Michelle and a Buddhist nun she tutored last month in Dharamsala, India

Dear Masters’ School China Program Participants:

I began studying Chinese in preparation for a move to Taiwan with my family when I was twelve years old. I had no idea then how greatly time in Asia would impact the rest of my life. I have now been speaking Mandarin and spending time in Asia for almost thirty years. After graduating from high school in Taipei, I spent a year at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. My graduate work was done in the field of International Education, with fieldwork on the plight of Tibetan refugees in Indian exile communities.

Working extensively in the field of International Education over the past decade, I have planned, led, or administratively supervised high school or gap year programs to China/Tibet, Thailand, India, Mexico, and Morocco. I have also taught social studies courses, including Asian and Global Studies, Chinese Language & Culture, and Tibetan Studies at two high schools in New England.

Connecting with people in China and New York over the past year to develop your itinerary, which will expose you to fascinating learning opportunities in the capital city of Beiing and the southwestern province of Yunnan, has been an intensive and satisfying experience. With Lin Fu as your program leader in the field, Masters teacher Kristen Tregar and a strong support team working with us in China, I am confident that you have an amazing experience ahead of you.

Continue reading "Greetings from Michelle Bos-Lun, Director of China/Tibet Programs" »

Posted by Global LAB at 11:44 AM | Permalink

Dear Masters China Trip Participants,

Hi! My name is Lin Fu and I will the Global LAB program director for your trip. I hope to meet all of you soon during a pre-travel orientation, but I will still take a moment now to introduce myself to you.

I graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in May 2006 with a degree in International Economics, concentrating on economic growth, transition, and development. After graduation, I spent about six months in East Asia, traveling around China and then studying cross-strait relations and Taiwanese political economy in Taiwan on a Georgetown-National Chengchi University China Studies Fellowship. I am currently working at a financial firm in New York.

Growing up, I spent most of my summers in China. I'm of Chinese descent and have many relatives there. As a rapidly developing country, China offers a fascinating juxtaposition of the traditional and the modern, which you will be able to see first-hand during our three-week program. Our itinerary, with its focus on sustainable development, promises to be intellectually stimulating as well as just plain fun.

I look forward to meeting everyone!

Lin

Posted by Global LAB at 7:17 PM | Permalink

Day 01 June 07, 2009 Sunday Beijing
Arrive in Beijing, China’s capital. Meet local Beijing guide/translator. Engage in introductory language lessons/ review and cultural orientation sessions as we begin to experience life in China and experience some jetlag.

Day 02 June 08, 2009 Monday Beijing
Orientation to the city of Beijing followed by a visit to the renowned Great Wall (at Ju Rong Guan, about 30 miles north of Beijing).

3pm - Meeting with experts at the UNDP to discuss their work in China, including promoting environmental sustainability. (2 Liangmahe Nanlu, Beijing, 100600)

Tonight’s activity is the incredible Peking Opera.

Day 03 June 09, 2009 Tuesday Beijing
In the morning explore Tian’an Men Square and the Forbidden City, the residence of Chinese emperors for more than 500 years.

After lunch, at 2pm, meet with Frances Fremont-Smith (conference room at our hotel) to discuss some of the focus themes of the program: water issues, alternate energy development, and food distribution.

Then we will break into small groups to explore the city. Enjoy a special dinner of Peking Duck this evening.

Continue reading "Daily Itinerary" »

Posted by Global LAB at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Greetings from Kristen, Masters School science teacher

Dear Masters School China Program Participants, families, and friends:

Hello! It’s amazing how fast the time is flying by before we depart for China. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you.

In high school, I attended a school very much like Masters called The Wheeler School in Providence, RI. While there, I developed a love of science, but also of languages and cultures. I had a chance to travel to France and Spain with a group of students from school, and lived for a month as an exchange student on a cattle farm in Lichtervelde, Belgium. My time on the ranch in Belgium gave me a real appreciation for rural life in a different culture, and inspired an interest in sustainable agriculture (in a way that only planting 3000 head of cauliflower in one afternoon can!).

Continue reading "Kristen (teacher) introduction" »

Posted by Aaron Bos-Lun at 10:45 PM | Permalink

Hi all,

The meeting on the 29th will be in the Herrick room, the bottom floor of the dining hall. It would be great if we could meet a bit before the meeting is to start (say by 3:15 or so) so we're all on the same page. If you let me know when you are coming in, Kristen and I can meet you out front of the school.

