A Tearful Good-bye - Sunday, 7/1

We have just bid good-bye to our host families and friends and boarded the van to head to the train station.  All of the girls' discussion on the van is about the relationships that they have made and the memories that they have shared with their new Chinese friends and families. 

Thus, we embark on the long journey home:
We have a few hours to Shanghai and a two hour busride to cross Shanghai to get from the train station to the airport.
At 5:00pm, we board a thirteen hour flight to Dallas.  We have to hustle through the customs' rigamarole in Dallas to catch our connection.  At about 8:30, we will be heading for Indianapolis, scheduled to arrive in Indy at 11:37pm on AA #2711.
(If flight disruptions occur, I will update here.)

And so, we have a lot of traveling left to do, but we are on our way...

A Chopsticks Lesson, Friday 6/29

We went out for dinner tonight with some kids from the school who had accompanied us today and helped with translating. 
They had some suggestions for the girls on how to use chopsticks.

At the Shore... Saturday 6/30

Just a morning on a boat in the East China Sea.... nbd.

Thoughts on a Host Family - Tuesday 6/26 (Lena Alt)

All of us were scared out of our minds at the idea of coming to stay with a host family. I was so scared because i had no clue what to expect. 
Once we arrived we were greeted with singing and confetti, and my fears suddenly melted away. I have never seen a group of people so happy to see me. Let alone a group of strangers. 
My family welcomed me into their home and handed me slippers that matched theirs to wear around their house. I went to bed soon after. The next morning when i was woken up the mother of the family said good morning to me. This surprised me because the night before she knew no English. She had learned it that night so she could talk to me. Every morning i am given a breakfast to take to school with me and every night the mother prepares a special snack. 
Tonight i tried sticky soup(it was amazing!). My sister played the piano for me and helped me play a few songs. Her mother sang along. 
The family is constantly telling me how much they love me and i feel so welcomed. They shower me in gifts and smiles! (Today they fitted me for a dress they are ordering!). 
The school is the same way. Every time you walk down a hall or into a room you are greeted with the most welcoming smiles and showered with love notes and gifts!
 I am really enjoying my time with my family!

Immersed in Culture - Tuesday, 6/26

The Chinese take great pride in their traditions and their cultural, and they carefully nurture learning of the traditional Arts.

Our school friends here in the Sister City have put together some cultural demonstrations and some special lessons in their Arts so that we can learn more about their cultural traditions and experience them ourselves.

We have had a Chinese Calligraphy lesson, a paper-cutting lesson, a seal carving lesson, and a lesson on a special regional kind of Chinese Opera.

The girls have attempted it all, with greater and lesser success.  They had to overcome some self-consciousness, and they had to struggle to achieve what didn't come easily for all of them, so in many cases, they learned more than just the Cultural Art that they were practicing; they also had to practice patience, perseverance, and good grace; through travel, we often can learn as much about ourselves as we do about the people and place that we are visiting.

Our Taizhou hosts have been so gracious in sharing the beauty of their city and of their Arts with us, and it has been a privilege to participate.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Below are some pictures from our Culture lessons of the last few days:



A Caligraphy Lesson:

A Chinese Paper-Cutting Lesson:

A Chinese Opera Lesson:

Little Body, Huge Heart - Sunday, 6/24 (Jazmyn Davis)

If there was one part of China I could bring back to the US, it would be the willingness and excitement to learn from and engage with people of different cultures. Only on week one, our group has been approached by many Chinese strangers. All of these individuals have wanted to take pictures of, or with us and multiple have engaged in conversation. By far, my favorite experience with a native has happened to be with a five year old boy. Lydia and I were walking around Lakeside park when we discovered a pavilion. Intrigued, we approached the and took a few pictures. We continued to scope out the area before returning to the pavilion.

