although I probably shouldn’t have been so quick to buy it, this has taught me to really make sure I know what I’m buying and think about if the price is right.
Aydan
Xi’an Week #4
Pangliu Village School
My favorite 记忆 (memory) from our trip to Xian was when we visited the 学校 (school) in the 农村 (rural) area, which was about an hour drive from our hotel. We have only spent our time so far living in the 城市 (city), so that is the only part of China we got to experience before this. I was really looking forward to seeing the outer parts of China because it makes up 50% of China’s 人口 (population), but when I think of China I only think of the big cities. In the morning, we got on our 总线 (bus) and started driving away from the city. We passed a lot of 农田 (farmland) until we finally got to the school. The guy who came with us to help translate was originally from the same 村庄 (village). It was really interesting to hear about what his life was like growing up there, and what it was like being picked to be a farming teacher at that school. The school was located in Pangliu village. I was definitely expecting it to be very 可怜 (poor), dirty, and undeveloped. It was actually a lot different than what I had imagined and it was much more developed than I would have thought. The school was pretty nice, though it was nothing close to the school we attend in Beijing. The kids were all so excited to see us and talk to us. They all kept asking us to sign their pieces of paper or their hands. It was really cute that they were so happy to be meeting us. They were also really good at 英语 (English) which surprised me. Many of them were very shy and wouldn’t talk very much. After we talked to them during their break outside, we went inside to talk to them in their classroom. We had to help them read conversations that were in their textbooks. We would read the conversation to them, and then they would repeat it back and we corrected their pronunciation. The group I was with was so cute but they were super loud and would try to be louder than the person next to then when they were reading.
After visiting the school, we walked around the village. It was very different from the China we have seen. The houses were all made of brick and were falling apart. There were also many stray animals running around. Most of the land was wheat because that is the main crop grown in that area. It was very interesting to get to see this part of China. I feel like everyone thinks that China is a super developed country, but like any country, they have parts that are still developing. I was able to have a different prospective of China, and see the difference between the rural villages and the privileged cities that our exchange students live in.
Juliette
The Village School
While in Xian, we visited many places and did many things. However, to me, one of the most interesting things I experienced was the sheer juxtaposition of village (村 village) life to that of life in the city (城市 city). When we visited the village, I could tell it wasn’t the most rural (农村 rural) of places, but it was definitely unlike what we had seen before throughout our trip. It was only 45 minutes outside of the city, and technically it was still considered part of the actual city, but you could clearly see a difference in not only the landscape (景观 landscape), but the architecture (建筑 architecture) as well. There were long flats of land being used to grow crops (作物 crops) and old crumbly buildings made with clay and mud foundations. Instead of the normal hustle and bustle of the busy streets that make up downtown Xi’an, there were small dirt roads with stray dogs trotting about.
When comparing the village school to JSYY, there were plenty of things to compare and contrast. The kids knew far less English than the kids at JSYY, but they were just as interested to learn. The school itself was much smaller than what we were used to, but that is to be expected considering the amount of people that live in a village versus a city. When we were talking with the kids, they told us about their families (家庭 families). A lot of them live with more family members under one roof than people in the city do. A lot of the kids told us that they have many pets (宠物 pets); one young girl said she had nine dogs! But, in the city it’s hard to have pets when you live in a small apartment without a lot of land for the animals to get sufficient exercise. All in all, you can safely say that the two places are rather different, but each has interesting things to offer to us as foreigners (外国人 foreigners).
One thing that was really striking that day was right after the visit to the village, we went to a beautiful (美丽 beautiful) lunch in a fabulous building. You almost felt guilty knowing that 50% of China is still living in very rural and isolated areas, yet there we were, feasting in a magnificently grand room. It was quite the transition to go from the village to the city in a matter of hours but I’m grateful I got to experience the other side of China. I feel it’s so important to see what all of China has to offer, not just the wealthier (富有 wealthy) parts in the cities, so we’re a lucky group getting to really experience both sides for what they are.
Julianna
A Journey South
旅行去西安
This week we traveled to a southern province in China called Xian. On Sunday we all gathered at a train station to go to a second train station to get onto a bullet train that would take us to Xian. We spent 5 hours on the bullet train, even though it was moving at 300 kmh. We arrived in the evening, ate dinner at a restaurant and then proceeded to the hotel. A few highlights from the trip include: seeing the Terracotta Army, riding bikes on the city wall of Xian (the city not the province), and hiking up Mt. Huashan. From the top of the mountain, we could see almost 20 miles in all directions. Some things that I learned about each place were as follows:
City wall: 西安城墙
The wall stands 12 meters tall, 12-14 meters wide at the top and 15-18 meters wide at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers in length with a deep moat surrounding it. Every 120 meters, there is a rampart which extends out from the main wall. All together, there are 98 ramparts, which were built to defend against the enemy climbing up. Each rampart has a sentry building, in which the soldiers could protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. Besides, the distance between every two ramparts is just within the range of an arrow shot from either side, so that they could shoot the enemy, who wanted to attack the city, from the side. On the outer side of the city wall, there are 5,948 crenellations, namely battlements. The soldiers can outlook and shoot at the enemy. On the inner side, parapets were built to protect the soldiers from falling off.
