This year, as a member of the Confucius Classroom Network, East-West was able to send five students and two teachers, Ms. Seide, our first year English Teacher and Mrs. Katz, our Math Teacher and Programmer, to China for ten days to travel and learn more about Chinese culture and history. The following are excerpts of their experiences:
From Ms. Seide,
Hello from Beijing! On Sunday, July 8 around 7PM Beijing time, our students arrived at Beijing International Airport. We were greeted by our tour guide from Hanban Summer Bridge Camp, Tony. The hotel here in Beijing is lovely and the staff is very accommodating as our kids adjust to the time/cultural differences.
Monday, July 9, was our first full day here. In the morning, we visited the Confucius Institute's headquarters in the Haidian district of Beijing. Our very own Sequoya Fahie gave a great short speech (in Chinese!) thanking Hanban and the Asia Society for providing us with this scholarship. She did an excellent job. A video will be coming soon.
From the headquarters, we traveled to the Confucius Temple and Imperial Gardens. Tony provided us with a very thorough tour of the grounds. Students were free to explore and take pictures as we went along.
From there, we went to lunch- a Xinjiang Uyghur restaurant. This Muslim Chinese banquet offered a great array of dishes that virtually everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed. Students were happy and fascinated to learn of all the minority groups in China that have their own styles of "Chinese food" that are very different from what we know to be Chinese food in the west. At the end of our meal, two Uyghur drummers played us some traditional music.
After lunch, we went to the famous Forbidden City. Though we were all a bit tired and jet lagged at this point, there was a sense of wanting to keep exploring. Students marveled at the life of the emperors and empresses of years ago.
We made a quick stop at a lovely restaurant for dinner and then were on our way to Olympic Park, built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After a few pictures and some exploring, we all decided to head home. It had been a long day and we needed our rest.
Please enjoy the first round of pictures. More to come !
Day 2
Day 2 in Beijing was a lot of fun. We are all getting adjusted to the time difference and enjoying longer days. Yesterday, we climbed the Great Wall. Despite the intense heat and sun, we all rose to the challenge, climbing uneven steps for over an hour. We were exhausted and sweaty by the end, but it was well worth the views and the feeling of having walked up and down the only man-made monument that can be seen from outer space.
After our climb, we went to a much-deserved lunch. After lunch, a trip to the National Museum helped us to seal our understanding of the long history of China. The museum boasted five floors of relics from Chinese dynastic and post-dynastic history. Students were free to view those artifacts that most interested them.
After our museum walk, we headed to the Red Theatre's very famous Kung-Fu show. The dance performance tells the story of a chosen boy that is chosen to study Buddhism and become a Kung-Fu master. Though he encounters obstacles along the way he eventually reaches Enlightenment and escapes samsara, the Buddhist cycle of suffering. It was a fascinating story told through movement and music.
Post-show we all headed to our first Peking roast duck dinner. Beijing is world-famous for their ducks which Tony very politely hand-picked for us. All ducks have a number and are specially prepared to order. The students thoroughly enjoyed making roast-duck wraps (for lack of a better translation).
After that, off to bed. We were exhausted, full and and happy.
My camera died on the Great Wall unfortunately. It should be back in action today. Ms. Katz should be sending some photos.
Day 3
Here we are at Day 3. I can't believe how quickly our time here is going.
Today we began the day at the Temple of Heaven in central Beijing. The complex was built to act as a prayer location for the emperors of the Qing and Ming dynasties. Most often they prayed for good harvests for their people. Students were able to wander the grounds with their cameras taking pictures of the large atriums and open spaces meant for worship.
After the Temple of Heaven, we went to the infamous Pearl Market, probably one of the most aggressive bargaining markets in Beijing. The students enjoyed using their bargaining skills to buy you guys souvenirs! This place specializes in pearls and jade jewelry.
Next, lunch! I think everyone is going to buy a lazy susan for their own homes after this trip.
After lunch, we headed to the airport and are now safely housed in Changsha University's campus hotel. It was a long day but also a lot of fun.
