Ten days ago we left for Shanghai. This trip was sponsored by GaoXin No
1 High School. (We take their group on a trip to Sacramento, Yosemite
and San Francisco every fall.) In previous years our group has gone to
Chengdu and Guilin, but this is the year of the world’s fair (called
Expo) in Shanghai, so we were offered the chance to go there.
We
left Xi’an on a Monday after school, accompanied by my host sister,
Mrs. Dong, and her 8 year old ball of energy whose English name is
Linda. Just getting to the Xi’an train station is a challenge.
Passengers need to be dropped off about 1 kilometer away. Then the crowd
surges to the station. There are bicycle drawn carts available to haul
luggage at least as far as the screening line. Then the masses pour
into the station. People carry big boxes, suitcases, food or anything
else they wish to transport as trains are the main way to get around the
country. (By the way Xi’an will have a new station open soon so this
may be my last experience at the old station.)
We had “hard
sleepers” meaning that we each had a narrow bed in a cubicle (open to
the hallway) stacked 3 high. The lower level is for easy sitting, but
the upper bunks are not tall enough to sit up. There must have been at
least 10 cubicles per car so there were at least 60 people in the car.
We had all taken food for dinner – primarily instant noodles and fruit
as there is lots of boiling water available. Everyone had lots of fun
that evening. Katie and Aida studied for their final exam with some
help from Linda and Mrs. Dong. Our train took more than 20 hours as we
were on side tracks when the faster trains went past and was only 2
hours late.
The Shanghai station was more modern and less
crowded. We took two taxis to our hotel seeing the Shanghai skyline on
the way. Being located along the ocean the air in Shanghai was clearer
and it wasn’t too hot that first day. Our rooms weren’t ready when we
arrived, so we ate something while waiting. Then we took taxis to the
nearest subway station, and from there to central Shanghai. The subway
system was clean, inexpensive and easy to navigate. We wandered along
the busy shopping streets and a park on our way to dinner in a “famous”
restaurant that has been open for 135 years. It was my least favorite
meal since I arrived. The food was expensive and there wasn’t much of
it, but it was dinner.
Next we headed to the “Bund” – the old
colonial part of the city. The sun was just setting as we arrived
there. The skyline by night was gorgeous. We walked a bit and
eventually took a one-hour cruise to see the skyline from the water. By
the time we were done we were all very ready for bed!
The next
morning we set out for Expo. The hotel had explained the bus line to
Mrs. Dong so we walked to the nearest stop and then had a trip of more
than an hour. However we also got to see quite a bit of the city.
Unfortunately the bus driver had let us off near a gate that didn’t sell
children’s tickets so we had a bit more walking before finally getting
in. Eventually we entered a gate. We had been told that it would be so
crowded that we would probably only get to see one or two pavilions per
day – with some having waits of up to 6 hours. Luckily for us that
wasn’t our experience!
Our first pavilion was the China
Provincial Pavilion. It is a building of unique design which is the
symbol of Expo. We only waited about 20 minutes (walking as the line
snaked along). It was a huge exhibit space. We saw all kinds of
displays, including a dance program from western China. (We didn’t get
into the main Chinese exhibit since reservations were needed.) After a
couple of hours there the kids were hungry and tired so we ate lunch.
For the rest of the afternoon and evening we visited at least 10
pavilions including countries from South America and Africa. We also
“went to” Lithuania and Slovenia.
After hours of walking
everyone was again hungry. Linda wanted KFC – so we went. It was…not
good and very expensive. We ate what we could,. Then we walked a short
distance to see the evening parade (think Main Street Dinseyland with
less enthusiasm). As we left the park Mrs. Dong asked about where to
find the bus from one of the volunteers. (There are a lot of them!) A
second volunteer gave advice as well and we started walking.
Unfortunately the directions were wrong so we had to walk out of our way
before finally finding the bus a short distance from the gate we had
left. No one had any trouble falling asleep that night!
