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Jarin and I returned safely from China yesterday afternoon after a stunning 10 day tour. This is a trip unlike any I have taken before; not just because the culture and language are so foreign to me, but also because it was guided from morning to night. It was great to have an interpreter and driver with us at each step of the way-- they quickly became friends and were open to

showing us whatever we wished to see. As a former resident of both X'ian and Beijing, Lu June, our interpreter/guide/friend took us to a couple of restaurants beyond the edges of the typical tourist trail, but for the most part we followed a fairly well-traveled tourist path. This was probably inevitable given the shortness of our trip-- after our business was conducted in Quinhuangdao, we only had about 4 days to sightsee. As nice and comfortable as it was to be guided, I missed the exploring and discovering that I usually seek out when traveling.

According to Frommer's guide to China, the fall is the time to go. I can't compare, but the attractions we visited were relatively uncrowded and the number of Americans we encountered were few. Unlike travel in western Europe where signs of American culture are everywhere, China remains very Chinese. While present in Beijing, McDonalds and Starbucks were not very prevalent; and when I did make one early morning foray into a Starbucks it was surprisingly empty. Few people we encountered spoke English, and,with just a few exceptions, most that did, did not speak it well. The traffic in Beijing was terrible, but except for the complications caused by the bicycle traffic, not appreciably worse than NYC or LA. I can't imagine what it must be like during the high tourist season-- or what it will be like during the Summer Olympics next year.

Beyond checking things out prior to the arrival of the students, Jarin and I held several meetings to discuss the future of MV/YUAS relations. No decisions were made but a number of proposals were discussed-- these include: MV hosting Chinese students on a Winterim-like experience in the spring; YU hosting a group of MV students/families for an intensive cultural summer experience; YUAS sending more students to MV; and MV becoming a "Confucius School." We will explore and discuss these options, and others, in the coming weeks and months before coming to any decisions.

Before we left for our return trip, Zequen gave me a disk of over 1500 photos taken by the students. I haven't seen them all-- Jarin claims to have viewed them on the plane trip home-- I am including a handful in this post.

Trying to be good sports while at the same time not making total fools of ourselves, the Americans responded to the request by our hosts for a song by singing "This Land is Our Land."

Day X Images gathered from the students' cameras

Friday night, November 10. Jarin's and my last night in China. The students' first night of traveling within China.

Jarin, Director Liu, Professor Ding, Assistant Director Lu Jun (our guide), Mr. Jong (our driver) and I all met the students at their hotel in Beijing where they dropped off their extra luggage and prepared to go to the train station for their overnight train trip to X'ian.

The students' hotel in Beijing.

Photos of students during their stay at Quinhuangdao.

At the Great Wall.

Days 5 and 6

Actually, I'm no longer sure what day it is. Jarin and I have returned to Beijing on the overnight train from X'ian. We spent the day yesterday at the Forbidden City, at Hoa Hai, and Bai Hai Park. Tonight we will meet the Winterim group at the train station as they set off to follow our footsteps to X'ian and Beijing. Although we have talked with Mr. Liu each day since we left Quinhuangdao, we have not had much direct contact with Nancy or Dan. We have passed along a few helpful hints and look forward to seeing them this evening to share stories.

A few pictoral highlights from the last couple of days and a preview of what the students will be seeing over the next week:

My little camera does not begin to do justice to the vastness of this archeological site-- 7000 warriors, each with different facial expressions buried under 20 feet of soil and only discovered in 1974. Most are still buried.

Chinese dance performance at the Tang Dynasty Palace.

The Forest of Tablets museum houses dozens of huge stone tablets with reflections on the writings of Confucius.

Day 4, Monday, November 5: Jarin and I leave the Winterim group

I'm writing this entry from my hotel in X'ian. Jarin and I left the Winterim group yesterday afternon in Quinhuangdao where they will spend the rest of the week studying Chinese culture and viewing the historic sites of the area. After a traffic slowed drive to Beijing, Jarin and I took the overnight train to X'ian last night. It is late and I've got to get some rest and so will keep this short.