We biked on the wall for about an hour, traveling across the entire 14 kilometers. The bikes we used were rented, and Marc and Billy used a tandem bike. The view was nice but not as great as Mt. Huashan.
Mt. Huashan 華山
We took a cable car to about 3000 feet up, and then our group split up. Some members of the group went an easier route, and some members such as Marc, Billy, Juliet, and myself ran as fast as we could go up the mountain to reach the 7070 ft tall peak before we had to leave. I found it quite interesting that the entire path was comprised of stone stairs (uneven and too steep) rather than bare rock.
Terracotta Army
I am so happy to have been able to see the Terracotta Army in person. Before we actually saw the warriors, we went to a workshop to see how they were made. After that they told us how to Identify what type of soldier each statue was by the different hairstyles. According to our tour guide there are more than 8000 warriors in the three pits.
I feel that time passed too fast this week, and even though it felt like a vacation, I still felt like I learned a ton.
Duncan
Week 4 - The Village School
On Thursday in Xi’an we visited the village school. It was about a forty-minute (四十分钟) drive from the city but that little made a huge difference in the landscape. The village was exactly what a village sounds like. All the buildings were small and made of brick. All the roads were unpaved and there were random mounds of dirt and rubble. When we got to the school I wasn’t sure what we were looking at (当我们到达学校, 我不知道我们在看什么). Then the principal and other people that work at the school opened the gate to reveal a small courtyard. Around the courtyard were two stories of classrooms. In the courtyard, there were a couple ping-pong tables and what looked like lines painted in the center. I think it was a four-square court with sixty-four squares.
As we walked through the gates kids started swarming in. After a couple minutes, all the kids were running around asking all of us for signatures. Billy and I were playing ping-pong with the kids and we had a horde of kids observing all around the table. While Billy had the paddle, I felt like the kids just kept coming and coming. I must have written my name at least a hundred times. Kids came up and I would see my name already in their books so I wonder how many kids were actually just using different papers and getting multiple signatures.
After twenty minutes or so Richard, a former teacher and student at the school, called us in to meet with the principal. We sat at a big table like the one we sat at the first day at our school and met the principal, the curriculum director, and the P.E teacher. We talked about their school and asked questions. It was mostly Mr. O asking the questions while we just sat there. Richard and the principal were saying how they saw a lot of similarities between Xi’an and Boston/Massachusetts.
I think if we both spoke the same language and they saw where we live they would understand that perhaps it’s not all that similar. I think it’s the opposite in Massachusetts than Xi’an. Affluent people move out of the city to put their kids in better schools, even though most schools in Massachusetts are pretty good. In China, people that can afford it move to the city to put their kids in better schools. Also, I don’t think they realize that China doesn’t have a suburb. When Mr. O asked about suburbs they replied that the village was the suburbs. That made me think they didn’t know what he was talking about.
Marc
Transportation
I have been in Beijing for over two weeks now, and I have gotten to both see and experience different modes of transportation. Back in America, I have two main modes of transportation. I take the school bus to and from school almost every day, and anything outside of that I get driven in a car. Wayland is a very secluded town, so there is really not a lot of transportation options. Life in Beijing is the complete opposite. I have only been in a car three times since I have arrived, and there are no school bus options. I know that some students take a city bus to school, but there are definitely no yellow school buses around here that pick you up in front of your house. From what I can see, almost all students walk or bike to school. Transportation is such a hard thing to get in such a busy city like Beijing, that families buy extremely expensive apartments, just so the school is decent distance to their homes. I see people of all ages walking to and from school, no matter what the weather is like.
Aside from walking, biking is probably the second most common mode of transportation I see. There are many popular apps that I have seen a lot of people using, which allows you to rent a bike with the tap of your phone, and drop it off anywhere in the city. I’ve only used one of these bikes once, when my Chinese mom and I were running late for the subway. The process was so easy! There was a barcode and a couple numbers on the back of the bike. She scanned the code and the bike unlocked, and was free to ride. I know some American students that use this method of transportation every day with their siblings, which is really cool because I rarely see people biking in Wayland.