Day 4
大家好 ，
Today was our first full day in Changsha. The students are super excited to begin their study of Chinese with Hanban. During the welcoming ceremony, professors of Hunan University (Hanban's cooperating school for this summer bridge program) introduced themselves. Then it was off to tour the Yuelu Academy, a thousand year old institution located at the foot of the hills of Hunan University. Many Confucius scholars studied there. It is still a place of learning 1000 years later.
After our tour, we enjoyed lunch and then what's called a "wu xiu" or an afternoon rest time. The downtime was much needed as we have been touring for four days straight. From our wu xiu we attended another lecture about Chinese culture and history delivered by another Hunan University professor. From there, we went to dinner. The students are really getting to know one another which we always love to see.
From dinner, we traveled to Orange Island, located in the center of the Xiang River which divides the city of Changsha. Students were sent off on a scavenger hunt in which they used their Chinese to ask locals questions about the island, specifically the island's huge monument: the largest stone bust of Mao Zedong in the country.
The kids had a lot of fun with this activity and it was a great way for them to immerse them in the language. We hope to design more activities like this as their study continues.
Some pictures are below for you.
Day 5
Today was the first official day of classes for the kids. Every morning between 8:30 and 11:30 the students practiced Mandarin with a teacher provided by Hanban. Upon entering the school, students were given a diagnostic exam and then split up into two classes according to their level.
After class today, we all gathered for lunch. The kids are doing great as they learn to use their Chinese in all different kinds of public settings. We are doing our best to encourage them to keep trying to talk to the Chinese people around them. Between our evening activities and the teachers' encouragement, we hope within a week, they will be speaking with a level of fluency that they did not have before.
After lunch it was off to rest and then calligraphy class. A master calligrapher and professor of Hunan University showed them the basics of stroke order and direction. We were extremely impressed with his skills. Twenty years of experience certainly helped.
The day winded down with some dinner and an evening interview with a few Chinese friends. Teacher Wu helped to design an interview that forced our kids to use Chinese by asking hotel employees about their lives here in China. The kids are really liking the interactive activities.
Pictures are below. More soon.
Day 6
I can't believe our trip is half over! It's been quite an adventure so far. Everyone is having an excellent time.
Yesterday, after morning classes and lunch, the students got a chance to visit a monument situated on the Xiang River, of the famous poet-literati, Jiang Fu De (I have to double check that spelling). Outside the pavillion were street performers doing a rare form of the Chinese square dance. Students joined in dancing with the performers. They are beginning to let down their guard as they get to know the city of Changsha better.
Today for dinner we ate off campus at a beautiful restaurant situated in downtown Changsha. The kids discovered a new treat that the restaurant prepares fresh for customers; they bake these beautiful, flat green tea cakes that are peppered with sesame seeds. The kids really loved these.
After dinner, the students had an hour long painting class with Mr. Yang, the calligraphy master. Everyone was excited to learn how to paint a panda using brush and ink.
From painting class, it was off to watch the fireworks. Every Saturday the city of Changsha hosts a fireworks show as Changsha is the birthplace of fireworks in China. It was pretty impressive and humbling to watch fireworks be fired off in the place where they came from. The kids really liked this.
Melanie has some great shots of the kids painting for you. I have a few from the fireworks show.
Day 7
Onto the seventh day of our great adventure! After class today, we all enjoyed a little lunch at the hotel restaurant and then got a chance to have another "wu xiu." By 2:30 it was off to Chinese paper-cutting class, a traditional art form that is considered now to be part of Chinese folk art. Our teacher Ms. Li taught us how to cut two different designs that are very popular sights during the passing of the Chinese New Year. The students and teachers really got into this assignment.
Next it was a short introduction to traditional Chinese music. Mr. Xiang delivered a lovely powerpoint presentation complete with video clips and sample music videos to give us a better idea of what sorts of instruments existed during the dynastic periods of China. Mr. Xiang also happened to be a great singer. He taught us how to sing a folk song about the love between a man and a woman. We all really loved listening to him belt out the lyrics, though we struggled to keep up.
After paper-cutting and music, we all decided we wanted to try Chinese fast food. Many of the students had heard that KFC (which are ubiquitous in China) is much better here than in New York. Our suspicions were confirmed! Though I am pretty certain that meal will be the first and last time the kids eat fast food, it was nice to explore outside the campus a bit.