As we walked past, we could hear a small yet assertive voice say “apples”. I turned to see a young boy repeat the word apples then tell me he’s 5.  As I listened to him impress me with all of the english words he could say, a big smile crept across my face. “Airplane, Juice, Bananas” (which he pronounced bananers, so cute!).
His father who spoke seemingly perfect english explained to us that the boy was learning english and he was excited to practice with new people who speak the language.
As we took pictures with this boy I showed him how a polaroid worked, which he quickly fell in love with. He waved his arm back and forth as fast as he could taking short breaks to see how the picture had developed. I ended up giving him one of the polaroids that he seemed to like very much. He said thank you so many times and was truly a man of manners.
I will take this little boys eagerness and big smile with me everywhere that I go and I can’t wait to tell this story many times again. 

Sunday on the Go. 6/24

Sunday was a travel day.  We woke up, made sure we had our things all packed and cleaned up. We had a van coming at 10:30, so we met down at the lobby, boarded up, 

and headed to the train station.  

It was supposed to be a 9 hour ride, from Beijing to Taizhou-Wenling.  At first I thought it must be a slow train.  But then I looked up the distance and... it was nearly a thousand miles.  So... it was a fast train, it just had a lot of ground to cover.

We spent the day on the train, and we finally pulled into our station at about 9:30pm.   We were met by representatives from the school, and we loaded our luggage into a van and headed back to the school.
When we arrived, they had prepared an elaborate ceremony. There was some singing and dancing, a couple of speeches, and some crackers with confetti.   It was really cool that they were so excited to see us. They went to so much trouble to make us feel special! 

After the ceremony, we were introduced to our host families, and it was quite late by the time we were heading to our homes-away-from-home for a week in our Sister City, Taizhou -- tired but also full of excitement for the week ahead.

Observations from a Week in China - Saturday 6/23 (Addie Schafer)

One huge thing I’ve noticed during this week in Beijing is the quiet understanding in this culture. I f you watch people here interact with one another, they seem to be on the same page. For example, the traffic patterns here seem to be sporadic and follow little structure, yet everyone handles it in a mannerism of little stress and a full understanding of what their motions will do to affect traffic around them. All vehicles, bikes included, appear to have regimented traffic regulations, but they all seem to function in perfect harmony.

    Another demonstration of this quiet understanding is one I saw primarily at public parks throughout Beijing. Many local people go to these parks to socialize, but also to exercise. There are many groups in these areas that congregate and work in unison. Dance is very popular way to do this, and though these groups do not appear to be have a director, they all do the same motions. We watched a group of ballroom dancers at the park, all dancing the same dance, with no one leading. This seemed to be organized, but the longer we watched, the less it appeared to be true.

As an American student, I find this understanding and harmony very enlightening.

                             -A.Schafer, June 23, 2018

Friday in China - Friday 6/22

Friday (6/22)

This morning, as every morning this week, the wake-up calls went out at 7:00am. The bus was leaving at 8:30.   That is plenty time to get ready and eat breakfast at a leisurely pace. The girls have been on time every morning, but, this morning we were headed to the zoo and everyone was excited for the Pandas, so everyone was there extra early!

The Panda exhibit at the Beijing Zoo did not disappoint.  We got to the zoo early and visited the pandas first. It was early enough that it had not gotten hot yet, and the pandas were very active. They were eating, and rolling, and roaming. There was one particularly large and lazy bear who was just flopping.  It was such a thrill to see so many pandas of all different sizes in one place at one time. And… It is just very cool and very special to be able to see them in their home country of China. As Addie observed “This is such a cool program! I can’t believe that I am getting to do all of this.  I have been invited to participate in international trips many times, but I have never been able to do it. It is so cool that Sister Cities made that available to me!”

After visiting the Pandas, we had some time to spend in the rest of the zoo.  It was maybe not as pleasant. The animal cages were not what we were used to.  The animals were kept in concrete squares with very little enrichment. Some of them did not even have natural light.  We didn’t want to be judgmental, but it was hard not to feel badly. Also, it was impossible when you are used to a World Class facility like the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo not to immediately see the contrast in conditions.  There were a lot of baby animals, though, and we tried to focus on that cuteness.

(For more info on the Beijing zoo, click here: http://www.tour-beijing.com/attraction_guide/beijing_zoo.php#.Wy0LdWyovIU)

After the zoo, we headed out to a small local mall for lunch.  The food courts in Beijing malls have a wide variety of food at affordable price points, and they offer many healthy options. It is nice to go to the malls, because it is a safe enclosed environment, offering a wide variety of options so students can split into groups, opting for a food that they want to eat even if some others want something else.  