The subway is an experience. In America, I have only taken the subway a couple times, and I barely even remember what it was like. Almost everyone in China has a subway card, and they use it very frequently. So far, I’ve been on the subway three times, as my transportation for that day. The traffic is always very bad in the city, and so the subway is a quick and inexpensive way around all of the cars. The downside to this is that other people have the same idea, and also do not want to deal with all the traffic and expenses of trying to drive, so it is usually pretty busy. The morning isn’t as bad, but later in the day you are shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers. When the subways are crowded, it is obviously uncomfortable, but sometimes it is worse than others. I have had people take photos of me in the most non-discrete way, and many times people just stare at me without worry of being impolite. Although the ways I have been getting around Beijing are very different from my usual modes of transportation, I really enjoy it because I get a better feel for the environment in which people living in China experience every day.
Emmie
Week #4 Journal
Xi'an
From being back home after our trip to Xian, I still haven’t collected all of my thoughts and feelings from the past week. I don’t think there was a time in Xian that wasn’t eye opening. I would say that we all have our favorite memory from Xian, but we all know the most memorable part of the trip, and that was the absolutely grueling hike. We stayed in Xian for 5 nights, having 4 of them in the same hotel, but in the middle of the week we traveled out into the country to sleep in a hotel that was very close to a mountain that we would climb the next day. We all got a good night’s sleep and prepared for what we thought was going to be a breeze the next day.
After a healthy breakfast of coffee and bread, our tour bus dropped us off out the bottom of the mountain. We then took another bus to get into the valley of the mountain range. It was after this that our adventure began. We started by taking the lift to where we would start hiking. Once we got to the stop and we saw the amazing view, we were all excited and thought this would be the best. At first we were planning to do a normal hike, but considering that none of us have hiked much before except for Mr. O’Connor, we thought that it would be fun to do the long hike. We could already tell that in the first 15 minutes that this was going to be tougher then we could ever imagine. The higher in elevation we got, the more stairs we climbed and the more my calves burned. After about 1 hour was when we started to lose some numbers.
Mr. O'connor stayed at the meeting spot and said we have about 2 hours until we need to meet here. So now the 8 of us moved along to the top. About 30 minutes into that, Jules, Audrey, Emmie and Aydan took a break while Juliette, Duncan, Marc and I pushed on. We didn’t notice that they stopped until it was too late. We decided that it was best to keep going without them. It was about then that we reached the intended summit, but with much more time left and a higher point in sight, we tried to make a move to the highest point around. It was at this point in time that I felt so dehydrated and my legs had betrayed me. This wasn’t hiking! This was torture! But we knew that we didn’t come all of this way just to be the on 2ND highest point. We also did not have time on our side, so every climb felt like a sprint. After gruesome pain and about 2 total hours of climbing, we finally reached the highest point around. I still don’t believe anything is more satisfying then getting to the very top and knowing that there is nothing left. About 30 minutes before, I didn’t believe that I could physically make it this far, yet I kept pushing and reached my goal. Moral of the story? What you think is your physical and mental peak is just the bottom. You can always push it more than you think you ever could, and nothing is more satisfying that achieving this and your goal at the same time (.你总是可以把它推得更多, 然后你认为你曾经可以, 没有什么是更令人满意的实现这一点和你的目标在同一时间。).
Billy
Week #3 Experiences in Beijing
We have finally begun to get the hang of this new lifestyle this week. So far, I have slept and eaten well, and gotten plenty of exercise every day. I feel amazing, and aside from the near constant aching in my feet, I have never felt so rejuvenated. I absolutely love the futon that I have been sleeping on: Even though It is very hard, I have woken up each morning at 6:00, and been able to get out of bed with ease. At the present, I do not miss home at all.
This week we continued to work on our seal carvings. According to the teacher I am the best in the class at carving, which I take immense pride in. This week we also made bracelets in handicraft. So far, the workload has not been too much, but I have been procrastinating on everything, making it somewhat stressful as we approach due dates. I have set up multiple ways to get through the internet sensors, making communication with Houston much easier.
As for individual events, not too much happened this week outside of the trip to the Forbidden City, which was very interesting, but a bit too much walking for me. What made the walking bearable were the stories that my host father told me about different locations throughout the palace, and different rulers and such.