The next
day it was easier to get to the park since we had done it. We also
knew that we should take some food with us. That day we visited the
Europe area. It was much more crowded than the previous day but we
still saw several pavilions including France, Australia, Canada, Sweden,
Finland and more. Our longest wait was less than one hour, but we
simply avoided the pavilions with extremely long waits. As we headed
out we found a lovely Chinese food court with foods from all parts of
the country. Each of us was able to choose what we wanted. Our last
stop was the expo store to pick up Haibao (the mascot) gifts.
We
slept in on Thursday – especially as we still didn’t have the tickets
for the return train. We took taxis to the business part of the city,
saw the Pearl Tower and visited a very up-scale shopping mall. We
returned to the hotel area and ate lunch. Mrs. Dong got a call from the
person with the tickets and we headed back to the station. Both Katie
and Marc – the professional worriers of the group – were most concerned
with how we would find the person with the tickets, but it was not hard.
We settled into our compartment for the trip back to Xi’an. Both
girls studied until lights went out. (In the hard sleepers the lights
click off at 10 p.m. with only small lights in the hallway.)
Once
again our train was late, bringing us back to Xi’an 3 hours late. The
school van drove each of us to our host families. It was a wonderful
trip. I think most of us would like to go back to Shanghai someday. It
was certainly unforgettable!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
It's A Party
Today was an extraordinary day for our small exchange group! We held a
party for our Chinese friends that turned out to be a great success!
The kids have been planning for some time, and most brought small gifts
and prizes from home. I would guess that we had at least 50+ kids here
at some point or another during the two hours that we were allowed for
the party. We organized tables with carnival-type games such as pin the
leaf on the flower , toss the penny in the cup, solve the riddle or
the sock toss. Our guests could earn tickets entitling them to fun
prizes such as stickers, pens, “lucky money envelopes”, Saugus gear,
cool socks and tee shirts plus some beautiful home-made book marks etc.
We also had “American style” food with rice-krispies-like treats,
chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies, taffy, M and M dark chocolate candy,
fruit, Coke, Sprite and orange drink. The Chinese kids also brought
some Chinese snacks, walnuts and cookies.
After we had given out all the prizes we had the entertainment portion of the party. A couple of Chinese boys did break-dancing, Aida played her flute and a number of people sang – Max, William and Allen (from the Chinese group of 2008) sang the Back Street Boys, Katie sang Hey there Delilah, one of the girls for the group coming in the fall sang for us, as did our former Chinese teacher, Shi Laoshi. Finally our 3 students sang a shortened version of American Pie. All but one of the students from the last 2 exchange groups came, as did the kids who will arrive in August and their teacher Mrs. Li. All in all it was a fun two hours, but I think we are tired now. The kids will have to wait until 5:30 to go home but tomorrow is a day off – Sunday. In fact the Chinese students have school today, tomorrow and Monday, and then the out-going “10th graders” will have vacation. The students heading into their senior year will have only one day per week off until August, followed by a two-week “vacation” which most will spend studying.
After we had given out all the prizes we had the entertainment portion of the party. A couple of Chinese boys did break-dancing, Aida played her flute and a number of people sang – Max, William and Allen (from the Chinese group of 2008) sang the Back Street Boys, Katie sang Hey there Delilah, one of the girls for the group coming in the fall sang for us, as did our former Chinese teacher, Shi Laoshi. Finally our 3 students sang a shortened version of American Pie. All but one of the students from the last 2 exchange groups came, as did the kids who will arrive in August and their teacher Mrs. Li. All in all it was a fun two hours, but I think we are tired now. The kids will have to wait until 5:30 to go home but tomorrow is a day off – Sunday. In fact the Chinese students have school today, tomorrow and Monday, and then the out-going “10th graders” will have vacation. The students heading into their senior year will have only one day per week off until August, followed by a two-week “vacation” which most will spend studying.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Visiting former students
One of the pleasures of coming to Xi’an is the chance to visit with some
of the students and teachers who have participated in our exchange over
the last 5 years. I always try to invite the groups who are still in
Xi’an to dinner. This year is no exception. Earlier this week I ate
dinner with Mrs. Fan’s group from 2007. They have just finished their
studies at GaoXin No. 1 High School and when we met they were anxiously
awaiting the results from the College Entrance Exam. They all looked so
grown up! Kang has changed the most. Unfortunately Sijie was
unable to come at the last minute due to illness. The other four
students and Mrs. Fan joined me. I gave them the medals that they would
have had at graduation if they had been there earlier this month. Mr.