After lunch, we went to the 798 Art Zone, the up-and-coming art district of Beijing.  The area was established as the home of the Communist Industrial-Military Complex. It was conceptualized and designed in the early fifties to meet the needs of the new Communist state.  Empty farmland east of Beijing was designated and factories and residential facilities for the workers were quickly built on close to 150 acres. When the Chinese reform movements started in the 80s and 90s, the factories fell by the wayside.  At the same time, the reforms were inspiring Artists and giving them a forum to use their voices. The artists, with little resources, began using the defunct and abandoned spaces that were becoming open in the factory district. This influx of artists really picked up steam in the early 2000s and now, the 798 district is an Art Zone.  The place is still being developed, but it is the “It Spot” to put a coffee shop, hold an exhibition, open an art gallery, have a small chic store… (For more info on the 798 Art Zone, see here: http://www.798district.com )

So… I can give you the basic history of the 798, but I can’t describe the area to you.  There just really aren’t words to really explain it. Because this is a blog, and blogs need words, I proffer “eclectic” for adjectival use... but please understand, “eclectic” falls woefully short of conveying this area.  Hip resides with Hipster. There is Chic and Boho Chic. There are brand new modern clean lines juxtaposed with ratty, rusted out pipes and a broken boardwalk on one side, and some retro kitch on the other. Underlying it all, however, there was an undeniable current of gentrification.  I think perhaps Bobo (Bourgeois-Bohemian) might be as apt as any other adjective to try to describe the district.

For whatever pretensions it may have had, there was a contagious energy about the place.  It was great to explore, and was full of color, and movement, and life. There were interesting visual metaphors that I thought represented what we were seeing all over Beijing right now.  It certainly was a fantastic place to explore, full of beauty, and surprises.

After the art district we went to a local park.  We explored and had a great time. We talked to the locals; watched people dance; tried to coax cats out of a bush; meandered on winding paths; and stopped to smell the roses.  Best of all… we came off a trail at a little square where some older couples were listening to a man playing an instrument. It was not like anything I had ever seen before. I didn’t know what it was, but I recognized the sound instantly as one of the sounds that characterize Chinese Opera for me!  I wanted to see it, and the older couples kept waving us closer, so we got very close to the man playing it. When, suddenly, he offered to let the girls take a turn on his instrument. A couple of them gave it the old college try… but we have a new respect for the people who play that instrument.

    Photo cred: Julia

                                          Photo cred: Lena

After the park, we went to dinner, which was a typical Chinese family style dinner in a local restaurant.  Then, we headed back to the hotel. It was a long day, so the kids were tired. But… they had been watching a local park out of their hotel window all week, and every night there is what they were calling a “Chinese Zumba” class.  Well, you are only in China once, so, after we got back to the hotel, we resolved to go out and find this park and do some Chinese Zumba. Which we did.

We are back in the hotel now after another very long but fun day.  

 Tomorrow we are going to see a silk production place, and a local open-air market. In the afternoon we are going to tour the Olympic Facilities built for the Beijing Olympics. The girls are all asleep, and it is nearing midnight here, so I have to get to sleep, as well.  That is another big day and morning call feels early some days. Good night!

A Laid Back Day (It's all relative...) - Thursday 6/21

I sit in the shade of an ancient juniper tree with a veinous and knotted truck. We know it is over 300 years old because the plaque affixed to the tortured trunk is green.   The air is warm for nine in the morning so I am glad of the shade. I am sitting on the ground and the pavement is still cool from the night.  We are on the grounds of "The Temple of Heaven" a public park.  It is pleasant. 

I am surrounded by activity:
In the shade of the juniper to my right, four elderly Chinese people -two men and two women- hackey-sack with a feathered weight.  The feather seems to slow gravity just enough to allow the four senior citizens to sustain the game. 

Behind me, "at seven-o'clock" a group of around a dozen middle aged and senior women have a boombox playing something that sounds like Chinese light-pop. There face two women who guide them through a  Chinese dance/aerobics session.  Some women wear workout clothes. Most seem to be wearing the dress that they have chosen for the day. There seems to be a lot of arm-waving. 