I have settled in and I feel like an entirely new person. Sometimes I barely notice the difference between America and China, but other days I feel like I am on a different planet. For example, on Wednesday I was walking home with Marc and David; a totally normal occurrence. But when we reached the intersection that we have to cross, we saw an armored car, delivering money to a bank, about 15 feet away. While a worker moved bags of money from the car to the bank, an armed guard oversaw the operation. The guard was about 5’ 4”, and armed with a shotgun, garbed in a black Kevlar vest, a helmet, and a bandolier like garment, completely filled with shotgun shells. Normally I would do my best to steer clear of these type of people, we still had to move within 10 feet of the guard to reach the crosswalk that would take us across the intersection. When we walked within about 9 feet of the guard, he abruptly turned towards us, inverted the weapon (which had previously been pointed at the ground), pumped the shotgun, and took a step back from us, all in one robotic, fluid motion. Needless to say, the motion did the trick, startling all of us into moving away from him, into the street/crosswalk. That was the end of that, and there was no further aggression by the guard, but I still think about this a lot, as it reminds me that we look like aliens in China. It is certainly an interesting feeling, being a minority of less than 0.012%. Random people Marc, Billy, and I on the sidewalk to take pictures with the exotic, tall, blonde haired, blue eyed foreigners. It seems as though many people have not seen a blonde-haired person in their entire life, especially not one with blue eyes, and especially not 3 in one place. I must say, I do not hate the attention, most of the time.
Moving on, we are learning Mandarin at a decent pace. This week I learned the following characters; Her:( 她的), Him: (他) , Basketball : (打篮球) , Computer: (电脑) ,Bike lane: (骑自行车的车道 ). So far all is going well, and I hope to lean more soon. Farewell for now.
Duncan
Week #3 - English Corner
Every Monday (星期一), Wednesday (星期三) and Friday (星期五), we go to English corner. We have to leave lunch early, usually around 12:30. That’s kind of annoying because all the Chinese students run to lunch so the lines build up fast. Also, I never know what I’m going to want because I’m lucky to find something that looks good. That means while I’m looking at all the options the lines are getting longer. Once I get lunch I have to eat fast to be out by the gate on time to leave with everyone. After lunch, Billy, Duncan and I usually play basketball, or volleyball with the other kids. Because we have to eat quickly and miss out on playing basketball I’m usually not too thrilled to walk to the other school and talk to eight year olds. Since it’s pretty hot most of the time, and on the average day we have it least one class at the other school, walking back and forth can become tedious. The bridge that goes over the big road is a good idea for the little kids but I’m pretty sure a bunch of fifteen-year-olds and a grown man can cross a street. Three flights of stairs up and down are not necessary to cross one street.
Once we get to the other school (学校) we go to this big space outside an auditorium so people are moving in an out already. Then a class of thirty to forty tiny humans comes in, screaming the whole time. No one can hear anything from the time they arrive to the time the teacher blows her whistle and lines up the kids. The first time we had English corner was total chaos. The only thing worse than a room full of thirty second-graders is a room full of them running around with no order. Mr. O split us up all over the room and the Chinese kids were split up too, this helped a bit.
If one decides to come up to me and ask one of their rehearsed questions like, “Hello, what’s your name” ( 您好,你叫什么名字). it would take me three tries to understand them because of the loudness in the room and them having limited English. If I do happen to understand what they were trying to say they either get shy and run away or don’t understand what my answer was and run away.
English corner is still frustrating but improvements are being made. For example, we split into four groups of two and divide the little kids into groups. It makes it more organized but it’s still loud. I will take some of the blame for not liking English corner though. I’m pretty awkward talking to kids. Being Chinese doesn’t exactly help me talk to them. I think I understand why their so shy though. Walking through Beijing I realize why they all flip out when they see an American. I suppose if I were in the shoes I would probably be shy to talk to an American too.
Marc
Week #3 - Dealing with homesickness:
Seeing as I have never been away from home for this long before, I didn’t know what to expect regarding homesickness (家 homesick). It’s interesting to me to see how each of us kids are feeling. For me, I have found that I really miss my parents (父母 parents). Although I know that because it’s still early in the trip and that my feelings will continue to subside as time goes on, it was still very hard in the beginning. My friends and I have all felt a different kind of homesickness; some miss their homes (家 home) and routines (常规 routine) while others miss people (人 people).
I think that by seeing what I miss, I’ve learned something about myself. I learned that I am very family (家庭 family) oriented and I rely a lot on them. When I was upset and missing home, I found that if I went into the living room to even just sit and read my book while there were other people in the room, I would feel better. I think this is because I got the sense and feeling that a family dynamic has. It calmed my nerves and made me more comfortable (舒适 comfortable). Although I don’t think that throughout this trip I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t miss my family, I think it will continue to get better and better. I have come to the conclusion that it is okay to miss home, it’s normal, and that I shouldn’t feel that everything has to be perfect. I think this because in the end, being a little uncomfortable is part of life and it helps you grow.
