Journal Entries

In the morning, the group had a Chinese Language & Culture Class with Lee Ping, one of the teachers who came to the high school when the girls visited in the fall. She talked to us about the different kinds of Chinese foods and celebrations. I really enjoyed learning more about Chinese cuisine because it is so different to American food. Lee Ping commented how a good cook tries to go an entire week without repeating a dish. They may use the same ingredients but uses them to create an entirely different dish. This is different to the US because usually I may have the same dish one or twice every week. Here, there are so many unusual kinds of dishes, and I have truly been amazed by the variety and quantity that is presented at the table. The one thing that you never have to worry about in China is being hungry. The first night I arrived, there were at least six dishes on the table with more color and variety than I had ever seen before.

In the afternoon, the group went to Pudong and visited the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It really is an amazing thing to see. It is one of Shanghai's most famous monuments. It is 468 meters high, the highest TV tower in Asia and the third in the world. The tower consists of three main sightseeing floors. The main sightseeing floor is at 263 meters, which is the floor that the group went to. At this point, we were able to see a panoramic view of Shanghai, and the views were incredible. I believe that it truly illustrates the kinds of modernization that China has strived to achieve. From the tower, I could see the world's second largest building; it was amazing to see how the building towered over the other buildings. From the view, I could also really see how much construction there is throughout the central area of Shanghai especially in Pudong. I felt as if I was looking down on New York City which I believe shows China's movement towards westernization.

Last weekend I went to the Shanghai Zoo with my host family. We met up with Sarah Bauer, her host family, and Chinese teacher. Although the day was grey, the weather was still warm. The Shanghai Zoo was much different from any other zoo I have been to in the United States. At the Shanghai Zoo you could get much closer to the animals and have more interaction with them. Upon arriving at the zoo, we boarded a bus which would take us on a safari ride through various areas filled with animals. We were only feet away from rams, zebras, antelope, giraffes, camels, cheetah, bears, lions, and tigers! After the bus ride we saw ostriches which were held back by short fences. One of the ostriches leaned its neck over the fence and grabbed crackers from a mans hand! Next we went and saw two elephants which were separated by a moat and a small wall. Sarah, our host sisters, and I all fed the elephants grass by reaching our arms out while the elephant stretched its trunk out. It was amazing! I have never been so close to an elephant! After we saw white tigers and white lions and then we went to the Zoo's 'farm'. The animal handler let Sarah, our host sisters, and I into the gate to feed the goats. Next we went to 'animal kindergarten' where all the animals were only up to six months old. We saw baby bears play fighting which was so cute! My favorite part of the day is when we were able to hold and pet a 5 month old tiger cub. It was like holding a big puppy. After going to animal kindergarten we went and saw two animal shows which were amazing! It was a long day but we all had a great time. I will always remember my day at the Shanghai Zoo.

Rosie Jacobsen

Monday, April 7th, 2008

We went to the Shanghai Museum which is located in the heart of Shanghai . It was really interesting to see some of China 's most ancient artifacts. An interesting event that occurred in the museum was that I became friends with an Iranian man. The entire thing started out when Britt asked him if he could take a picture of Britt, Lynnie, Kaitlin, and myself (The Chinese students did not go to the museum with us). We posed in front of an ancient Chinese canoe and he took the picture for us. Then, he asked Britt if he could take a picture for him. The camera was in Arabic and he had to teach Britt how to use the camera. After we took his photo, he asked us where we were from. I instinctively replied Darien , Connecticut , but Britt added America . The man exclaimed, "Oh America !" Then, I wanted to know where he was from. He said, " Iran ". Britt and I said, "Oh cool!" But, then we got an unbelievable response that stunned me. He said, "Even though our countries are not friends, we can still get along and be friends!" I thought this was amazing and kind of funny in a sense. It was amazing how easy it was to make friends with a stranger even though we come from completely different backgrounds, we are completely different ages, and our two nations are not getting along. Also, I found it kind of funny that in all of the places you would expect this to happen it would probably not happen in China . There are very, very few Iranians in China and even fewer in Shanghai , and not too many Americans as well. Also, due to the fact that America and Iran are not the closest nations in friendship, there are not too many American and Iranian friends, most are just business partners. I just felt that this whole experience was an once in a lifetime experience and just a wonderful memory and also, a sign of hope that maybe one day the U.S.A and Iran can work together to make this world a more peaceful place, so that people do not call each other American, Iranian, Chinese, etc, but rather just human beings living in this world together in harmony.

