Sunday, July 19, 2009 02:11AM EST
July 17, & 18 2009
Well, these past two days have been quite eventful. The 17 th was an excursion day and we really enjoyed it, minus the 104 degree weather. It was the hottest day of our trip so far. We were dripping sweat without even moving. Our clothes were drenched with sweat before 12:00. That lets you know how hot it was. We were able to see a little taste of old China yesterday. We went to a little river town called Jingxi. It was really nice. We went for a boat ride, sort of like a gondola and then we went through the little alleys and walked throughout the rest of the town. It sort of felt as though we went back in time. After that we went to a few other places and then we headed back to the hotel to meet up with our host families, and oh what an experience. I was paired with the sweetest girl. We left from the hotel to go to her home. We took a taxi, which felt like forever and we arrived about 30 minutes later. Her parents prepared a very nice meal for us, which included pork chops, a nice surprise and deviation from the typical types of food that we have been eating. We sat and talked and looked at pictures until about 11:00 p. m. Then I was led to my room, which was really nice, with my flat hard bed to sleep. I woke very early to go back to the hotel and we parted. It was one of the best experiences that I have had since I’ve been here in China. We then parted from China to go the the Shanghai Airport for our flight to Hong Kong. Did you know that Hong Kong is not a part of China? It was a commonweatlth of Great Brittain, but has since gained its independence. Many people speak English and there are many Brits that live and work here. It’s quite different from China, but there are also striking similarities. Well, the flight was very easy and there was no drama at the airport. However, we learned upon looking at the news that there is a typhoon (Hurricane) on its way. It’s not supposed to be serious and according to the news it should be here and gone mostly by Sunday morning. So, that’s about it for now. And, I’m ready to come home. J
Tamara
Thursday, July 16, 2009 09:08AM EST
Hello all!
Today we had the most boring lecture since we've been here in China. Now you know me folks. I can pretty much find interest in just about anything that people care to explain to me and I can pretty much follow any presentation, but this one! Even our director was struggling. Now that says something. We seem to think that he was unprepared and he was searching for things to say. He repeated himself quite alot. For example, for example we are going to talk about education education. See what I mean? Now the whole lecture was like that. We really did try. And I felt bad, because he was such a nice guy and so grateful for the gift that we gave him afterwards. But, what can I say. After that we went shopping, did lunch, and went to some tourist sites, and then back to the hotel for another fabulous Chinese dinner :(. And you'd never guess what we saw when driving. PAPA JOHNS PIZZA! Right here in Changzhou! We practically begged our director to eat there, but to no avail our attempts failed :(. We came back to the hotel defeated and had our last meeting, which took FOREVER! I think that much of our patience is running thin now. Tomorrow is actually the last day for about 4 people in our group. They opted not to do the Hong Kong extension, so they will fly out Saturday morning. As for the rest of us, we will be doing a home stay with a Chinese family tomorrow night and we will then return to the hotel on Saturday morning for the bus to the airport to fly out to Hong Kong. I'm excited to do the homestay, but I'm also a little apprehensive. I don't know what their toilet facilities will be like, but I guess at this point it doesn't matter. I don't know what their AC situation will look like, and I guess that I will definitely find out. And, I don't know what their living situation will look like. One past participant at our orientation said that she had to take a 1 hour long bus ride, and a 45 minute walk uphill to get to the house of the student that she was to stay with. Then, there was no air, no running water, and she had to sleep on a slab of concrete. But, that was in another city. I did say that I would like to see how "the real" Chinese live, but I think that will be a little too real for me. Nevertheless, I'm open to the experience. It's only for 12 hours, and in a situation like that people live that way for years, and are usually happier and healthier than the people who have far more than that. So, I will not expect the worse and I will be open to learn from the experience. I should have plenty of pictures for you all to see after that experience. With that said, I am going to finish packing and go to bed. I have to be perky and talkative for my Chinese family, even after a long day of excursions from 7:30-5:30. What I really want to do is be in a dark room, by myself, in a big bed, with cool air and plushy pillows, and sleep without interruption for about 12 hours. But, in due time!
Tamara
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 09:00AM
Hello all!