Another thing I find interesting is how you miss things such as a routine or maybe your bed (床 bed) when you’re away. Before I left, I didn’t think too much about how having a different daily routine would impact me. Obviously, I realized there would be a change; but I didn’t know that I would actually miss it. I think it goes back to feeling comfortable; when you’re use to your schedule it’s easy to just flow through life. When going on this trip, one of the main takeaways should be what you’ve learned about the daily lives of other people across the world (世界 world). I think this has exposed us to new kinds of daily life and, in a way, missing our own routines helps us recognize the differences between them. I have already learned many things about myself, which I think is one of the most important things one can gain from a trip like this.
Julianna
Week #3 - Beijing Jingshan School Yuanyang Branch
While I have been in China, I have noticed many things about the 北京景山学校远洋分晓 (Beijing Jingshan School Yuanyang Branch. The students are all so nice and bubbly, and every time we walk into a room many people wave and say hello. The students are always very impressed when we do almost anything, and often clap for us. At school we take 中文,英文,体育,书法,艺术,武术,音乐 (Mandarin, English, Calligraphy, Art, and Music). I really enjoy all of my classes, and I think that it is very interesting to see how the Chinese students learn, and to experience their culture by participating in their classes.
My favorite class is English because it is really fun to see what they are learning about our language and our culture. The English class is actually very challenging, and sometimes I don’t even know the answer to a question. In my classes with the Chinese students I have noticed that whenever the teacher asks a question, the students never volunteer to answer the question. Then the teacher randomly has to pick someone, whereas in Wayland there are often many people raising their hands to answer questions, I think that in Wayland people volunteer to participate in class even if they are not positive, but students at the Beijing Jingshan School are very scared that they will be wrong and are too nervous. I also think that school in China is a lot harder and the material is a lot more rigorous. Everyday our host siblings have a studying period in the morning, then morning exercises, followed by eight classes, then extra classes, and even more classes on the weekends. In Wayland, we only have six classes every day, and our classes are a lot less advanced. I am so surprised and impressed with the amount of work that our Chinese friends are able to do every day. I think that if I was in their position I would be so stressed with all of the work and never be able to get it done, but the Chinese students all do their work on time without ever complaining. This all goes to show how advanced and modernized China’s education system is. The Jingshang Yuanyang students are all very determined and brilliant students who work extremely hard, and have welcomed us all very kindly to their school. Coming to this new school has definitely been a transition but I have really enjoyed my time at the Beijing Jingshan School, and I am so excited to learn for this school.
Audrey
Week #3 - Getting Comfortable & Lacrosse in China
This week seemed to be more of a settling and calm one, meaning that we had real school days and we seemed to be more of an actual planned classroom. I have created an actual plan for myself for the day. I wake up at 6, take a shower, have breakfast, and walk to school. After school, I usually wait for Tony until he is done with his homework and then we walk to his grandparents (祖父 母) apartment where they cook us dinner (晚餐). After that we walk home and either finish anything that we still had to do or go to sleep. This really helped me cope with the change of everything.
This weekend (周末) was a great time. Marc and I were able to coordinate with a group of guys and girls in east Beijing (北京) that run a very laid back lacrosse club in Chaoyang park. My very gracious exchange mother offered to drive us to the game and back. The drive took about an hour and 30 min because of the extreme traffic. When we got there, we knew that this was going to be a great time. The guys there were super nice and chill and we quickly met everybody and immediately started joking around. Because there are no lacrosse fields in china, we played on some sort of small soccer (足球) field and had a very laid back 5v5 game with not many rules. They also brought a speaker to make it a great time. After the game we took a team picture and they offered for us to come next week again. When Marc and I were driving home we stopped at a pizza place to eat. This was our first encounter with western style food in china. It was a sigh of relief to know that we had a break. While driving home, we drove through the business part of Beijing (北京) that has the biggest buildings. We saw one building that seemed like it wasn’t finished being constructed and it was huge. This building (建筑) is called the Z15, and it is 528 meters (米) tall. To put that into perspective, the Prudential building is less than half of that; standing at 228 meters tall. On Wednesday, our whole grade took a field trip to a JSYY theater play. This included every single grade from elementary to seniors. We still have absolutely no idea what the play was about. It started out with a very well dressed boy and girl walking out and talking for about 10 minutes. After that there were four thirty-minute skits about different subjects all acted by kids. It would have seemed very funny if we actually knew what they were talking about.