Bolde also sent one for Mrs. Fan, so the picture shows the group with me
at the restaurant. Since that night the results of the exam are in. I
know that at least one will have the chance to attend one of the top
two universities in China! In fact GaoXin No. 1 High School earned over
half of the top 30 scores in the province! It is an amazing statistic
when over 350,000 in the province took the test!
The other picture is of the class of 2008. All 5 of the students visited me in our classroom during our first week here. It was great to see Max, Allen, William, Linxiao and Holly! I hope to meet them for dinner next week. We only had a few minutes to visit that day because they are having final exams this week.
On the first day we arrived I was very happy to see Elizabeth and Junyi in my classroom at noon – both wearing their Saugus tee-shirts. I saw the boys for a few minutes later, but still haven’t had time to meet them all.
2007 Exchange Group without Sijie who was sick (wearing their 2010 graduation medals from SHS)
2008 Exchange Group
Elizabeth and Junyi
The other picture is of the class of 2008. All 5 of the students visited me in our classroom during our first week here. It was great to see Max, Allen, William, Linxiao and Holly! I hope to meet them for dinner next week. We only had a few minutes to visit that day because they are having final exams this week.
On the first day we arrived I was very happy to see Elizabeth and Junyi in my classroom at noon – both wearing their Saugus tee-shirts. I saw the boys for a few minutes later, but still haven’t had time to meet them all.
2007 Exchange Group without Sijie who was sick (wearing their 2010 graduation medals from SHS)
2008 Exchange Group
Elizabeth and Junyi
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Two Days Off
Today we are back in school after having Monday and Tuesday at home. I
think the students enjoyed not having classes all day but having days
off when everyone else is working, and the host brother and sisters are
studying for final exams wasn't thrilling. Nevertheless it was a nice
break. Sam went to the public library (something I have never done in
all my visits here) while Aida and Katie had lots of time with nothing
special to do other than studying, reading Three Kingdoms (the book we
are reading as a group and on which they will take an exam) or watching
TV.
I was luckier because many of my Chinese teacher friends taught seniors this year and were on a 10-day vacation before returning to school today. So I was able to do some shopping in a large complex with hundreds of small stalls selling literally everything from clothes, to furniture to building supplies to jewelry to anything in between. It was an amazing place!
Yesterday I visited the Great Mosque in central Xi'an. It was built during the 8th century when Islam was introduced into China and modernized in later eras. It is the only mosque open to visitors in China; however, visitors are not allowed in the prayer hall (with room for 1000 people) and a ritual washing area. The style of the buildings appears to be Chinese but with many Islamic details and decoration. The mosque is located in the "Hue" or Muslim part of the city. The area is popular with locals for the good food and many shops, in addition to the many tourists who flock to the "Hueminjie" to bargain for all kinds of gifts. I also had a chance to visit my first "American" restaurant in Xi'an where we ate a "steak dinner" that was good, but after dessert we were also given either a bowl of rice or noodles - as is customary in restaurants in China.
In our Chinese class the students are learning vocabulary dealing with clothing and bargaining for purchases. This will all prove beneficial on Saturday when we will visit central Xi'an. On that day everyone will have the chance to try out their skills.
The weather here has been very hot with temperatures in the upper 90's and only a few degrees cooler at night. We are hoping for a cooler trend by the weekend because our visit to the city walls will all be in full sun. On the other hand the dust in the air seems to filter out some sunlight because in spite of time in the sun I have not had any sunburn - which is common at home. In fact my legs and arms are as pale as when I left…
Every morning I continue to coach a group of 9 GaoXin juniors who are applying for a scholarship program in Singapore. These students have already passed the written test, but now must pass an interview. Only half of the 30 students from Xi'an who passed the written part will be chosen, so they work hard to improve their oral skills. Those selected will earn a free senior year in Singapore followed by 4 years of a university (all covered by the scholarship) and then will work in Singapore for 6 years (with pay of course). They are a great group of young people (2 girls and 7 boys). I really enjoy spending time with them. They work as a team and take pride in the success of each.
