Today was my first day of school at the Jingshan School Yuan Yang branch in Beijing China. I woke up at 6 o’clock, ate a delicious breakfast of steamed buns and milk and got driven to school with my host sibling, Yuan Lu, by his dad.
The school is really big. It has over 2,200 students from elementary school, middle school and high school. I was given a blue school uniform to wear, and it is very comfortable. At school I followed Yuan Lu to his class on the fifth floor. His class has lots of students, including four from our exchange program. I felt lost because I couldn't understand what anybody was talking about. Luckily, Yuan Lu rescued me from my confusion and brought me to the flag raising.
We presented our introductions in front of the whole school. As I walked up on the podium, I could see the 2,200 students standing in straight lines staring out me. My heart beat was palpable. One by one, each Wayland student spoke their self-introduction into the microphone. I was relieved after I gave the introduction I had been practicing and the 2,200 students started cheering and clapping. We were presented a welcome pin that I wear on my uniform each day.
After that we went to meet the Principal and Vice Principals. They were all so kind and welcoming . One of the Vice Principals gave a long introduction to the school, telling us how excited she was to have us there. We took group photos and got a tour of the school. We were shown our special room and were given time to study.
After that, we went to lunch. Since it was our first day, we ate with the teachers. It was delicious. Later on that day, we joined a field trip and walked to the theater. We saw a play about Buddhism and Confucius.
For the last block of the day the Chinese students had a welcome party for us. They had us play games that the Chinese kids there thought were very funny.
After we finished the games, Yuan Lu and I walked to the bus stop to go home. We rode the bus to our stop and walked home. When I came through the door, I was greeted by another delicious Chinese meal. I spoke Chinese better today. I think being totally immersed in the language is helping. I am really glad I'm here.
-posted on Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM
Today I visited a restaurant and feasted on a delicious Beijing Roast Duck. Although we had to wait an hour to get in, each succulent bite of duck made the wait well worth it. Fortunately, all of Yuan Lu’s family was there to share that moment with me. Yuan Lu’s mom made sure to take lots of pictures.
They served the duck on a silver platter next to our table. The waiter came along and carved up the meat for us. The duck was served with these little burrito wraps and a yummy sauce. We grabbed some a slice of meat, dipped it in the sauce, placed it on the burrito wrap, added some veggies and wrapped it up. After that was done, I devoured the scrumptious duck burrito. I kept grabbing more and more with my chopsticks. After the duck was finished, we were served a plate with pieces of duck fat and pop rocks. Yuan Lu’s grandfather told me to dip the fat in the pop rocks and turn the savory piece of duck into a nice sweet treat.
Beijing roast duck has been around since the Imperial Ages. This duck was served traditionally and had a nice crunchy outer skin along with a juicy meat. The duck prior to being cut up is a beautiful golden brown with a nice glaze over the top of it. I'm very glad I had the chance to try Beijing Roast Duck and share the memory with my host family.
-posted on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 5:10 AM
Today my host sibling, Yuan Lu, and I were able to watch an NBA game together. We logged onto a Chinese internet site and streamed the game from his computer. We watched the Celtics play the Atlanta Hawks. I got pretty into the game. Whenever I shouted at one of the players on the screen Yuan Lu would burst into laughter. The NBA is bigger than most people would expect in China. Every night during dinner, Yuan Lu watches either the NBA or soccer on his TV. His whole family usually eats dinner together so they see the flashing colors depicting basketball players running across the screen as well. He and I have a lot of conversations about what is happening in the NBA. It is our main topic for our walk to our bus stop every morning and after school. We talk about the scores and whether our favorite players are playing well. When he was in the US, my family and I took him to a Celtics game. He was already a big NBA fan and he loved going to a game. Ever since he seems to be a Celtics fan. He bought a Celtics shirt and wears it quite often.