Thanks!!
Laura

Posted by Aaron Bos-Lun at 7:19 PM | Permalink

Hello Everyone-

Hope your preparations for the program to China are going well.

Please go to the link below (for the Insurance Policy Form): print it out, fill it out, sign it and bring it along to orientation on Friday the 29th so that we can complete registration for each of you for insurance coverage through the CORE Travel insurance program.

If you'd like to upgrade to a higher level of coverage, information to do that is available in the FAQ document and you may contact the CORE administrator to work that out. We provide coverage for each student with the Basic level of insurance in the CORE plan.

Frequently Asked Questions: CORE Policy
Download file

CORE Insurance Policy Form
Download file

Michelle Bos-Lun
Director of China/Tibet Programs
Global LAB

Posted by Aaron Bos-Lun at 7:20 PM | Permalink

"He who would travel happily must travel light." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Lugging a heavy pack around for the entire time we are in Asia can be extremely tiresome for you, and for the rest of the group. You’ll want to have room to pack gifts to take back to the U.S. Seriously challenge yourself to pack light.

PLEASE NOTE: We strive to be model visitors and therefore ask that everyone bring clothing that is lightweight and durable, but that also covers the body well, and looks respectable. T-shirts sporting inappropriate phrases, cut-off jeans, clothing with rips or holes, tight fitting leggings, and tank tops are inappropriate as they show disrespect for local cultures.

Continue reading "PACKING LIST FOR CHINA: Beijing/Kunming/Dali/Lijiang/Zhongdian" »

Posted by Aaron Bos-Lun at 8:33 PM | Permalink

back row left to right: Emily, Rushell, Ms. Trager, Daniel, Mehran, and Vicky
front row left to right: Maddy, Elliana, Ian

At the Met:

back row: Ian and Mehran
middle row: Maddy, Vicky and James
front row: Ms. Trager

In preparation for our trip to China our group did some really interesting activities. For example, we went to a tea tasting in a town near our school. We tried 3 different types of traditional Chinese teas. Gunpowder was the group favorite. We also went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC to see an exhibit on ancient Chinese art and weaponry. There were lovely scrolls with poetry and plum tree drawings as well as some really cool horse armor. Our teacher rides horses and she loved the armor. We also read some articles on modern China. Ms. Tregar sent us New York TImes articles on China's "clean coal" factory plan. We also read articles and watched a video on Tiananmen Square.

--Maddy

Posted by Global LAB at 8:19 PM | Permalink

Hi all,

I'm Mehran and I am extremely excited to be going to China. I signed up for a couple of reasons, most of which are the themes for this trip. Globally, the environment is suffering and, along with the USA, China is one of the top producers of greenhouse gases. I am also a big soccer player, which you can see in the picture in front of the MET (I'm wearing a White Plains Elite Soccer jacket). I know China's men's team is not the best but I am interested in seeing how important soccer is in China's culture.

Posted by Global LAB at 2:11 AM | Permalink

I know everyone is still in the middle of finals, but just wanted to call your attention to some books on China that I think are particularly worth reading. Even if you don't get to any of these titles before we leave, you can check them out after we get back:

Out of Mao's Shadow by Philip P. Pan
China Wakes by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn
Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman
Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence

Posted by Lin Fu at 3:25 AM | Permalink

Lin Fu called to let us know everybody made it to the airport, cleared security, and she and the rest of the group were eagerly awaiting push back of China Air flight 982. After a 51 minute delay, the plane lifted off and began the long journey to the East.

As soon as we get confirmation of arrival in China we'll post another update.

Posted by Global LAB at 4:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The group has arrived safely in Beijing. Despite being somewhat tired, we were not too tired to check out the food options near our hotel. Navigating the ordering process in Chinese at KFC and Ajisen Ramen--not bad for our first few hours in China.

Hopefully we will all be able to get a good night's sleep as tomorrow we leave bright and early for the Great Wall.

Lin

Posted by Global LAB at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

At the entrance to the Ju Rong Guan section of the Great Wall

Resting at one of the watchtowers along the Great Wall

What a view!

Posted by Lin Fu at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Having been here for only two days, we have already experienced a lot. With the great food, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City, China has truly been mind-blowing for us. According to Ms. Tregar, Kunming sounds like a beautiful place. The group can't wait to see the beauty of Kunming and believes that we had a great start. We are really looking forward to learning more about China.