I was luckier because many of my Chinese teacher friends taught seniors this year and were on a 10-day vacation before returning to school today. So I was able to do some shopping in a large complex with hundreds of small stalls selling literally everything from clothes, to furniture to building supplies to jewelry to anything in between. It was an amazing place!
Yesterday I visited the Great Mosque in central Xi'an. It was built during the 8th century when Islam was introduced into China and modernized in later eras. It is the only mosque open to visitors in China; however, visitors are not allowed in the prayer hall (with room for 1000 people) and a ritual washing area. The style of the buildings appears to be Chinese but with many Islamic details and decoration. The mosque is located in the "Hue" or Muslim part of the city. The area is popular with locals for the good food and many shops, in addition to the many tourists who flock to the "Hueminjie" to bargain for all kinds of gifts. I also had a chance to visit my first "American" restaurant in Xi'an where we ate a "steak dinner" that was good, but after dessert we were also given either a bowl of rice or noodles - as is customary in restaurants in China.
In our Chinese class the students are learning vocabulary dealing with clothing and bargaining for purchases. This will all prove beneficial on Saturday when we will visit central Xi'an. On that day everyone will have the chance to try out their skills.
The weather here has been very hot with temperatures in the upper 90's and only a few degrees cooler at night. We are hoping for a cooler trend by the weekend because our visit to the city walls will all be in full sun. On the other hand the dust in the air seems to filter out some sunlight because in spite of time in the sun I have not had any sunburn - which is common at home. In fact my legs and arms are as pale as when I left…
Every morning I continue to coach a group of 9 GaoXin juniors who are applying for a scholarship program in Singapore. These students have already passed the written test, but now must pass an interview. Only half of the 30 students from Xi'an who passed the written part will be chosen, so they work hard to improve their oral skills. Those selected will earn a free senior year in Singapore followed by 4 years of a university (all covered by the scholarship) and then will work in Singapore for 6 years (with pay of course). They are a great group of young people (2 girls and 7 boys). I really enjoy spending time with them. They work as a team and take pride in the success of each.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Blog 5
Today is Friday, so we expected a really short week after last week’s 7
straight days, but life in China is always a series of changes of plans –
perhaps especially at GaoXin No. 1 High School. Luckily my host sister
and some other people from our school bus let me know that the Chinese
students will have school this weekend, then will have two days off to
study for their final exams. The exams will be from Wednesday until
Friday. So I stopped by the office to find out what our schedule was.
The lady on this campus thought we had the weekend off, so she called
the main campus… and we learned that we, too, have class tomorrow and
Sunday, then two days off. Then while the other students will be taking
exams our small group will attend some classes taught by foreign
teachers in Chemistry, Physics and English in place of their normal
morning classes. These are all offered by the International Division
here on campus and are all taught in English. (In fact our
classroom--on the 5th floor -- is in the International Division
building.) The purpose of this division is to prepare Chinese students
to apply to foreign universities. These students hope to pass AP tests
or the British equivalent in order to increase their chances of success.
We will continue our normal schedule of 3 intensive Chinese classes,
my class and then culture classes. As I write the students are learning
about the masks used for Chinese opera and then painting their own
masks.
As promised I asked the students about their activities over the days off earlier this week. The two girls had the opportunity to visit their host families’ hometowns and to visit the homes they or their parents live/lived in there. I had told them that life in the High Tech Zone is very different from traditional Chinese life, but after these visits I think they really understand the different life in the country or rural towns. They were able to see the traditional homes with huge double red doors and rooms inside built off a central courtyard. The kitchen is in the back of the courtyard in a small room and often has a wood stove, or a propane/butane stove. The beds in the bedrooms are large plaster or brick platforms which can be heated by small fires (built from the outside) providing for warm eating/living/sleeping. Aida also crossed (and fell in) a branch of the yellow river – but is just fine! She also attended a wedding. Sam’s family had a power outage so they spent a night in a hotel and drove to see a waterfall in the local mountains. They also ate lunch there. They were all able to see more than the high-rise neighborhood where we live.