Billy
Week #2 - Learning about Tea
Something that I’ve enjoyed doing with my host 家庭(family) so far is drinking tea with them. James told me when we were in America that his dad had an obsession with tea. I usually don’t drink tea at home, but I when my host parents told me that we should have tea sometime together, I was very excited. My host dad, Ray, loves drinking tea, and his 爱好(hobby) is 收集(collecting) many different kinds of tea. He showed me all the kinds of Chinese tea there are such as 绿茶(green tea), red tea, and yellow tea. He also collects 茶壶(teapots) and has a cabinet full of them. I thought it was very 有趣(interesting) to see his tea collection and learn about the differences between the kinds of tea. He told me about the processes of how the tea leaves were made, what dynasty they came from, and what provinces of China they came from. Ray has a very particular method of making tea that he showed me how to do. First you have to 煮(boil) the water in the 水壶(kettle), and then you measure out the right amount of tea leaves on a little scale. Once the water is boiled, you pour it into the teapot with the leaves. He then pours hot water over the kettle to keep the tea inside from getting cold. The first time you pour out the tea, you don’t drink it, because the first time is only to soften the leaves. He uses this tea to pour over the cups and pitcher so they are warm and won’t cool down the tea. You repeat the process again but this time you pour the tea into a small pitcher, and then into your cups to drink. I liked hearing all his interesting facts about tea like how you have to use different kinds of pots for different kinds of tea, and how you only pour a small amount of tea into your cup so you can drink it before it gets cold. He taught me that for black tea you use boiling water, but for green tea you use hot but not boiling water, which I thought was interesting. I enjoyed having tea with my host parents because it gave us an opportunity to talk and become closer. I had so much fun drinking the tea with them while they asked me many questions about my life in America and learned a lot about me. They also told me a lot about their lives in China and their jobs. I was able to learn about their daily lives here. I was glad Ray was able to share with me this hobby that he loves, and that I was able to get to know my host family better.
Juliette
Week #2 - Meeting Kids through Volleyball
After school every day so far, Duncan, Billy and I have played volleyball (打排球) with some of the other kids from school. Since we get out earlier, Billy and I would play basketball (打篮球) while we waited for our siblings. Other kids came out before ours and asked if we wanted to play volleyball with them. Bored as we were, we said yes. We were also very excited because we had wanted to play with them before. We saw kids playing basketball after lunch (午餐) but they all were already in groups. After school, they were nice and asked us to play with them. We started a game and slowly more and more kids came out. Eventually we had a game of seven on seven. All of them were really into the game. The rules were really loose but at the same time everyone knew what was happening. They play in P.E. so they all knew the same rules. Your team can’t hit the ball more than three times and you can’t hit it twice yourself in one play. Now in the halls I say hello (你好) to all the kids we played with. I think that if we didn’t play I wouldn’t know or recognize any kids in the hall. Playing with them a couple days after school helped us meet a lot of the boys at school. Along with playing volleyball we met other kids as well.
One night David took Billy and I, along with Tony to a local restaurant (餐厅). We went with two of their friends from school. Even if they told us their names I don’t think I would be able to remember. We went to a restaurant where you make your own bowl but the section where you fill it looks like the produce section of a grocery store. After you make your bowl you give it at the counter and they take it and make it this soup kind of thing. We ate dinner with our brothers and the two other kids. They opened the bottle of their orange sodas with their teeth. Very Impressive. Billy and I didn’t eat much because we couldn’t pick up the noodles with chopsticks. Later we went to an arcade (方舟) in a shopping mall (购物中心). We played arcade basketball for about half an hour. Then we walked around the mall and looked at all the stores. It felt like a mall in the U.S except everything is in Mandarin. It’s times like these that we feel like we’re part of the school. It was really fun to get to hang out with different kids from the school.
Marc
Enjoying China
I am enjoying China very much. Each day has been extremely exciting, although tiring. Each day I have either walked over 5 miles, played 2-3 hours of basketball, or taken the bus to faraway lands. Some days are more interesting than others, such as Friday, when we learned to carve stone seals. I found seal carving very soothing, as well as paper cutting which was basically a coloring book that we cut figures out of. Each night I fall asleep very fast, as I am always exhausted. I thought that the hard futon would be a bit of a problem at first, but I have come to enjoy it and find the stiffness therapeutic. The food is interesting, in the sense that I don’t LOVE most things but I do not hate 90 percent. For breakfast, my host mother feeds us bean paste buns, and pork buns, with some apple slices. I find breakfast to be my favorite meal of the day. For lunch we eat at school, which varies highly. After we eat Marc, Billy, and I play basketball outside. I have never been much of a basketball fan, but I am learning quickly and am enjoying everything outside except for the dust and heat. Each morning starts out at about 50 Fahrenheit, and climbs all the way to about 75 by noon. Each morning my host mother tries to tell me that a sweatshirt (in addition to the school sweatshirt) is too light for this weather, but I always find myself dying of heat. My school work has been extremely light, and to be honest it feels like a vacation, what with the weather and all. I feel very relaxed and I find that I am having no separation issues. The classes have been a blast: English is easy and I feel Godlike, and Chinese is difficult but entertaining. This week I have learned a few characters such as : exit(出口), ball(球), nice to meet you(很高兴认识你), basketball(篮球), golf(高尔夫球), and cold(冷).I find that the largest amount of work is not learning Chinese, but contacting people from America such as relatives. I find it very easy to enjoy myself as long as I do not think about the things we learn about China in social studies. I love my host family, as they are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. I loved travelling to the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square, and I am looking forward to new experiences.