Many kids at school like playing basketball too. After lunch at school some of Yuan Lu’s classmates and I play basketball on the outdoor courts at JSYY. It's been really fun. It is cool to see the different skills the players have. However, nobody seems to go for rebounds, which is a big part of American basketball. In addition, they don’t hit many 3 pointers, another big part of American basketball. It is also interesting to see the different minor rules they play with. For example; in 1 on 1, when someone misses a shot, the other person gets the ball at the top of the key, even if the shooter rebounds the ball. However, when playing with more than one other person, the player who grabs the ball gets it. That is just like American basketball. Yuan Lu and his friends have been so nice to let me play with them. It’s been one of my favorite parts of this awesome experience in China.
-posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 8:42 PM
While I've been in China, I've been lucky enough to make lots of new friends. At school I've met kids my age that I play basketball with at lunch, and little kids in the hallways that all say "hello" to me in their adorable high pitched voice. I've also had the opportunity to meet an old retired teacher.
My exchange student, Yuan Lu, and I always ride the public bus to school. Most mornings, an old retired teacher is at our bus stop waiting for the bus, like us. One morning he decided to start a conversation with me. Like the old Confucian value of filial piety, he demands my respect because he is my elder. As a reasonable person, I give him my attention in the mornings and leave my phone in my pocket. He doesn’t speak English very well so I try to speak to him in Chinese. However, my Chinese isn’t super great, and most of our conversations end with him telling me I have to study Chinese more. Our last conversation ended with him telling me he wanted me to study really hard so that we could have a nice conversation.
At first I thought this man was really a bother, but now I realize he's just a knowledgeable person that wants to interact with foreigners. I've learned a lot from this teacher. He's taught me to be more open in my conversations with people I don't know and he's motivated me to study harder. He's just one example of my great new relationships with others that I've formed in China.
-posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 5:51 PM
This last weekend, I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with my Grandfather and Aunt. They came to Beijing, for a few days, due to my Aunt's business.
They asked me if I could take them to the Great Wall on Saturday, so my aunt hired a driver to drive us to the wall. We climbed the wall, walked around and hiked back. I had already been to the wall but we went to a different section, so it was a new experience. After a long hike, some bargaining and lots of jokes, our driver drove us back. When we got back to their hotel, we were all really tired and wanted to go right to sleep.
Unfortunately, we couldn't go to sleep on an empty stomach, so my aunt and I grabbed our wallets and went to find some grub. We started walking down the sidewalk, hoping to find some restaurants. After walking for a while, we saw a big red trapezoid with the Chinese characters for Pizza Hut written under it written outside of a mall. My aunt and I were really desperate for food, so we decided to walk into the mall and find the Pizza Hut. When we got there, we saw a completely full restaurant with a huge line outside the door. It would have been a solid hour until we could order our food. After taking a look at the quirky pizza options, like avocado and egg pizza and the crazy line, we decided to eat at a sandwich shop across the hallway.
During my stay here, I have noticed many American restaurants that have tried to make more money and sell their products in China. I have seen a lot of McDonald's, KFC, Subway and Pizza Huts here. These four companies have done a very good job advertising their products to the Chinese people. I think that there are more of these restaurants in China than there are in America.
I've also noticed that a lot of people here in China love American restaurants. Only the really famous Chinese restaurants, like Old Beijing Noodle Shop, will get lines similar to the one we witnessed at Pizza Hut. Even though the price for American food is a lot higher than the price of most Chinese food, people still come flooding into the restaurants. It's not just Pizza Hut. All of the KFCs and McDonald's at the airport and train stations have a large line behind their register as well. I have also noticed lots of American music playing in stores and lots of people wearing Nike products and other American clothing. Although, most of Chinese products and food are definitely better and cheaper than the American products, the American products sell.
Although, I didn't stop at Pizza Hut with my aunt, my friends and I sometimes walk to KFC after school. Although, there are some small differences in the product, it is mostly the same chicken. On the rare occasion that I go to KFC in America, the KFC is normally empty. In China, you never walk into an empty KFC. Though the line isn't quite as long as the one we found at Pizza Hut, there is always a line to order. It can sometimes be frustrating, but I still go.