This morning in Chinese class we watched our second movie. The last was the Chinese version of Mulan. We all loved it! Today we watched “Painted Skin” a kind of fantasy/love story set in ancient times. The main actress from Mulan was also in this movie. It has lots of action, good versus bad and special effects. (The students said it was something between Harry Potter and Ghostbusters.)
Today we were invited to a delicious luncheon by the principal of this campus – another Madame Wang. (We even got to take an elevator to the 4th floor!) We were joined by the assistant principal, Mrs. Dong (my host sister and one of the previous exchange teachers at Saugus) and our local liaison Li Xiaolan. The students are beginning to realize how much they have learned in the last two weeks. Chinese is no longer just a stream of sounds, but now they can all at least pick out words, so that they can have an idea of what is going on. Each day is a great learning experience. They have already learned more than they would have learned in 3 months (or more) at home. They have not only learned vocabulary, but also grammatical structures and how language changes according to the culture. For example yesterday we learned that in China it is not nice to call someone short, but you can say they are not too tall.
As promised I asked the students about their activities over the days off earlier this week. The two girls had the opportunity to visit their host families’ hometowns and to visit the homes they or their parents live/lived in there. I had told them that life in the High Tech Zone is very different from traditional Chinese life, but after these visits I think they really understand the different life in the country or rural towns. They were able to see the traditional homes with huge double red doors and rooms inside built off a central courtyard. The kitchen is in the back of the courtyard in a small room and often has a wood stove, or a propane/butane stove. The beds in the bedrooms are large plaster or brick platforms which can be heated by small fires (built from the outside) providing for warm eating/living/sleeping. Aida also crossed (and fell in) a branch of the yellow river – but is just fine! She also attended a wedding. Sam’s family had a power outage so they spent a night in a hotel and drove to see a waterfall in the local mountains. They also ate lunch there. They were all able to see more than the high-rise neighborhood where we live.
This morning in Chinese class we watched our second movie. The last was the Chinese version of Mulan. We all loved it! Today we watched “Painted Skin” a kind of fantasy/love story set in ancient times. The main actress from Mulan was also in this movie. It has lots of action, good versus bad and special effects. (The students said it was something between Harry Potter and Ghostbusters.)
Today we were invited to a delicious luncheon by the principal of this campus – another Madame Wang. (We even got to take an elevator to the 4th floor!) We were joined by the assistant principal, Mrs. Dong (my host sister and one of the previous exchange teachers at Saugus) and our local liaison Li Xiaolan. The students are beginning to realize how much they have learned in the last two weeks. Chinese is no longer just a stream of sounds, but now they can all at least pick out words, so that they can have an idea of what is going on. Each day is a great learning experience. They have already learned more than they would have learned in 3 months (or more) at home. They have not only learned vocabulary, but also grammatical structures and how language changes according to the culture. For example yesterday we learned that in China it is not nice to call someone short, but you can say they are not too tall.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
7 Straight Days
This week has seemed very strange to me, and to the students, too, I
assume. As I wrote last time we had school for 7 straight days, but are
just completing our three day holiday for Dragon Boat Festival and now
we will go to school tomorrow –Thursday – and Friday before having a
free weekend!
I last wrote just before we took our first school field-trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum located about 40 minutes away from our school. For more information you might want to look at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/
It is an incredible place! The statues are massive and the building for Pit 1 is the size of a hangar with room for a huge jet-liner or two. Although this is not my first visit I was again amazed. What is new since my last trip is that archaeologists are doing more excavation for the first time in many years. In the 1970’s they dug up a portion of the terra cotta figures which were still colorfully painted more than 2000 years after they were buried. However after a short time in the air the paint disintegrated so that now the figures appear mostly just the color of the earth they were made with. According to our guide a German company and a Belgian researcher provided new technology to preserve the colors so they are once again digging. Visitors can see the work in the pit.