After KFC, we all went to experience another aspect of Chinese culture: the blind man's massage. As we told the students, in China a respected position for a blind person is to become an acupressure massage therapist. There are entire massage parlors throughout China that house solely blind therapists. They are said to have a heightened sense of touch as their sense of sight is diminished or non-existent. Each students received an hour-long acupressure massage. They came out of their massage rooms feeling great. Not only did they get to use their Chinese, but they got a relaxing massage to boot! It was a very memorable experience for everyone.
We went home very relaxed and went to bed.
More tomorrow,
Day 8
From Mrs. Katz,
Nihao! Hello and good morning!
Today was our scheduled home visit. We were broken into two groups: Ms Seide, Saphya, Mary Rose and Sequoiya, and Veronica, Corey and me. Ms. Seide will tell you about their day, and I can't wait to tell you about ours.
Our host, Eve, a teacher at the University, picked us up in a taxi at 8:15 am. She brought us to her parents' apartment. She bought it for them, as is customary since they had supported her when she was groing up. It was on the 10th floor in a beautiful hi-rise building. They had some relatives over for us to meet. It was decorated in a traditional Chinese style, with furniture modeled after the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was really cool that the wood armrests of the chairs and couch also housed drawers for storage. Also, they had bamboo "cool mats" on the furniture and beds, as they were cooler to sit or sleep on during the summer. The rain stopped a bit (hurray!) and it was still a bit cooler (hurray, hurray!)
Feng Xiansheng (Mr. Feng) is an accomplished calligrapher. Take a look at the pictures I've attached. I have video also, but it's too large to include. He prepared a beautiful line of a poem for us about the colors in the garden in the spring. We will bring it back to East-West to hang in a place of honor. He also plays the erhu, which Corey had studied. Corey played a little, and then Feng Xiansheng started playing and we recognized "Oh Susannah" and sang along.
Feng Taitai taught us how to make dumplings. She rolled out the dough and showed us how to stuff them.
We all enjoyed this; it was like being at home with family. They were very generous hosts, filling the table with fruit, nuts, cookies, candies and delicacies for us to try. Then, it was time for lunch. I've included a picture of the offerings: lotus root, greens, dumplings, beef, peppers potatoes, chicken, peppers, a tofu dish and rice. Feng Taitai is an amazing cook! They could not have been more generous or giving.
We watched some TV and relaxed a bit and then went to Eve's apartment. It is on the 17th floor of another beautiful building. Her apartment was decorated more in the Western style. We went to her friend's apartment to watch them play a little mah jong. It's a very popular pastime there. They had two tables set up in the room, and they were explaining the tiles.
Then, we took a cab to a lovely restaurant on the water. Eve kept ordering treats and urging us to try things. We had milk shakes, onion rings, fruit and so much. Chībǎole! I'm stuffed. We sat and spoke for a while and learned more about Eve. She is an English writing teacher, who loves Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. Veronica and Corey also practiced their Chinese with her. We learned so much from spending the day with Eve and she was such a gracious host.
We then took a taxi back to the hotel with Eve and we let Hanban know we were back.
It was definitely one of the best days we've had here, and that's saying a lot. The kids got to experience China in a completely different way. It was wonderful to feel like part of a family and explore their culture from their perspectives.
We are looking forward to meeting with the other group and finding out about their day. Have a great day everyone! We are!!!
From Ms. Seide,
Hello Everybody,
As Melanie mentioned we split into two for this past day. Sequoya, Mary Rose, Saphya and I were invited to the home of Mr. Chen, a professor at Hunan University. As per Ms. Katz's remarks, Mr. Chen also picked us up and drove us to his home.
I'm willing to bet that being a guest in China is unlike being a guest anywhere else on the planet. You are treated like gold the moment you walk into someone else's home. Ms. Yang (Mr. Chen's husband) invited us into her living room full of snacks and fruit (which the girls graciously accepted) and introduced us to her twin children, Angel and Bo. Ms. Yang knew that her 12-year olds would be a bit shy so she invited over two of her students from her accounting class which she teaches at Hunan Economics University. The girls chatted, watched a Chinese soap opera and also learned to "bao jiaozi" or "stuff dumplings." We are certainly not masters at stuffing but we did our best.