Our friend, Professor Liu Zequen spent the morning lecturing about the differences between Chinese and American culture. He began his presentation with a photo taken of him on the MV campus.

Our farewell lunch with parents and YU officials.

Jarin sleeping on the sleeper car to X'ian.

Day 3. The students have arrived.

The students arrived at their host families' homes at about 3:00 AM and, after just a few hours of sleep, were surprisingly cheerful and ready to go at 9:30.


The parents of the four girls from Yanshan University Attachment School who attend MV are hosting our students for the week: Lindsay, Tierney, and Margaux stayed with Michelle Yang's family; Cameron, Michael, and Henry stayed with Rose and Rebecca Ding's family; and Izzy, Justine, and MacKenzie stayed with Ye Zhang's family.

Although it was Sunday, the entire staff and student body (over 1300 students) came to school to greet us. In addition to the school principal and his assistants, the Director of the Economic Development Zone and the Director of the district we are in (as near as I can tell, he is the equivalent of a mayor) were on hand.

Each morning students begin to gather at 5:30 AM on their "playground" to do calisthenics as music is played over the sound system. The students line up with quickly, and orderly, without any direction from the faculty. The school is the tall building in the background. Most of the YUAS students board at the school.

Their students sang and played traditional Chinese string instruments as our students watched on, the the MV students sang "America" and taught the Chinese students how to do the "Hokey Pokey." Our students were successful in getting everyone up, dancing, and laughing. It really broke the ice.















Here we all are in front of the Economic Development Zone building. We were escorted here with vans equiped with sirens indicating that we were important foreign dignataries. When we arrived they played amplified music and turned on the fountains. The officials all took turns having their pictures made with me and the teachers in front of the building.


Jarin and I were measured for these Chinese silk jackets on the day we arrived and they were delivered in time for our dinner celebration with the entire group. Seated with the students are the interpreters that accompany each group at the homes of their host families.

After dinner there was a brief rest back in our hotel and houses before heading out to a party with a group of YUAS students. The students, parents, and school officials all sang karoake and danced.

China Day 1

November 2, Friday. Jarin and I arrived in Quinhuangdao two days prior to the Winterim Class.

Yanshan University President and I exchange greetings.

After only about 4 hours sleep and an elaborate breakfast, we attended a meeting with the president of the university, numerous vice presidents, administrators from Yanshan University Attachment School, and officials from the Qinghuangdao Economic Zone. Gifts and compliments were exchanged liberally. There were photographers and videographers capturing the event.

Jarin and I spent the rest of the morning visiting a local elementary school (grades 1-6) and a private kindergarten. The buildings are colorfully decorated with student artwork and typical educational bulletin boards. References to the 2008 Olymics are everywhere. One bulletin board displaying important generals since the time of independence stood out-- we typically don't display/celebrate military figures in our elementary schools.

The students were cheerful and excited to see visitors. Jarin brought giggles when he gamely used some of his recently acquired rudimentary Chinese language skills to greet the children.
Children begin learning to do papercuts as early as 7 or 8 years old. They work together, tracing over elaborate designs with exacto knives. The work is very precise and slow and the children work very quietly. Examples of very complicated papercuts hang throughout the school with award winning pieces hung in a special display (alongside large photos of regional economic development zone and school officials).

Students in this classroom are practicing caligraphy. They work with fine point ink pens on very small grid paper copying Chinese characters from the board. There is another double row of students to the right of this photo, making the class size about 36 students. Students practice their caligraphy 3 times a week for 40 minutes. They take exercise daily in the plaza in front of the school.



We were also taken to visit "Baby Care" one of the new private kindergartens that has been opened in the area. The children were happy and eager to perform for the visitors. The one song we recognized was "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands"-- in Chinese, of course. The students were learning English-- the Roman alphabet was on the bulletin boards and the steps were also numbered using Arabic numbers. All students-- here study English from kindergarten through high school study English.


Our day ended with a tour of the beginning of the Great Wall, the "Head of the Dragon."