We were accompanied on our field trip by a group of 14 girls and two teachers from Singapore. They had spent 10 days at GaoXin No. 1 High School and were approaching the end of their time in China. We were also accompanied by She Ying, the Assistant Director for International Affairs of the high school. She has been our main contact here for years, but usually is too busy to spend a day out of the office. It was lovely to spend time with her. Our former Chinese teacher (2008) Shi Laoshi also came with us.
After leaving the museum we went back to school where the entire group was given lunch in the private dining room of the teacher’s cafeteria. It was a delicious lunch. Katie ate nearly an entire bowl of green vegetables and Sam nearly completely handled a bowl of pumpkin cakes if I remember correctly. In any case everyone enjoyed the meal.
After a brief break the entire group then re-boarded the bus to visit the new (2007) Qujiang Pool Park. It is located in an area that was once a royal park of more than one dynasty. We took a small “train” which drove us around the lake showing the many sculptures, carvings and gardens of the park. It was a lovely day.
We were back in school on Sunday, so we were confused as to what culture class we would have that day. However we learned that the entire school was on “Tuesday” schedule meaning that we had cooking. The students learned how to make dumplings! They managed to finish two big bowls of them!
Over the last 3 days off each of us has spent time with our host families. I’m looking forward to hearing about the experiences of each student. As for me I spent the days visiting friends, shopping and climbing a small part of Mount Hua – one of the five “sacred mountains” of China. It is called “hua” because the five peaks resemble a flower – “hua”. It is also considered one of the more dangerous climbs because the “trail” is so steep that climbers must hold onto chains. Many Chinese people prefer to climb the trail at night in order to watch sunrise – but also to avoid seeing the enormous drops alongside the narrow trails. However now there is also a cable car – which we used! – which whisks passengers up hundreds of feet in 7 minutes. From the landing one can take several paths. Although my hosts would like to have climbed more I did manage to reach several magnificent sites including “Gold Lock Pass” where visitors buy locks with messages and prayers for friends and family which are locked onto the chain which helps climbers. We also went part way to the Dragon Ridge and Cloud Terrace. The views were incredible – as was the trail, but at no time did I feel unsafe. (Of course some of the most dangerous parts of the trail have been closed, and we didn’t venture up the steepest parts.) It was strenuous but worthwhile!
On our way to Mount Hua we also saw another incredible Chinese “dragon”. This involved hundreds of trucks backed up one behind another (forming a dragon) on the road leading to Mount Hua. The distance from here to Mt Hua is only 75 miles, but it took us nearly 4 hours to get there. The drive was more frightening than the climb though the drivers were incredibly skillful. In order to make any progress cars, buses and some trucks use the wrong side of the road or make a new (non-existent) lane facing opposing traffic, and if that doesn’t work they create a lane on one shoulder or the other. With the use of horns, flashing headlights and fractions of inches to spare we made it! It was unforgettable! Along some of the smaller roads we took (to make more progress) we saw many sections just harvested wheat. The cars drive over the wheat laid on large plastic tarps separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is left to dry in the sun and then later the farmers collect the grain and pour it in large grain sacks – all done in the roadway. (Some wealthier farmers have equipment to do this, but I saw at least 50 different places where this was the method used.) My host sister says that this method is unusual in the flatlands where combines or threshers are more common. However the area I drove through was at the foot of the mountains. Today on the road to visit relatives we saw grain drying on the bicycle/motorbike part of the road. Once again this is only for small farms and is actually not permitted.
China is working hard to improve the quality of the environment. Where many farmers used to burn fields inspectors now look for violators. The water in many lakes and rivers is improving.