Although I may not be 100% correct, I think that Americans might set what is fashionable or cool for the rest of the world, at least for China. Here in China, it is more fashionable to wear foreign clothing than it is to wear Chinese clothing. The NBA is more popular than the CBA. I have learned while I've been in China that the Chinese are more accepting of foreigners and foreign items than Americans, might be of other cultures.
In closing, I had wonderful visit with my family, while they were here. My kind host family treated my family to a delicious dinner including the infamousBeijing Roast Duck. It felt great to be able to enjoy a meal with both families, at the same time. The down time of the visit, really gave me a chance to reflect on all the good times I've had in Beijing, so far, especially, the food!
-posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 8:45 PM
Over my six-week adventure in China, I have seen, heard, smelled andtasted many different things. I've met many people and made many new friends. I've also been able to spend six weeks with a wonderful host family who has deeply cared for me. I've noticed a lot of customs around China that aren't necessarily the same as American customs.
At home, I've been lucky enough to be with a host family that delivers a delicious meal every time we gather around the table. In America, I normally eat until I can't eat any more, then I carry on with my day. In China, it is socially unacceptable to leave any food on a dish that has been served to you. I noticed the uneasiness on my host mom's face as I told her I was full,without finishing my food, my first week here. I asked my host sibling about it and he said they eat all that they get served because they don’t want to waste food. It never really made complete sense to me until I was in Xi'an. In Xi'an our tour guide named Charlie taught us a lot about China's Great Famine. We learned that a horrible famine hit China in 1959-61. Almost no one had enough food and the people would eat anything they could get theirhands on. That's where they get the stereotype of eating dogs. During Charlie's lesson on the Great Famine I was able to connect the horrible struggle for food to Chinese customs today. The people here don't want to waste any food because they know what it's like to not have any. I have also noticed that although each meal is different, they all share one component: rice. Every meal I have eaten in China has included rice of some sort. In America, at least in my family, we don’t have any food that we consistently eat with every meal. I love rice and haven’t gotten tired of having it with every meal. The rice perfectly complements our delicious meals.
I’ve also noticed several differences with the Chinese view on foreigners. In America, we expect anyone traveling to our country to learn English. When we don’t understand someone, we sometimes use the saying, “In English please.” The Chinese don’t expect foreigners to learn Chinese. A lot of Chinese people know and speak English well. At the shops I’ve been to, very few times has a salesman/saleswoman tried to sell me a product while speaking Chinese. On they contrary, I constantly get bombarded with a salesperson trying to sell their product while speaking English at these shops. They have either figured out that most foreigners aren’t going to try and learn their language, or they want to practice the language their English that they learned. They are more understanding of foreigners and how difficult it is to learn a language than we Americans are.
Although we have these differences in culture, we have many similarities. During my 15 years in America, I have noticed many people use different modes of transportation. Normally, public transportation is filled with young adults and elderly people. Most middle aged adults prefer to drive their car. The same is true in China. When I asked my host sibling which form of transportation was the most popular in China, he told me; “It depends. I think the younger and older people like to use the public transportation and the [adults] like to drive the car.” I myself like using the public transport in Beijing. It is very cheap and quicker than driving a car in Beijing with the horrible traffic. We all like to go places quickly and have different preferences of how we might get there.
Although there are many more similarities between American and Chinese culture, the one that has really touched me the most is families’ love for each other and wanting to be with each other. Although my extended family lives far away and we can’t see them very often, I know that almost every American family loves each other dearly and wants to spend time with one another as frequently as possible. The same is true in Chinese culture. Almost every week, either Yuan Lu’s extended family would come to our house for dinner or we would go to their house. I can see the strong family bond between each one of Yuan Lu’s family members. I was able to compare the love between Yuan Lu’s family members and the love my family members have for each other and realized the amazing similarities between them.
This trip has taught me a lot. I've learned more about Chinese language from my class at school and talking with my host family. I've learned more about Chinese history from our excursions and classes at school. I've learned how to bargain with salespeople trying to sell me a product. I've expanded my horizons of the world more than I could have imagined, but most importantlyit has taught me is although we come from different cultures, deep down inside we are all the same. I will never forget this trip.
-posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 6:00 AM