Saturday, December 29th

Today was certainly a day of mixed emotions. We had a day filled with rain, long waiting, laughter, and a beautiful moment on the city college track.

We started off our day by heading down to the area where a few floats were being made. We were to take a picture, but soon discovered that the times had been wrong and that we actually had over an hour to wait. When we were finally able to take a picture, the rain muddied many of our moods. We were also able to tour a few of the floats and see the process of their creation. The best part was being able to step out of the rain and under a tent!

We then drove along the parade route for a little while (actually, a long, long while) and picked up some snacks around the way. As we arrived at Pasadena City College, the rain began to clear and most, if not all, moods considerably lightened.

We met up with our Chinese counterparts and ate some In and Out burgers that were provided for us. I think that I gain a marching band fifteen every trip that we take.

The Chinese marching band then got into their awesome red uniforms, and we blocked for a short practice. It was extremely cool seeing our red and blue uniforms together.

By the way, if my writing seems a bit lackluster, I blame the early wake-up calls. Someone really needs to talk to Mr. Wilson and co. about those. I want to sleep!

We then performed our show in front of a very large crowd. It was a bit nerve-wracking seeing bands much larger and louder ahead of us, but I thought that we gave a great performance. The Chinese also performed extremely well, especially considering that they are not used to performing on the football field.

The best moment, and the one I’m most excited to write about, was when the Chinese and us performed a piece of our parade route for the audience. Let me set the scene. The sun was beginning to fade behind the building and it cast a brilliant golden glow across the football field and track. Our blue uniforms provided a sharp contrast to the red ones of the Chinese. Mark, our drum major, stood in front with an air of excitement. I looked at the Chen, the Chinese student next o me, and we wished each other luck. Then, the whistle sounded with a shrill, and we were off. Playing the medley of Chinese and American folksongs alongside the Chinese and in front of a large audience was a moment that I can’t quite put into words. The audience was cheering and waving and Mr. Wilson stood in front with a proud look on his face and a camera phone in his hands. It was a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

After the performance, the Valley Christian students were treated by a trip to the mall. Then, on our return home, we were unfortunate enough to be behind an enormous accident and had to wait for another hour. When we finally returned home, nary a word was said as we all collapsed into bed.

(Pictures to come soon)

Friday, December 28th

It has been an adventurous past few days and I have been unable to blog most of them. You know, I thought it would be easier to get Internet in the States than it was in China, but I’m having issues with it here as well. The only place I can upload text is on the bus. So, I’ll try my best to keep you updated, but it might be somewhat delayed!

On Friday, we met our Chinese counterparts on our home turf. They had never been on a football field before, so they were quite eager to practice a little bit before displaying their field show.  Valley Christian students practiced and refined their music in the rehearsal hall, before heading up to the field to show off a little bit and play our Danzon piece once again.

Then, our Chinese friends played their two mini shows. One was Jasmine Flower, coincidentally one of the songs we’re playing in our parade, and the other was a karate inspired piece complete with students punching and kicking (not each other).

We then proceeded to the rehearsal hall and divided up into sections in order to meet our Chinese counterparts that we were to give gifts to. Mine was a very nice girl named Ding Baiying, People began mingling and actually getting to know each other. Names were learned and emails were exchanged. Similar to the basketball game in China, worlds collided when some valley students decided to try and teach some Chinese students football. It was truly an awesome thing to watch.

We then boarded the buses to make our way down South to our Long Beach hotel. I was asleep for the majority of it, so, sadly, I have no great stories to tell. Our arrival at the hotel ran smoothly and we all fell headfirst into our beds and pummeled into dreamland as soon as we entered our rooms.

(Pictures to come soon)

There and Back Again ( First Day With the Chinese)

             

    The journey to the roses grew to full height as the Valley Christian marching band members worked through the incredibly busy last few days. We have had two days of practice sans our Chinese counterparts where we refined marching technique and learned the difficult 105 degree turn. We were able to see old friends as many alumni returned to the marching band field.
Not every journey is without barriers, however, as the directors discovered that some students may have neglected to practice. Marching band is a wonderful activity because every person matters. One person giving their all can give so much to the band, but, on the other side of the spectrum, one person who doesn't know their part correctly can harm the band substantially. After a talk filled with a bit of tough love, the directors inspired everyone to go home on Wednesday and practice into the long hours of the night. The result on Thursday was a much stronger band which, while still having potential to grow, showed an enormous amount of promise.
Speaking of Thursday, it was the first day spent with our Chinese counterparts! We arrived at Gilroy Gardens in the wee hours of the morning ready to kick down some cultural barriers. The Chinese arrived shortly after we did and a sudden bout of shyness fell upon most. A friend and I went to greet them, but the Chinese were just as shy as all of us. After some prompting from our respective directors, we began to mingle a bit more and started learning, or attempting to learn, some names. I know that I personally had problems even pronouncing names correctly, something that garnered a bit of laughter from some Chinese flutes.
The directors wasted no time starting practice. We split up into rotating groups in order to practice both marching our steps and playing our music. This gave us a chance to further meet some Chinese students through the common denominator of an activity that is important to all of is.

We then had lunch catered by Togo's and were able to eat with our Chinese counterparts. After lunch, I was given gifts by two of my newfound Chinese friends whose names I will not even attempt to try to butcher. 

We were then set into our official block. Thankfully, I was set beside one of my two friends! We practiced marching all together and it was wonderful to see the block in action. We turned 105 degrees and practicing marching our straights over and over and over and over . . . and over again, as per usual marching band fashion. 

After the end of rehearsal, we were allowed to go and visit the park. I know that I personally had many fond memories to revisit. We were also served a traditional holiday feast and were treated to a show by some familiar characters. 

All in all, it was a beautiful day. Relationships are being revisited and new ones are becoming forged. I'm excited to see what the next few days hold in store for us. I'm sure they'll be full of some pretty awesome memories.

April 16th - The End

This is a bit belated, but we made it home safely! It was a very long travel day, but we manage to survive! Hopefully everyone made the choice to stay home today and rest. I personally was completely exhausted. It was weird waking up in America. I definitely experienced a tiny bit of culture shock, especially when I realized that people actually follow traffic laws here. 

I realize that I’ve said very little negative things about the trip throughout the blog, but that was not because I was instructed to write things with a rose tinted view. I actually did have a wonderful time. I managed to get to know people in band much better and make many new friends. I got to experience an entirely different culture and reminded myself of what it feels like to be an alien in an unfamiliar land. I met the students from Beijing 57 and discovered that they’re exactly like us. I realized that a smile is a universal symbol of happiness and can be used to bridge any language or cultural barriers. It was exhilarating, brilliant, fantastic, wonderful, and I wish I had my thesaurus with me so that I could come up with a thousand more words. I got to experience something that some people could never even dream of doing and I feel so very blessed. 

And thus ends the 2012 China trip. 

April 15 - From Vendor to Vendor

Today was the last full day in China and I wish so much that it wasn’t. I think spending another week or two here would have been wonderful. Sure, I’m looking forward to American conveniences like being able to drink the tap water or not having beds that are artifacts from the Stone Age, but I really enjoy being in China and I’ll miss it very much. 

Today we went to two local markets and a large bargaining hall. The first market we went to was basically Costco in outside form with large wares and some samples. The streets were full of little trucks, chickens, dogs, rice pieces, and assorted kinds of sewage. I thought it was extremely fascinating! The interesting part of this market was that apparently many of the locals had never seen foreigners before. When we walked down the alleyways absolutely everyone stared. People got out of their shops or leaned out of their windows to gaze upon us. One of the women came up to us and tried speaking English with us a little bit. I admire her bravery so much. I can’t imagine how much courage it must take to go up to a group of foreign people and try speaking a language you hardly know.

The second market we went to was indoors. We saw all sorts of wares, from huge slabs of meat to frogs that were struggling to escape their nets to live turtle animals. One of the students bought a bag of red peppers and quite of few people tried them and quite a few people were suddenly filled with much regret. 

We then went to an area in Tianjin where we could find food. Many of us, slightly sick of a week of Chinese food, headed straight for the KFC. I’ve never been to a KFC before so I can’t attest to any similarities between the Chinese and American versions, but the burger the student who was sitting next to me had could have been chicken, fish, beef, or an entirely new species of animal. The world may never know. 

The third market we went to was a huge indoor bargaining market. Our tour guide gave us a few brief tips on how to haggle and then sent us off into the hall. We browsed through stalls and shops and looked at all sorts of items, from knock-off iPads to huge spears. At first our haggling skills were fairly non-existent and the vendors would rub their hands in glee as they watched us attempt to knock down prices a few yuan. After a few tries, though, we gained a fairly good amount of proficiency. Nick and I even managed to knock down an item 350 yuan after a few minutes of bargaining. Some people had more luck than others (one person was unfortunately spit on), but it was an exhilarating experience. I only wish we had more time to spend. 

We ended the night with a dinner of fabulous dumplings. Returning to the hotel, we met in the conference room to talk about the trip back home. We then finally returned back to our rooms to pack our belongings together and fall into the stone-like beds for the very last time. 

April 14: Just when things are starting to feel normal

For today’s entry there will be less writing and more pictures. The heartwarming effects of saying goodbye to our Chinese counterparts is way too difficult to put into words.

We began the day by directly traveling to Beijing 57. We again started with an hour of music followed by two hours of marching exercise. Things are starting to feel normal and I really wish we had a little bit more time to further learn how to work with one another. 

During break some of the boys organized a basketball game. The really cool part about it was that the games weren’t Valley vs. Beijing 57. The teams were intermingled and they used sign language and body language to communicate. 

The marching portion of the practice went really well. We are starting to learn how to form straight lines even whilst turning! The heat burned the tops of heads and throats of us all, but the marching students managed somehow. After marching, we all got into uniforms in order to take pictures. In an unbearably slow process, we were lined up in order to take a group shot.

After we got out of uniforms, it was time to say goodbye. We mingled together and took loads of pictures. I said goodbye to Jackel, a friend on the film crew who I exchanged emails with. Actually, many emails were exchanged as well as other gifts. In fact, Ben got a gourd! Please know that the smiles in the following pictures were not staged. It was such a wonderful, joyous, fantastic time. I can’t wait to see them again in December, I really can’t.

After Beijing 57, we traveled to an acrobat show. It was actually highly interesting. The production did not have as high a budget as Cirque du Soleil, but it was fantastic nonetheless. The movements that the actors made were very staccato and cute. My personal favorite act was one with an acrobat doing several tricks on a wire.
We had dinner at a fancy restaurant and then returned to the hotel for the evening. We only have one day left and that makes me incredibly sad. I love this country, the food, the sights, and most of all the wonderful people I’m spending this trip with.