Duncan
Journal 2 Emotions
This last week for me will be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. So many positive and negative thoughts and experiences have been racing through my mind ever since we went through the first security gate at Logan in Boston. At first I did not realize that it will be 60 days until I see those people again, and sometimes I feel like I still don’t. Of course there are some times that I think about home, the comfort of my bed, and a warm juicy cheeseburger with a side of fries. But I also know that all of those American cultural essentials can wait, because right now I’m part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a different culture and way of living on the opposite side of the world.
I think that there are 2 things that I am adjusting to living here in Beijing. Not only am I getting used to a whole different country with different customs and cultures, but I’m also getting used to living in the loud bright city 城市 instead of the quiet boring suburbs. In the city, you are exposed to more noise and you get used to being around people. With an extremely populated city and everybody needing to get somewhere, you always need to be aware and know where you need to be. As we have been coping with this, we have also been exposed to the barrier between American 美国 and Chinese 中文 house customs. Some things were hard to get used to, such as the showers and squat toilets. Not to mention constantly drinking hot beverages unless it’s in a lukewarm plastic bottle 瓶. But as many differences as these 2 cultures have, I definitely see more similarities than differences. Many Chinese parents 父母 give their children the ultimate freedom to hangout in one of the biggest cities in the world. Just last night Me, Marc, his exchange sibling, and some other kids from our class went out to eat and to an arcade 商场. I know many parents from Wayland that wouldn’t allow their children to walk around the city of Beijing 北京 at 10 at night. I see parents care greatly about academics and grades, but their children get a lot of freedom socially if all is well at school. So in conclusion, these past 6 days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. As much as I’m feeling homesick and getting tired of dropping my chopsticks 筷子 every time I reach for a dumpling 饺子, I can easily say I’m having the time of my life. Every new encounter for me is like another adventure, and I’m making new friends and having fun in the process. I know I still have a long way to go before I should even think about this trip as a whole, but if one things for sure, I know it’s going to be a great time.
Billy
Journal #2 Eating with Grandparents
Today is our fourth full day. I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable as the days go on, and I’m now used to the schedule and all the new things. Every night, Lorry and I eat 晚餐(dinner) at his grandparents’ house. Sometimes his parents join us, but other times they are at work. Every time, the routine is the same. We come in, sit on the couch, I pick a channel on the TV, then we eat together, and ride our bikes home. I always ask if they need help setting the table or cooking food, but the answers always no. I want to try cooking traditional Chinese 食品(food) one day.
The 祖父 母 (grandparents) immediately made me feel very welcome, even though they don’t speak any English. I try to use as much Mandarin as I can when I’m at their house and they always get very happy when I do. The only things I can say so far is 谢谢 (thank you), 明天见 (see you tomorrow), 再见 (goodbye), and 你好 (hello). My goal by the end of the two months is to be able to have a short conversation with them. The time we spend at their house is one of my favorite parts of the day. The food is very good and every night it changes. The first night we had 面条 (noodles) since it’s a tradition to feed the guest noodles at the first dinner. I wasn’t use to having my own bowl and just sharing all the bowls in the middle but I quickly got use to it. The noodles have been one of my favorite meals this whole trip. The next night we had 水稻 (rice) and multiple 蔬菜 (vegetable) dishes.
Sometimes the family gives me American food for breakfast since I think they want me to feel like I’m at home but I like the Chinese food better. One morning they gave me McDonalds 鸡 (chicken) nuggets since 美国(America) is known for that but I never eat them. This morning we finally had a soup with dumplings; which was great. I love practicing eating everything with chopsticks and I’m starting to get much better. I thought there would be more 街 (street) food but I’ve barely seen any. When we go into the big 城市 (city), I’m sure we’ll see much more. Since it’s hard to communicate with the parents, I don’t hang out in the living room much but I finally did and it was great. We sat at the dining room table talking through translation apps while eating 虾 (shrimp) that the grandfather got while he was in a different province.