Just to my left, in the shade of another juniper, is a small group of men and women perched on low stools.  They sit in a circle facing each other. It seems that they are practicing for something; they have sung the same song at least four times.  It is a cheerful melody, involving an interlude with some cheering and four fist-pumps in the air. They have pleasant voices.

Off a short distance, I see the kids.   There is a calisthenics area at the edge of the park. Directly in front of it is an open paved area where there is a large congregation of people playing games. Our kids are over there. There is a game with metal rings. And a game in. which the weighted shuttlecock/hackey sack is sent back-and-forth between two partners. The aim seems to be to keep it from hitting the ground.  Some of the kids are watching the games with interest. Some have gamely joined in.

 After this we are heading into the heart of the park to visit the actual "Temple of Heaven," (more info here) a national historical monument whose grounds are occupied by this park.   After our visit in the temple, we will be going to a local shopping mall (lunch at the food court) and, this afternoon, we will visit the YongHe Temple (The Temple of the Lamas) which is an active temple and monastery with a school for Tibetan Monks.  (More info here)
 
Tonight after dinner we are doing brown sugar painting. (I have no idea what to expect, but it sounds kind of cool!  I'll try to get a video uploaded if I can get the hotspot, the VPN, and my computer all working at the same time. Lol.)   

Reflections on a New Friend. Thursday 6/21 (Lydia Braswell)

My heart is full.

The Temple of Heaven has real angels living inside, I am convinced.

The Temple is largely a work-out area for seniors to stay active & socialize. My friends & I were drawn to an open space amidst the trees where a group was ballroom dancing. We watched as couples, friends & family moved in sync to the classical music. That in itself was a unique experience, but then a man walked up to us.

He had a smile on his face & looked like the grandfatherly type. The first thing he told us was how beautiful we all were- not in a creepy way, just being complimentary. He asked us how we were & where we were from; after some small talk, he pulled out a ring from behind his back. About as big as a tire, the material was some sort of stable cloth twisted into a circle. He demonstrated tossing the ring onto his arm & we complimented his skills.

Then he tossed it to me.

The action was so simple, but like I said- he seemed like the grandfatherly type just interested in being friendly & making some girls’ day. I can’t fully explain why I was so touched by his actions.

He took turns tossing the ring to us; his joy at meeting us & his patience in teaching are two values I strive to possess. I will never forget the way a simple interaction connected me to Chinese culture.

We Are in China!! - Tuesday 6/19

Well, when we last saw you it was Sunday.  Since then, we have traveled far, and overcome some airline-adversity to arrive, but… arrive we have!   We arrived in Beijing this morning at 4:45 am. And, now all of a sudden it is Tuesday!

“So…we just lost a day.” Julia observed as we stood in the crowded shuttle bus. It was not a complaint; it was a statement, and she had used that voice that teachers love so well.   

It is hard to describe that voice… there is just a hint of questioning or incredulity, but an overriding tone of finality. There is a touch of excitement… but, mostly, it is a voice of awe.  It is the voice of a young person who is figuring out herself and her place in the world. And the tone comes at moments where she has realized something new about the world and as she adds that piece to the puzzle of her world-view, the picture has become a little bit clearer; she can see the end-game just a little bit better. 

We don’t get to hear it too often, but when you do… Man! It just gives you energy to keep going. It is one of the reasons that I keep doing trips like this – there are so many of those moments. There is nothing like travel – an opportunity like this – to help a young person grow and develop. I have seen over and over again how travel expands kids’ minds.  How they learn not only something about the culture or language of the place that they are visiting, but also they learn something about themselves and about The Human Condition, in a broader sense. It is a type of growth that is hard to quantify. The English Language lacks the words to name it. We attempt to describe it with words like travel really creates  “growth,” confidence,” “independence,” “motivation,” in young people. And – those things are quantitively true – but they represent a more existential truth. It is hard to describe. But… there is this voice that kids have at these moments….