Ms. Yang prepared a lovely lunch for us. The best part about it was that the animals and plants we were eating came directly from her and her mother-in-law's farm. I don't think I have ever tasted such fresh hong shao rou (Mao's favorite pork dish). It was delicious! After lunch we all took a walk around their complex which is lined with lots of trees, contains a small lake, and lots of different kinds of vegetation. Ms. Yang also stopped off at a milk tea stand and bought us all a treat. She was a great host. All the girls were sad to leave her home as she really made us feel like we were part of the family. As she said in Chinese to us as we were going, "Now you have a mom in China too. Come visit me again."
We returned from our trip to have a rest and then a light dinner at the hotel. We were all so stuffed from dumplings that we couldn't eat much. After dinner a few of us ventured out to a bookstore to see what foreign books we could find. We walked around the downtown area of Changsha in search of some souvenirs.
All and all, a really nice day.
Enjoy some pictures below.
More tomorrow,
Day 9
Ni Hao East West,
I can't believe we are coming to our final days at Changsha. This trip went by so quickly! We are all having an amazing time.
During the morning hours, the students were introduced to Confucius Institute online. Zhou Laoshi gave us a short powerpoint presentation on the history of the institute which has offices all over the world. The kids were free to explore the online language resources after Mr. Zhou's presentation.
Students are also busy preparing their final assignments; essays and powerpoint presentations are due to Chinese teachers are Thursday at 6PM.
After the online session, everyone had lunch and then it was off to the closing ceremony provided by Hanban. Ms. Wei and Mr. Zhou said a few kind words about all of us and then it was open-mic time. Our students came up one by and one and not only complimented the program but gave some constructive feedback. Everyone was very thankful to have been part of this experience.
Last but certainly not least, in the evening we were invited to watch a Mandarin language competition that is broadcasted live on Hunan television. I was thinking all last night how I would describe this to everyone because it was so bizarre. Here goes. Think American Idol. Judges. Hollywood lights and singing and dancing. Now add to that the fact that all the contestants are from countries all over the world (except China) and are not only showing off their talent in singing, dancing, playing an instrument, etc., but also in speaking Chinese. Now add to that, that there are no scripts and the contestants do not know which parts they will play in the mini sort of skits they are expected to partake in until about 20 minutes beforehand. Top it all off with cheesy costumes and that sort of explains it. All and all, a very interesting experience. The kids had a lot of fun and it was a chance for them to see how far one's Chinese could go.
More soon,
Day 10
From Mrs. Katz,
Ni hao again, East-West, and good morning! I had some more pictures from the TV show last night that I thought you might enjoy.
First, please make sure you ask your children about the drivers in Changsha. We had a wonderful bus driver, who was safe and careful but the only rules for the other drivers seemed to be to ignore the rules(in a polite way of course) You don't beep the horn here to say get out of the way. You beep it to say, please be careful, I am coming in your direction. There is a lot of beeping.
Sam and I were talking about how to explain the TV show to everyone, and had a hard time figuring it out. It is very popular; everyone we spoke to (actually, Sam spoke to :) ) knew about it. The set was modern and gorgeous; take a look at the pictures. They had a warm up guy and helpers to teach us how to cheer and get us excited. There were many different groups in the audience, all wearing matching t-shirts. Ours were red and said Summer Bridge 2012. All of us were projected on the big screen on stage.
It appears as though the contestants are placed into almost improvisation settings and have to display their extemporaneous knowledge and facility with the Chinese language, as well as entertain. After each 4 person round, 3 contestants remained in total. Then, the runners up had their talent portions. The top 3 talents would also compete in the finals. Although we did not understand word for word what was happening, we were able to enjoy the show and get the larger picture of each performance. It was great.
After, the director of the Asia Society, who are so supportive, and are funding the Shanghai portion of the trip came over to say hello. Of course, our wonderful children charmed him. What came next was even more of a treat. The kids got to talk to the contestants and take some pictures.
We got back to the hotel and everyone was ready to turn in. We're tired, hot and sweaty, but having an amazing time.