Aydan
English Corner
Being only the third full day in China, I had no prior knowledge to what English corner would look like. All I knew about it was that the previous Wayland exchange groups had really enjoyed it, and that they chose to go more than the times required. I didn’t know if we had to prepare any games (游 戏) or activities (活 动) to keep the kids occupied, so I brought a lot of stickers (贴 纸) in my suitcase from America, to give to the kids just in case we needed them. We went to English corner right after we ate lunch, so it happened that I was too distracted that I actually forgot my stickers.
On our first day of school, Claire showed us where we would meet the kids, so we had a good idea where to go when we got to the east campus. The hallways in the school were pretty busy, so we saw groups of excited kids walking the halls, before we even got the area where we would meet the students. Right when we got to the English corner, young kids immediately started screaming and jumping with joy. There were a lot more kids than I was expecting, and it was very chaotic. The American students sat down on the couches, and almost instantly we were swarmed with eager first graders. I got many repeated questions along the lines of “What is your favorite food? (你最喜欢的食物是什么?) Where do you live? (你住在哪里?) Do you know any Chinese holidays? (你知道任何中国节日吗)” It was difficult to understand the kids sometimes because the room was so loud, and they were so young that their English was not very advanced.
After we got to talk to a good chunk of the kids, and they didn’t have any more questions for us, we got up and played some unorganized games. I saw some kids completely attacking Billy, and he was lying on the ground being crawled all over. I also saw Jules playing some sort of game, which included a lot of the students. I walked around and found some kids that were not participating in anything and decided to get them involved. We played a mini version of tag, and it seemed that I was the only protection that students had from each other. I met these three girls with whom I really bonded with, instantly. I am embarrassed to say that I forget their names, but they were so interested in getting to know me and we kept making each other laugh. I got separated from them a couple times, but we always found our way back to each other.
After the 30 minutes was up, the kids were informed that they had to go back to class. The goodbye was something I will never forget. I was flooded with so many hugs (拥 抱) from little kids I barely knew, and who were of a completely different culture (文 化). My shirt was tugged in so many different directions. I pulled out my phone to take a few pictures (图 片) and videos (视 频) so I would remember the moment, and an extreme amount of kids came up to me, shoving their faces into my camera (相 机). Those are some pictures I will never forget.
I am so glad that the English corner exists, and that I get to experience this multiple times a week. I find it unbelievable how such different age students can be so interested in learning about each other. Seeing how happy I can make these first graders from just talking to them is really special, and I am so excited to meet more kids in the school.
Emmie
Journal 2 - Standing Out
Before leaving for China (中国 China), we were told that people here would be fascinated by the “exotic” Americans (美国 Americans) that we are. Even with all the preparation from friends and teachers, it is still surprising to be gawked at. It truly is like being a superstar (著名 famous)! A few days ago we were exploring the neighborhood and my friends and I were just walking about. A little girl, probably about nine or so, saw us, halted immediately, and her jaw just dropped. We smiled and waved, but she was fixed like that. This instance was the first time we experienced this sort of interaction, but definitely not the last. In the supermarket (超市 supermarket) we were quite the sight, apparently. There were people pointing, “sneaking” photos and videos of us, and just plain old staring.
We have no problem with any of this, but it is still very interesting to me. I tried to put myself in their shoes and think of one ethnicity or one nationality that I would be shocked to see, but I couldn’t seem to do it. I wondered why that was, but then I thought it must be because America is such a diverse place, that we are exposed to so many different people from so many different places. I’m sure if I lived in Beijing (北京 Beijing) my whole life, I too would be taking pictures of those American kids, all huddled together in the food store.
Another thing that was interesting to me was that even when people found out we didn’t speak their language; they would continue to speak at us. Sometimes I felt bad because you could tell they wanted to help, but there was nothing we could to do make either of us understand. In situations like these I would try to just say “sorry” (对不起 sorry) and walk away. I would also say “xiexie" (谢谢 thank you) to ensure that they knew I was trying to be polite because I didn’t want to come off as disrespectful. All these feelings are new to me because I have never experienced being the minority. I had never thought about this until Mr. O’Connor brought it up to me. I have always lived in or traveled to a place where I am part of the majority, or that it is normal to have many American tourists. But here in Beijing, the tables have turned. I think this switch is important to experience in your life because it can help you either empathize with or simply understand the other point of view. Seeing as our trip just began, it will be interesting to see how these types of interactions continue to play out and what I will learn from each of them.
Julianna