Posted by Lin Fu at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Today was an informative day as we got to explore Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace. In Tiananmen, we saw the People's Heroes Monument, Mao's Memorial, the Tiananmen Gate with Mao's portrait and the elaborate city gates. We then saw the emperor's quarters filled with jade, silk, and gold and all the beautiful and carefully architectured buildings for the nobles and imperials. The buildings had breathtaking craftmanship and depicted a regality which not only informed us of the past, but also allowed us to travel back in time and feel as though we were royalty then. Overall, the day kept us on our feet and left us in awe of now modern China and ancient China blended together. We had a blast! Can't wait for Yunnan!

Posted by Lin Fu at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

We arrived in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, around noon today and headed to the observatory after lunch. Rainy and cloudy out so we were unable to use the telescope to see the stars tonight, but we did take a tour of their facilities. Tonight's activity will be a lesson on useful Chinese phrases.

We have limited Internet access now, but will do our best to keep posting updates to the blog so stay tuned.

Lin

Posted by Global LAB at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Hey we found an internet cafe. It is now 9:15 pm Thursday. We are having a blast in Kunming. Miss you all and keep the comments coming. We have the record for most comments!!! Love you all.. don't worry we are safe and having fun!! see u soon!

Posted by Global LAB at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

June 10th - We traveled from Beijing to Kunming. We had to wake up at 5am for our flight at 7:45am to Kunming. Once we got here, we were taken to this restaurant where many people agreed that the food was very exquisite. Afterwards, we drove to the Observatory, where we were staying at. It was then when some people started to feel the effects of the high altitude of Kunming. At the Observatory, we learned about the planets, ancient methods of space-telling, and telescopes. We also experienced a Chinese planetarium. After that, we ate dinner at an university cafeteria and experienced a common meal of the locals here. After dinner, Lin gave basic Chinese lessons to everyone. This was followed by some card games in which most of us participated. Finally, after a few hours of intense poker-facing, card slamming and BS-ing, everyone headed off to bed to "chill" and rest for the next day's activities.

Posted by Lin Fu at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

WOW!! So far Kunming is not what I have expected it to be. It is safe to say I am surprised. I did have sort of a culture shock back in Beijing but certainly not as significant as here. Kunming is the melting pot of China. Also the "new" Kunming is being constructed and there is construction everywhere. It is interesting to see a Chinese city that is not as developed as Beijing. This city might look like the China before its huge economic boom. Kunming is still very large. I heard it was about the same size as San Francisco. Like Beijing, the traffic here is still pretty insane and I admire the bus driver's ability to not run over any pedestrians. Unlike Beijing, Kunming is on the foot of mountains. There are steep roads going up and down hills. Also there are farms everywhere. As far as food goes, it has not been that bad. The chicken head I ate was not as bad as it sounds as well as the worms. Since the culture is more diverse than Beijing, the food is a little different.

So far we have been to some interesting places her in Kunming. First we went to an observatory with a giant teloscope. We learned a bunch about astronomy and the technology surrounding teloscopes. The next day we went to the botanical gardens here in Beijing. We took a pleasant walk around the gardens, which was very relaxing. We were followed by a kitten for half the time. And now here I am writing this in an internet cafe about to go back to the hotel. Can't wait to see more,

James Odell

Posted by Lin Fu at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

At the Old City Gate of Beijing

At Tiananmen Square

Waiting for our tickets to enter the Forbidden City

Posing in front of the male lion that guards the first building

Inside the Forbidden City

Further inside the Forbidden City

In the Imperial Gardens (part of the Forbidden City)

Posted by Lin Fu at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In front of a sundial at the Observatory

Meeting with TNC (The Nature Conservancy) to learn about their environmental projects in Yunnan Province

Trying out chicken feet during lunch

Tasting a chicken head!

Our servers share a local song with us

Professor Long of the Kunming Botanical Garden gives a talk on ethnobotany in Yunnan

A botanist from the Kunming Botanical Garden shows us around their grounds

Tickling the "tickling tree" for luck

The golden lotus (musella lasiocarpa), sacred flower to the Dai and Bulang minorities of SW Yunnan

Posted by Lin Fu at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Giant pagoda after sunset, Chuxiong. Image: Robert Thompsen

The group has arrived in Chuxiong, the ancient city of the Yi minority group in China. Our hotel is right near a nightmarket, so we will be busy exploring and won't have time to post more tonight. The group is quite excited!