Enjoy the pictures!
Day 11
Ni hao everybody!
Sam will send you more info about our activities today. It was my turn to send pictures. Briefly, you see pictures of a traditional tea ceremony and a look at a folk/culture street.
Have a great day.
From Ms. Seide,
Hi Everybody,
Thanks for the pictures Melanie. Today was our last full day in Changsha. This morning the kids took their final YCT exam (which they all felt confidently about) and said their goodbyes to their Chinese teachers. After lunch we all headed to the largest tea house in Changsha for a performance and a bit of a tea-tasting. In China, tea houses are not only places to relax and read a newspaper. They are also formal forums for conducting business meetings. It is common to find groups of businessmen come in at once, order some expensive tea and sit and discuss business for hours in a closed-off private room within the tea house. Today, the kids enjoyed a traditional tea pouring ceremony which outlined the proper steps of serving tea to a guest. There were 18 steps! We also go to sample a few different kinds of tea including the specialty tea of Hunan called "dark tea" which has a bitter taste and is known to help absorb oil and fat in the intestines. Overall, a very informative and fun trip! After dinner, I took a few kids to try their hand (and voice) at K-TV. East-West can sing with the best of them!
More reports from Shanghai coming soon...
Day 12
我们到上海了! On to another adventure in another city. This morning we said our goodbyes to program directors and teachers and presented them with some small gifts to thank them for their hard work. We will all especially miss Kai, our director for the Changsha portion of the program.
After a brief but bittersweet closing ceremony we hopped on a plane to Shanghai. (We're getting very good at this traveling thing!) Two hours later, we landed in Shanghai, the "mother" of China as she is the financial center. (Apparently Beijing is the father of China as men are traditionally not in charge of finances in Chinese culture).
Our new guide Jasmine, sponsored by Asia Society, led us to our hotel where we rested a bit. Then we enjoyed dinner and a boat cruise down the Huangpu River, the body of water that divides Shanghai into east and west. It was beautiful. The skyline of Shanghai is by far the most distinguished of all the skylines we have seen (and couldn't see) in China. We took tons of pictures but it was a bit dark so some came out better than others.
Day 13
Da Jia Hao!
I can't believe we have reached our final day of our Hanban Summer Bridge Camp. It's gone by so quickly. We hope you have enjoyed our daily updates!
Today was another busy day in Shanghai- We began the day with a delicious breakfast in our hotel. From breakfast, we went to the Shanghai Museum to view relics of Chinese history. The museum boasted four floors that not only spanned 4000 years of dynastic history but also touched upon all the various art forms of China including furniture, clothing, jewelry, coins, scroll paintings, ceramics, religious relics, etc. From the museum, it was off to a silk factory to learn how silk is spun into fabric. Unlike a lot of fabrics, silk contains animal protein which is what makes it so strong and durable. The factory workers allowed us to stretch silk fibers into a quilt to demonstrate this attribute (picture attached). The factory visit commenced with an opportunity to buy wholesale silk products from the factory's store.
After the factory trip, we had some lunch and rested a bit. From lunch, we visited a 1000-year old garden in the heart of old-Shanghai. Jasmine shared some interesting facts as we took pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Nobles and literati would use the gardens not only as retreat spaces but also as spaces to hold special ceremonies.
From the garden, we began what can only be described as our last-minute shopping extravaganza. We bargained our way through two huge markets. I'm pretty certain no one has more than a few kuai left so I would say our shopping excursion was successful.
We're Back!
After a few issues with a plane cancellation from Shanghai to Beijing, we were able to talk our way onto the next flight out of Shanghai. We made our Beijing connection to New York just in time. Thank you to Mr. Sherman for keeping the parents updated as we navigated the airports.
I would also like to take a minute to thank Mr. Sherman and Ms. Chang for giving us the opportunity to partake in this scholarship program. What a rare chance we all received. Also, thank you to HanBan and the Asia Society for funding our kids. We hope they return to Asia again soon. It's been a great adventure. We look forward to sharing our experiences with the rest of the student community some time in September.
Enjoy the rest of your summer everybody. Thanks for tuning in.
This post will continually be updated during their ten day stay. View more photos from their trip.