I last wrote just before we took our first school field-trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum located about 40 minutes away from our school. For more information you might want to look at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/
It is an incredible place! The statues are massive and the building for Pit 1 is the size of a hangar with room for a huge jet-liner or two. Although this is not my first visit I was again amazed. What is new since my last trip is that archaeologists are doing more excavation for the first time in many years. In the 1970’s they dug up a portion of the terra cotta figures which were still colorfully painted more than 2000 years after they were buried. However after a short time in the air the paint disintegrated so that now the figures appear mostly just the color of the earth they were made with. According to our guide a German company and a Belgian researcher provided new technology to preserve the colors so they are once again digging. Visitors can see the work in the pit.
We were accompanied on our field trip by a group of 14 girls and two teachers from Singapore. They had spent 10 days at GaoXin No. 1 High School and were approaching the end of their time in China. We were also accompanied by She Ying, the Assistant Director for International Affairs of the high school. She has been our main contact here for years, but usually is too busy to spend a day out of the office. It was lovely to spend time with her. Our former Chinese teacher (2008) Shi Laoshi also came with us.
After leaving the museum we went back to school where the entire group was given lunch in the private dining room of the teacher’s cafeteria. It was a delicious lunch. Katie ate nearly an entire bowl of green vegetables and Sam nearly completely handled a bowl of pumpkin cakes if I remember correctly. In any case everyone enjoyed the meal.
After a brief break the entire group then re-boarded the bus to visit the new (2007) Qujiang Pool Park. It is located in an area that was once a royal park of more than one dynasty. We took a small “train” which drove us around the lake showing the many sculptures, carvings and gardens of the park. It was a lovely day.
We were back in school on Sunday, so we were confused as to what culture class we would have that day. However we learned that the entire school was on “Tuesday” schedule meaning that we had cooking. The students learned how to make dumplings! They managed to finish two big bowls of them!
Over the last 3 days off each of us has spent time with our host families. I’m looking forward to hearing about the experiences of each student. As for me I spent the days visiting friends, shopping and climbing a small part of Mount Hua – one of the five “sacred mountains” of China. It is called “hua” because the five peaks resemble a flower – “hua”. It is also considered one of the more dangerous climbs because the “trail” is so steep that climbers must hold onto chains. Many Chinese people prefer to climb the trail at night in order to watch sunrise – but also to avoid seeing the enormous drops alongside the narrow trails. However now there is also a cable car – which we used! – which whisks passengers up hundreds of feet in 7 minutes. From the landing one can take several paths. Although my hosts would like to have climbed more I did manage to reach several magnificent sites including “Gold Lock Pass” where visitors buy locks with messages and prayers for friends and family which are locked onto the chain which helps climbers. We also went part way to the Dragon Ridge and Cloud Terrace. The views were incredible – as was the trail, but at no time did I feel unsafe. (Of course some of the most dangerous parts of the trail have been closed, and we didn’t venture up the steepest parts.) It was strenuous but worthwhile!
On our way to Mount Hua we also saw another incredible Chinese “dragon”. This involved hundreds of trucks backed up one behind another (forming a dragon) on the road leading to Mount Hua. The distance from here to Mt Hua is only 75 miles, but it took us nearly 4 hours to get there. The drive was more frightening than the climb though the drivers were incredibly skillful. In order to make any progress cars, buses and some trucks use the wrong side of the road or make a new (non-existent) lane facing opposing traffic, and if that doesn’t work they create a lane on one shoulder or the other. With the use of horns, flashing headlights and fractions of inches to spare we made it! It was unforgettable! Along some of the smaller roads we took (to make more progress) we saw many sections just harvested wheat. The cars drive over the wheat laid on large plastic tarps separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is left to dry in the sun and then later the farmers collect the grain and pour it in large grain sacks – all done in the roadway. (Some wealthier farmers have equipment to do this, but I saw at least 50 different places where this was the method used.) My host sister says that this method is unusual in the flatlands where combines or threshers are more common. However the area I drove through was at the foot of the mountains. Today on the road to visit relatives we saw grain drying on the bicycle/motorbike part of the road. Once again this is only for small farms and is actually not permitted.
China is working hard to improve the quality of the environment. Where many farmers used to burn fields inspectors now look for violators. The water in many lakes and rivers is improving.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)