--Lin

Posted by Global LAB at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Today we drove to the Stone Forest, what I think is one of the most incredibly preserved geoparks in the world. Although the walk around the park was challenging, witnessing these magnificent rock formations made us all appreciate how amazing nature can be. None of us could imagine that something so beautiful could be formed by simple rainfall. Then we made our way to the Western Hills and Dragon Gate. Who knew that something so spiritual and calming as a Buddhist temple could be built on a rocky, almost perilous cliff? Upon entering the Western Hills, one is almost calmed by the spiritual stillness that seem to envelope these holy sites. But as soon as you walk through the Dragon Gate, you find yourself standing on the edge of a cliff. This contrast of peril and spirituality was incredibly eye-opening on how Buddhist monks worshipped.

After, we drove to Chuxiong, which is, in my opinion, the best and most fun town we have visited yet. The architecture is so different from what we were used to in large cities such as Beijing and Kunming. Instead of brand new glass and steel skyscrapers, small traditional houses lined the streets. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by bright red Chinese lanterns illuminating the night sky along with distant folk singing. It seemed we had come to Chuxiong during a festival of some kind. You could find everything from a sheep-drawn carriage ride to carnival games. We even had the opportunity to light a floating lantern with our wishes on it. My favorite thing from the festival was getting to join in on a cultural dance with the locals. We stayed at the carnival until well into the night. Now I just can't wait to see what Dali has to offer.

Posted by Lin Fu at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well, today was very interesting. In the morning, we left Chuxiong and drove for a few hours to Dali. Although the drive was long, it was beautiful going over the Yunnan countryside. Seeing the blue skies, green fields, and majestic mountains is so beautiful. After we got to Dali, we went to the Three Pagodas. First, we went to the temple above and saw the heavily ornamented shrines and dieties. As we were walking down, the rain started to fall. We hurried under a building to wait out the shower, and as the sky cleared, a pocket of sunlight shot out at the temple in front of us. With the mountains, temple, green trees, and rays of sunlight hitting the temple, we all were overcome with absolute beauty. It was the most amazing thing I have seen in my life and I am sure none of us will ever forget it. Today was amazing and will never be forgotten.

Posted by Lin Fu at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

On Sunday we went hiking in the Changshan Mountains, which are the "foot hills" of the Himalayas. We hiked more than 12 km (about 9 miles). It was the most beautiful place we have seen so far. We found an alpine waterfall that ran into a pool with water so pure that you could perfectly see the bottom of a 10 foot pool. The water ran over white stones into smaller streams an mini waterfalls. If you lied down on the stones you looked straight up, past the mountains, into the sky. It ws so so beautiful. The water was melted snow and it was really cold but a lot of us took off our shoes and put our feets into the miniwater falls. We had so much fun! The chair lifts up and down also let us see the mountains from high up which was really cool. It was awesome!

Posted by Lin Fu at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

View from our bus on the way to the Stone Forest

Karst formations in the Stone Forest

On our way up to view more karst formations

Panoramic view of the Stone Forest

Posted by Lin Fu at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Dance performance on the street

More dancing

Enjoying the sights and sounds of the night market

Trying out an edible folk art: sugar in the shape of various animals

*Video clips from the Chuxiong night market forthcoming.

Posted by Lin Fu at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

At the Three Pagodas

Three Pagodas and reflections

Chongsheng Temple

Roof of one of the buildings at Chongsheng Temple

Chongsheng Temple before the rain shower

Chongsheng Temple after the rain

View from the chairlift up to Cangshan Mountain

Contact with the "prosperity" tablet brings good luck (temple on the mountain)

Taking a break during our 8-mi trek that covered five of the nineteen peaks of Cangshan Mountain

Side of the mountain that looks like a face

At one of the many waterfalls in the mountain

Testing the water (very cold!) at the waterfall

At the bottom of the waterfall

View of Dali from Cangshan Mountain

Posted by Lin Fu at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Our trip in China so far has been interesting to say the least. From meal worms to getting drenched from the rain today, our trip abroad has been generally exciting and eventful, that's why the relaxing easy pace of yesterday was extremely welcome. Our day was spent first with our tour guide Johnny at a traditional Bai (the local minority in Dali) morning market and house, then on the bus finding our way to our next Yunnan destination. Lijiang, although similar to Dali, seems to be composed primarily of winding roads, crowded with shops, and scenic parks like the one we went to when we first arrived in the city. That and a museum of the Naxi people were the first activities that marked our stay in this traditional minority dominated city. The museum, though our stay was short, definitely left an impact on me and mirrored some of the traditional style items recognizable during our later shopping excursions.