On one of the days when we didn't have school, I went to Luxun Park with my host family. The park had music everywhere -- a woman singing Shanghai Opera; people participating in outdoor karaoke; men practicing their saxophones, and a group of people playing traditional Chinese instruments. My host sister told me that no one had to pay to participate in these activities, that they were just for the enjoyment of the people. While passing by the group of people playing the traditional Chinese music, I was asked to join in and play a tambourine-like instrument. I had no idea what I was doing, but my host father started to play it while sort of dancing and gave it back to me to try. I tried my best, and we drew a crowd with me playing on the tambourine, my host sister playing a drum-like instrument, and the men on other forms of Chinese instruments making music, too. As we were walking out of the park, my host father told me that it symbolized the way of life of the Chinese people. "Very peaceful, and not a lot of sound," were his words. I thought that this statement contradicted everything I had learned about China with their rapid growth and rush to prosper economically. But, in looking back at the people singing and playing instruments, the children playing Chinese yoyos on the grass, and the old men playing chess in the Magnolia gardens, I realized that this statement was entirely true, at least for this area in

China

Perhaps the most interesting moment of today happened when Chance's family (my host family) and cousins went to visit the graves of their ancestors in honor of Qingmin festival. We drove a good two hours out of Shanghai to arrive at a huge graveyard where there were at least 10,000 people, me being the only Westerner in sight. It was a little awkward for me to stand by the tombs of their ancestors and to watch on while they decorated them with incense, flowers, and their personal prayers. The grandmother (on Chance's mother's side) was a Christian, so she was buried in the very small plot for Christians in the very large graveyard. Because she was Christian, Chance's family laid flowers on her grave and dusted off the crucifix on her tombstone, as opposed to Chance's deceased grandfather for whom they lit incense and recited prayers because he was Buddhist. Although it was rather awkward for me, it was nonetheless a very spiritual experience, and interesting to see how the Chinese honor their dead.

Today we went to an amazing science museum, full of fun things to do. I didn’t want to leave after we had gone through the exhibits. We saw demonstrations about technology and robots, how things are saved on to disc drives and other interesting technologies. There was an exhibit about the coriolis force which is a boat-like object with a seat and a cannon on one end and a target on the other end. We spun it around and the object was to hit the target even as it was spinning. I instantly thought of science class and the last thing we learned about before I left for China . I emailed my teacher to tell her all about it. She replied back that she was happy and glad I could connect to class half way across the world.

After the museum, we later went to Century Park . It was amazing, too, because it was about 70 degrees, warm and sunny. Robby Nevin and I went on little motor boats and headed toward an amazing lake in Century Park . In this park, we managed to play an American game of football. Intense. Robby and I vs. Jake and Britt. Two big muscle people vs two track stars! Robby and I won after a long hot game.

In addition to Century Park being a place for boat rides and a game of football, it was a place where we could use some of our Chinese. The night before we went to Century Park , my host family taught me the word ya ya nong. This expression means thank you but is only recognized in Shanghai . The day at the park there was a man who was working at the boat rental office and communication was not easy at all. After we had a translator, we bought our ticket and went on the relaxing boat ride. After we went back to retrieve our down payment, there was a moment that truly stood out. I proceeded to say ya ya nong. Instantly, this stranger understood me; he put out his hand and shook my hand in amazement. With the help of Bonnie, my host sister, I understood what he said in response as he shook my hand. “Your Shanghainese is very good”. A man maybe in his 70’s, a respected elder, complimented me on my new phrase. After all the preparation I had done for the trip to China , it was the communication with my host family that had led me to try to understand and immerse my self in the culture. Without my loving host family, I would have never learned this word. I can say that life is amazing here in China . I love putting myself in unfamiliar situations.. I feel as though I have a very limited vocabulary in Chinese, but I am able to communicate to people who speak none on my native language. This has led me to believe I can achieve anything, anywhere with the guidance of locals. As my father said, “Do as the locals do.” He has come back many times from business trips and said he was with his business men at night, but when it comes time to eat, he does not go to a big fancy restaurant but rather asks the locals where they eat and what is the best thing to order. This has taught me to just stop and take a step back and ask some questions to find out what the meaning of small things can signify. Without talking in Chinese to this stranger, I would have never had the experience of placing my self in a situation I previously would have been uncomfortable.

Today was the most fascinating day out of all my days so far here in China. We visited the Long Hua Temple, a Buddhist Temple in Shanghai. It was an eye-opening experience. The Buddhist religion is amazing and the architecture is stunning. The way the roofs peak and decline is out of the ordinary. The Buddhist people's way of praying is also very interesting. Their use of incense fascinates me. Not only do they smell great, but the fact that they are used for prayer is very interesting. All of the shrines were different in their own way. Some have thousands of small Buddhas, while other shrines had one or two extremely large and extravagant ones. I wish I had found out what each shrine signifies. Later in the day I was able to talk to a Buddhist monk with Michelle Doying. I found out what made this man decide to become a monk. I also found out what it was like to live the life of a monk. I learned that it is a very pure life. They do not eat meat because it is bad to kill an animal. I came across a temple which had at least one hundred monks singing and praying. It was stunning.