Today was a good day. We first went to visit a high school here in Changzhou. This was no ordinary high school. This was an arts-based high school. There were kids who specialized in sketching, painting, calligraphy, acting, singing, piano, etc… They were excellent. We got all kinds of presentations. One student even sang Michael Jackson’s “You are not alone”. It was great. And, they all knew English. Before they presented each student said something about wanting to improve themselves. Can you imagine if our students all had this mentality. It’s on the walls of just about every school. Self-improvement, etc… I think that it’s part of the motto of the Chinese Ministry of Education. And, the teachers really enforce it. Anyway, the kids were great. After this we had lunch of course, and then we visited another Special Summer School for gifted youngsters. These kids were AWESOME!!! There were 8, 9, and 10 years old kids who specialized in just about any kind of art that you can imagine, and they even have an orchestra that has played throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. It makes me want to show the kids back home that if you practice, study, etc… then you can achieve the same level of greatness. We were amazed at the talent of these kids. Now sure, we know that this is only a small population of the student population of China, but just about every school that we have gone too, special or not, the kids and teachers had a very good grasp of English. And guess what, most of them have never even been to an English Speaking Country!!! They have taught themselves English, mostly with no influence of English speakers. This is amazing!!! Most Americans will tell you that once they went abroad they were able to grasp the language, but most of these people that speak English have never stepped foot out of China! That says something! Now, of course they speak proper English, and it is not without mistake, but it’s pretty good for not having an experience abroad. The work load over here is also astounding. The students and teachers have anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of homework a night, every night to do. These are very disciplined people here folks. Just imagine how much we as Americans can improve ourselves academically, intellectually, etc… if we put that kind of time into increasing our knowledge! Well, anyway I am sooooooooooooo impressed. Tonight we had our banquet, which is always long. But, we always have to sing songs and recite poetry and tell stories to entertain our guests. They also do the same for us, and so it is always very amusing. And here I am, soooooooooooo ready for bed. My roommate and I were able to catch a few English movies today with Chinese subtitles. One was a Denzel Washington movie, and the other was Braveheart. That made our day. We have been starved for English-speaking television. And, now we’ve gotten a little bit. I think that that will tide me over until I get home. Well, until next time. Enjoy the pictures.
Tamara
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 05:40AM EST
Hello all,
What a hot and humid day today, again. It feels like beach weather, except there is no water to get into. Although a few of the girls are thinking about going to the water park here. Yes, there is a dinosaur themed water park. Who would have guessed it? Well, this morning we started the day off with a visit to the tallest Buddhist temple in the world. It was huge and there were little Buddhas everywhere. They were in the grass, and all along the square, inside the temple, engraved in the walls. Everywhere. We even had a chance to see people come and worship the Buddha. There were little places in the inside with shrines to a specific Buddha with knee rests for bowing and praying. There was also a money box where you could offer money to, I guess the Buddha. It was quite interesting. What I didn’t know was that there are different Buddhas. I thought that there was only one, but there are many. And, I’m still confused about the ones that they explained to me. But anyway, it was a very unique cultural experience. We got an opportunity to climb up to the top of the temple and got a breathtaking view of the city, which I thought was small. But from the view, it was huge. The way that people describe it is that it is a relatively small city. But small for them is like 4 million! I don’t even know the population of Winston-Salem, but I’m assuming that it’s somewhere between 800,000 and 1,200,000. It does feel like a smaller city though. There isn’t as much traffic, and the air quality is slightly better. Also, we don’t feel as rushed as we did in other cities, which is always a plus. And our hotel is right in the center of the city and very close to the places that we are scheduled to go, so we have walked everywhere up till this point. There is a nice breeze blowing through the city now, so that helps cool us down from the high heat and humidity. This afternoon we had another lecture on religion in China, which was quite interesting. From the way that the professor explained it, there is no God to the Chinese, although there is heaven. And, a person is living his/her life in a way that he/she will get to heaven one day, I think. I didn't really get the details. He talked about Confucius and some other philosophers. Confucius supposedly spent his life roaming and teaching disciples for 13 years. Which, of course if you are Christian like me you will instant think of Christ, which he mentioned as well. The teachings of Confucius and Christ are strikingly similar, from the way that it was explained to us. When we asked the professor if he was a practitioner of Daoism, Confucianism, or some other religion, he said that he was not a practitioner of any, which we found surprising. He also mentioned that the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucianist principles are more a way of life than religion for most people. It was quite an interesting conversation. This evening after dinner we went for a stroll in the park. It is a beautiful park with a boardwalk, a lake, and a bridge. There are lights around that light up, which make it very beautiful. It's something that many people do here so there are couples, friends, and even families. This city feels so much safer than the others, although I still know to always be aware of my things and to keep my important things locked up in my suitcase. So, today was a good day. Well it’s about that time. Until tomorrow!
Tamara
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