At the park, along with scaring mussels in the pond and getting watermelon smoothies, our group decided to take on a mascot. This little dog, Bi Zee (or "water chestnut" in English) became the subject of many pictures and videos. We ended the day by looking in the little shops that are everywhere in the area of Lijiang near the guest house (though it's more like a hotel) where we are staying. Though in our little group from Masters we have many different kinds of people we all pretty much like to shop.

Posted by Lin Fu at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In the morning, we visited the Nature Conservancy's HQ in Lijiang. There we learned about what the Nature Conservancy does in China in order to benefit the environment. In the afternoon, we visited a lake in Lijiang, which turned out to be an experience. Daniel and Ms. Tregar decided to ride horses while a few of us decided to take on a boat. Prior to this, Ian fell into a 3-ft deep stream, which made for a comical start. Griffin and I then proceeded to play some soccer with the vendors at the lake. We then got on the boat while a storm was approaching. While on the lake, the Himalayan rain came down like cold bullets and by the time we ran back to the bus, we were as wet as Ian was.

Posted by Lin Fu at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today we visited a local farm. The host and his family were very welcoming and kind. First, he invited us to share tea with him and to enjoy each others company before any activities. He invited us to pick golden plums from his tree in the courtyard of his house. We then headed out to the field and he pointed out his crops as we walked. We noticed he grew cucumbers and tomatoes among other crops. The area of land we were to work on was not yet cultivated. We were to till the soil, then plant some vegetable seeds. After working for a while we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by his family and even tried yak butter tea. During our break away from the field, we exchanged dances and songs with the host and his family. We learnt a few traditional Naxi dances and got to play their instruments. In turn, we taught a range of hip-hop, jazz, and even ballet moves to them. We were met by the local television crew, who took advantage of this cocktail of cultures and recorded us for the local nightly news. We then were able to help prepare dinner by washing vegetables. The meal was spectacular and really was rewarding after our hard day's work. After dinner, our host took the time to write each of our names in the Naxi writing called "dongba" on their special paper. We appreciated this very much. Overall, we had an amazing day! One which I'm sure we will always treasure. The kindness and warmth our host expressed to us and his willingness to open his home to us was truly generous of him and touched each of us greatly as we felt somewhat at home. Tomorrow, we will visit Tiger Leaping Gorge as we continue our trip. We are all excited!

Posted by Lin Fu at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

The group arrived in Beijing yesterday and is enjoying our last few days in China. Backlogged blog entries will be posted shortly.

Posted by Lin Fu at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

June 18th - Tiger Leaping Gorge is, according to the Chinese officials, the deepest gorge in the world. It is formed where the Yangtze cuts through the Himalayas. It is so beautiful! Our guide told us that the Yangtze is brown in the summer because of silt that is washed with it, but in the winter the water is blue. The rapids in the gorge are class 6 - no one who has tried to raft the water has survived. It was so powerful and the roar of the water was deafening. It was one of the most wonderful sites we have seen. The mountains around the gorge were beautiful as well - some were so high, their peaks were hidden in the clouds.

Maddy

Posted by Lin Fu at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today we went to the Pudacuo Scenic Area, a national park in Shangri-la. We saw many yaks and cows. It was beautiful. We went to the Samzoling Monastery in the afternoon. We were enlightened. It was a good day.

Daniel

---

Today we also went to a monastery. It's not everyday that one gets to talk to a monk and I had the privilege to have a conversation with one. Although the conversation wasn't very long and he was only six years old, I was truly speechless. His English was very good, I could hardly make out an accent. Also, there was something so spiritual and different about our encounter. It made me think about how he's going to be brought up among monks and how at such a young age he's able to speak so well and eloquently.

Vicky

Posted by Lin Fu at 5:40 PM | Permalink

Today we visited our second farm. Fortunately, this farm did not require grueling work in the field, however, it did require something that I never thought I would do. We milked yaks. It was an interesting and sticky experience and it was also a lot of fun. From the milk, yak butter was produced and then any milk left over was turned into yak cheese. Personally, I like my yak cheese dry and without sugar. After we churned some butter, we went outside and played some futbol and an interesting Tibetan game. The Tibetan game consisted of a rope tied in a circle, two people, and two bells. The people playing put the rope through their legs and then around their necks and then got on the ground. the objective was to crawl to the bell and hit it with your head. All of us have scars on our necks to prove how awesome that game is. We eventually played some soccer with two teams and no goalies. Griffin and I picked teams and in the end, his team won 8-5. Griffin has 8 goals, I had 4, and Daniel had 1. But, if it wasn't for the Hebrew Hammer, Sam Tregar, my team would have won that game.