There have been a number of these moments for all of the kids.  They come so quickly on a trip like this, which is why I keep doing them.  Which is why I am so excited that Fort Wayne Sister Cities offers this opportunity to students in Fort Wayne, and why I am so glad that we have philanthropists, such as the people of the Chapman Foundation and the Hefner International Exchange Fund, who take an interest in our young people and make such an investment in the kids and in our community by making a trip like this feasible for any student.  This is such an amazing opportunity for these kids! The growth that will take place just in these two weeks is staggering; this is an opportunity of a lifetime and it will give them tools that they will use for the rest of their lives. This experience will change them in ways that we can’t even imagine yet! And I am lucky enough to be along for the ride to witness it as it happens! I know that may sound a little hyperbolic… yet… these are the moments that teachers live for!   

But I digress…

Back to the subject at hand:   The travel challenges. 

They weren’t as bad as they sound. In the moment, the girls just all went with the flow.  They were pretty flexible; they adapted well and had a good time. They are True Travelers at heart!

When we arrived, as I said in the previous blog, we were held on the plane for an hour;  then we were in line at immigration for an hour; then we spent two-hours searching for our luggage.  So… by the time we finally got out of the airport, the tour group we were joining was already out-and-about for the day.   It was determined that there was no time to go to the hotel, but that we would have to hurry to catch up to the tour bus if we didn’t want to miss the day, so we hustled out to a van that was waiting for us, tossed our bags in the back and loaded up.  

It was well over 90 degrees already on Tuesday morning and sweat was pouring down our un-showered bodies as the van had no air conditioning. As we steamed through Beijing traffic, the girls made the best of it. They turned into Quick-Change-Artists in the van, giggling their way into the clothes that they had stowed in their carry-on bags.  Baby-wipes were pulled out and shared. A deodorant was passed around. It was a travel-shower!

After about an hour, we arrived at the local school we were scheduled to visit.  There was no possible way we could catch up with the tour, as the time was nearly up, so we were shown to the bathroom (This would be most of the girl’s first *but not last* experience with stand-up toilets…)  It did not take long for the other groups to emerge from their tour and join us on the bus.

A busy day was planned and I was proud of the girls, because they were coming off of nearly 30 hours of airplanes and airports, but they were determined to have a good time and they jumped right in, under the blazing Beijing Sun, to make the most of the experience.

After the school visit, we went to The Forbidden City.  (for more info: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/attractions/forbidden-city/a/poi-sig/368617/355905)   We took a professionally guided tour and learned a lot about the history and culture of China.  We marveled at the artistry, and were amazed – and, at times, amused – by the ingenuity of the ancient Chinese culture.  

We also had a group lesson in Tai Chi from a Tai Chi master.

Following the Forbidden City, we went on a long and professionally guided tour of the city of the former emperors of China after which we went to the Summer Palace (for more info: https://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/attraction/summer-palace.htm) which is a Mid-Ching Dynasty Get-Away Palace  situated in 70,000 square meters of gardens, including a man-made lake and… a man-made mountain(!!) that the emperor commanded to be built for his mother’s 60th birthday, so she could escape the heat of the city (a sentiment that we could all fully relate to on this 93-and-humid day!)   We took a dragon boat ride on the lake.

Our guide talked about the difference between the cuisine of Northern China and that of Southern China.  For dinner, we went to a restaurant that specializes in Peking Duck and we learned something about the etiquette of a Peking Duck Meal.  

DID YOU KNOW: Beijing used to be called Peking? The Chinese characters that spell Beijing are  北 ("north") and 京 ("capital") and so, together, mean the "Northern Capital".

And… In the “Random Useless Trivia” category:
"Peking" is a spelling created by French missionaries of the 17th and 18th centuries. "Peking" appears in A Description of the Empire of China (1735) by Jean-Baptiste Du Halde. These early spellings may represent pronunciation in the Nanjing dialect, which was used as a lingua franca at this time. SO…  Peking was the European name for the city. It was imposed by the Japanese as the official name for the city during the period of occupation, but the name Beijing was restored in 1949 at the founding of the People's Republic of China.    However, “Peking” is still employed adjectivally to indicate a relationship to the city, and can be found in terms such as "Pekingese," "Peking duck," "Peking Man," and probably some others but I can’t think of any at the moment…



Some other photos from today: