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.

April 13: Of walls and bird's nests to scale

We woke up this morning feeling much more tired than most of us have felt in the days previous. Hopefully we’ve just reached the top of the hill and will start feeling more in tune with the local time hereafter. Breakfast was in the hotel today, and it wasn’t long before we were blocked and off onto the buses. 

Our first stop was a jade museum and shop. We were able to hear a brief summary on how jade is carved and the value the different shapes have in a typical Chinese home. For example, a cabbage leaf is placed with its larger end to the door so that money will be brought in the home. I’m not sure whether I would have a jade cabbage structure in my house, but it was certainly interesting to see. We then had a little time to shop around and buy gifts for our friends and family. 

After the museum, we started the trip to the Great Wall. This was what many of us were most looking forward to in the beginning of the trip. We got to travel a bit into the outskirts of Beijing and see some beautiful mountains. The actual Great Wall snuck up on us a bit; suddenly someone shouted “There it is!”, and then everyone craned to look. It wrapped around the mountain in a serpentine fashion, rising up and down with steep motions and sharp turns. I wish everyone at home could have seen it. 

We first stopped in front of the entrance to take a group photo. After the third shot or so, a tour group from the Middle East decided they wanted to be in the group picture and sprawled out in front of us. Those few shots most likely contained our biggest smiles.

We then split off in groups to climb the wall. We could either choose the steep left side or the even steeper right side. My group felt adventurous so the right side was chosen. 

Just as a little side note, the steps are not as nice and even as they are in pictures. Some of them went up to my knees! A few people were reduced to crawling up the steps and taking breaks every few feet. I made it to the first outpost and that was just about enough for me. The view was nice and I had not yet collapsed! Many students went up to the summit of the mountain to see what it’d be like up there. I truly admire those courageous and tremendously in-shape souls.

My friend and I began the descent after having made it to the first outpost. Traveling down was actually more terrifying than climbing up! The wind had picked up and the railings were of absolutely no help! It was such an adventure, though. At one point I was sitting on one of the steps when the realization of where I was hit me. How many people get the chance to climb one of the wonders of the world? We are so ridiculously blessed. This trip has been the experience of a lifetime and it’s not even over yet. 

After touring the Great Wall, we went to a porcelain museum and shop. After getting a chance to see how porcelain was created, we were treated to a “hot pot” meal in the restaurant upstairs. I got burned about three times, but I believe everyone else did well with it. It was a fairly interesting style of cuisine. 

We then traveled to the Summer Palace. The grounds it was placed on were absolutely beautiful. We arrived there when the sun was setting and the light was a golden veil across the land. The lake was set with strands of diamonds and the myriad of cherry blossom trees were all set aglow. I personally wanted to stay there for a few more hours, but then again I hadn’t climbed  as much of the Great Wall as many of the others did. We walked around a little bit and some of us were asked to take pictures with the locals again. Many of us are like celebrities in this country!

We then took a quick photo stop by the famous Olympic Games “Bird Nest” and “Water Cube”. We were again accosted by vendors and many of us tried to hone our bargaining skills (to no avail). 

It was an extremely busy day, but wonderful beyond anything I could ever write.