One interesting thing I discovered today was an ice rink, but it was not your ordinary Stamford Twin Rinks. This ice rink was on the 6th floor of a gigantic mall behind the Adidas Store. We - Justin, Robby, our host sisters and I - went skating on it. The skates were way too big and ice rink was kind of small, but I had so much fun. There was a really good five or seven-year old boy skating, too. He kept flying full speed up to us and stopping in way so that he would spray ice at us. I decided to challenge him to a race since I am so competitive. He got out to a quick start, but I took the inside lane. He hit some traffic as we were neck and neck at the turn. Coming down to the final straight away, we were giving it all we had. I was a terrible skater and to be honest, I really wanted to show this amazing kid that he wasn't "all that." He clearly thought he was, because he kept moving in and out and between people. So down the last straight away, I looked at him and he looked at me. Then he disappeared. I looked over my shoulder and saw him on the ground with some other skater. He wasn't looking where he was going, and he had smashed right into someone! It was fun to be able to compete with a stranger on the ice; the skating took on a language of its own.

Saturday I went to Gu-Yi Gardens. While I was there an old man came up to me, pointing towards a pagoda or pavilion. My sister said that he wanted to tell me a story about the bird on top of the pagoda. He said the story in Chinese as my host family translated it for me into English. He said that once there was a man who wanted to build a temple. It was very hard to do so, so a crane helped him build it. After the temple was built, he wanted to honor the crane so he put a statue of it on top of the pagoda. The 'hua' or crane has been a symbol of luck ever since. The old man was able to communicate with me by pointing to the crane and making his hands into the shape of a bird. Hearing this man's story was an incredible experience because he wanted to share part of his culture with a complete stranger.

Life is a little crazy here, but I think we may finally be settling in a bit. Yesterday we had a great day at Zhujiajiao, a water village about an hour or so from here. Then last night Alex (Mr. Speiser) and I headed out on our own to Nanjing Road. Later we came back and went to a restaurant we have found near our "hotel" which has good food, a menu with an English translation and good prices.

Anyway, we will be teaching classes next week - and this week we will help with the debate team's preparations for their semi-finals. Apparently the competition includes a sort of improv dramatic sketch and they want some ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can be of some use. Tomorrow night we go to an acrobatic performance of some kind and in a few minutes we'll be having a "Chinese Language and Culture" class with Rex, a young teacher who was our tour guide (of sorts) yesterday. He is fun and funny...It was a great day. So many new sights and sounds and smells and tastes! So much shopping!

From Ms. Herman, April 4

Today, the entire day, we went to a town outside of Shanghai called Zhu Jia Jiao. It was fascinating, I thought, because I was able to get a first-hand look at real Chinese life in a rural area. The things that really interested me in Zhu Jia Jiao were the buildings and the people who were making crafts and preparing and selling food. It was interesting because these people were working in dark, deserted rooms, which were far away from everything else in the town. They were making the crafts that other people would sell after they are done, or maybe they sell the crafts themselves, I don’t know. But it was awesome because the things they made were things you would buy in a store, and you could see them making it right before your eyes. One man I saw was making a multicolored glass lamp and used a glue gun to glue the pieces together. Another man was doing calligraphy and another one was carving wood. Another thing that really interested me in Zhu Jia Jiao was the buildings. The first thing I noticed was the unique architecture. What was so cool about it was the roofs that are made out of black tiles, stacked onto each other in a traditional style we had not seen in Shanghai. I loved Zhu Jia Jiao, and already I want to go back. It was where I first really learned to bargain.

After my host mom and dad split half a blueberry muffin, my host dad and I got into a very long discussion about Chinese history and Western influence and how disappointed and deeply saddened he is that China is destroying its old buildings and walls that could have been saved or put in a museum. He also told me that Shanghai is becoming too Westernized and in 100 years or so, when people look back on Shanghai, all they'll see are apartment buildings, while when we look back on Roman times, we still see rings left over from Coliseums. My host father also told me that the Chinese people tolerate the government’s changes because the Chinese people have been used to it for generations.

So I thought that I would give my host family, for one of their gifts, an American candy. I chose jelly beans. When they opened up the box, they said, "Oh! Is it a bean?" I had to explain that it was an American candy that was in the shape of a bean. They tried them and really liked them. Later that night, we went to a grocery store, and what do I see? A big stand dedicated to jelly beans! It had the big Jelly Belly mascot and a sale's person dedicated to just that item. I thought it was a unique American candy, but apparently it is sold worldwide. Funny how things work out!