Mehran

*Note from Lin: The "scars" on our necks are temporary - no need to worry!

Posted by Lin Fu at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

View of Black Dragon Pool

Relaxing by the Black Dragon Pool

Another view of Black Dragon Pool

About to go out in a boat around Lashihai Lake

Admiring the view by Lashihai Lake

Riding around Lashihai Lake

Farm Day #1: Sporting stylish new looks (note the plastic bags over shoes) before heading out to the field

Farm Day #1: Working in the field

Farm Day #1: Learning a Naxi dance from our host

Farm Day #1: Our host teaches another Naxi dance

Farm Day #1: Teaching our host some American dance moves

Farm Day #1: Being interviewed about our day of farming for the local news

Posted by Lin Fu at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

At Pudacuo National Park

Samzoling Monastery

On a yak

Farm Day #2: Making yak butter

Farm Day #2: Playing a Tibetan game

Farm Day #2: Watching the soccer game with "Mei Mei"

Posted by Lin Fu at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

June 21st - Today, we arrived in the city of Beijing once again after our journey from Shangri-La. After we arrived, we had dinner and then went to see a Chinese acrobatics show. It was breathtaking. The costumes were beautiful, the dancing was so very graceful, and the acrobatics were very skillful. I, personally, have mostly only seen acrobatic shows on television, so when I saw the live performance last night, I was just so amazed at the skills and how the whole show was pulled off. There were a couple of slip-ups, but overall, the show was very entertaining. What I found the most amusing were the silly poses that the guys struck every time they came on. The acrobats performed extremely dangerous stunts; however, all ended well and safetly for the performers. They all flexed into different and scary positions; at one point, it hurt myself to look at them. . . But all in all, the show turned out to be very beautiful and entertaining.

Posted by Lin Fu at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

With Frances Fremont-Smith, Executive Director of Future Generations

School Visit: Talking with some Chinese students

School Visit: Conversations with Chinese peers

School Visit: Basketball with the local students

School Visit: Group photo with the students we met

Finished product of the Chinese cooking class we watched

Tasting the dish (sweet and sour pork with pineapple)

Karaoke on our last night in Beijing (singing "My Heart Will Go On")

Also singing "My Heart Will Go On"

Bewildered by the love for Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic

Posted by Lin Fu at 7:39 PM | Permalink

Dancing

Posted by Global LAB at 1:43 PM | Permalink

June 24th – We’re on the plane, at the end of our trip, on our way home. As reflection is an important part of processing all the information and experiences gathered from trips such as this one, the group was prompted to share some of their thoughts on what they have learned during these past two and a half weeks. Below are their ruminations on this trip, varying from the conflict between environmental protection and economic development to the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity, from observations about urban and rural areas to yet unvoiced reactions to some of our activities.

Elli
On this trip to China, I realized many things about China and about myself that I didn’t notice before. When I first arrived in China, I noticed how much Beijing had modernized (mostly because of the Olympics). Everyone around me had mentioned how “far” China has come, and I didn’t really pay much attention back then. Now, however, I finally realize what people have been saying.

From our trip to Yunnan, I realized how much different each province of China was to each other. I saw many farms, and shed-like dwellings, but at the same time, I saw huge buildings and many construction sites. China has come very far since its open-door policy, a statement easily proven by just looking in the streets of cities: advertisements everywhere for every possible product. China’s economy is now booming at the speed of light, and as people have said, the 21st century is easily in their hands.

Something personal that I gained from this trip is a refreshing of who I am. Being Chinese and living in the USA, it is harder for me to embrace my culture than someone already living China. And because of that, it is easier to loose the connection to the Chinese part of me. However, this trip reminded me of the amazing culture that I am blessed to naturally be a part of. Seeing China’s progress since opening its doors, seeing China’s determination to help greener the environment, and seeing aspects of the culture, like food and cute products, which all make me smile inside, every one have shown me that I cannot let being and living in America overtake my Chinese heritage. I am very proud to be a part of a nation that has come so far.

Vicky
During out stay in China, the most prominent observation I made was how much China was aware and conscious on how it presented itself to the world.

Continue reading "Final Thoughts from the Group" »

Posted by Lin Fu at 12:20 PM | Permalink