Steve Wood: China

Beijing

The Forbidden City

     After 28 hours of travelling which included a 13 hour flight over the North Pole, we arrived in Beijing incredibly jet-lagged but excited for the trip ahead of us.  We were met at the airport by four students of Beijing Number 4 high school, our guides for the next week, and their teacher, who drove us through dense traffic to the Jin Tai Fan Dian (Jin Tai Hotel) situated near the middle of the city and next door to Beijing Number 4.  As it was only 3:00 PM, we had a long time to go until bedtime.  The students, with English names Peter, Harry, Anna, and Biscuit, gave us a brief tour of the school before taking us to a restaurant across the street for our first real Chinese dinner.

     For the next six days, we toured Beijing with Zhang Laoshi and our partner students.  Major attractions included Beihai Park, the National Museum of China, Tiananmen Square, Quan Ju De (a famous Beijing Roast Duck restaurant), the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Silk Market, the Great Wall of China, and more.  The Silk Market was immensely helpful for practicing speaking Chinese.  The market is essentially a six story shopping mall where aggressive merchants sell all manner of goods and haggle over all prices.  On my first visit to the Silk Market, I spent about 450 yuan (about $75) and got a jade buddha, a fake Rolex, fake Vans shoes, a clay cat, and some incense.

The Bird's Nest Olympic Facility

Jinan Homestay

One of the springs at Baotuquan

     After a week in Beijing, we took express train, which travels 305 kilometers per hour (about 190 miles per hour), to Zhang Laoshi's home town Jinan.  We went to the Jinan Middle School of Shandong Province where we met our host brothers, at lunch, and spent a half-day in school.  Though I was used to having our pictures taken frequently (blond haired Americans really stick out in China!), I had my picture taken by more students in Jinan than in any other part of China.  After school, I went to my host family's 14th story apartment and ate a delicious homemade meal of dumplings, shrimp, beef, and cauliflower.  I then watched Iron Man 2 with Chinese subtitles before going to sleep.

     For the next two days, we split our time between school and touring the city.  I sat through two English classes, which were actually taught mainly in Chinese.  We also visited Da Ming lake and the natural springs at Baotuquan.  For my last dinner in Jinan, my family took me to a fancy restaurant with private rooms, where I tried some very interesting food (see Food).

Shanghai Homestay and WLSA Conference

First night in Shanghai with my host brother Kim. 

     Arriving in Shanghai on Friday, June 28, I immediately noticed the degree of modernity in the city;  the horizon was full of tall, sleek skyscrapers and colorful buildings.  We were driven to the WLSA-Fudan high school, an international school for students looking to travel to America for college, where I met my host brother, Kim, and his dad picked us up to bring us home.  I was surprised to find that the father works for G.E. and spends a fair amount of time in the United States, so his English was completely fluent.  However, I continued to speak a mix of Chinese and English for my four nights in Shanghai.

     On Saturday and Sunday, I left my host family and toured Shanghai with students from around the world who would be attending the WLSA (World Leading Schools Association) Conference on education.  We visited the financial district, where Shanghai's tall buildings are located, the markets at the Yu Garden, and the small city of Wu Jin, the "Venice of the East."

Lights at the Yu Garden markets

     At the Conference Warm-Up Party on Sunday, night, I learned that I would be giving a presentation on Tuesday morning, giving me two nights to put together some notes and a power-point presentation.  In addition to my preparations, I attended lectures and group discussions about education and technology with students from China, South Africa, Australia, England, and the United States.  These meetings stimulated interesting discussion about the nature of education in various parts of the world and barriers to communication between these parts, as well as a wide variety of solutions to the problems.  On Tuesday morning, I made a presentation on various internet services that students and teachers at MBA have
adopted, including Whipple Hill and Gmail/Google products.  The presentation lasted about fifteen minutes, followed by a Q&A/discussion about internet educational services at other schools.

Food

Roast duck at Quan Ju De was delicious

     As one might expect, Chinese food is decidedly different from American food.  Throughout the course of the trip, I had the chance to try many Chinese cultural foods, some good and some not so good.  The following list contains some of the many odd foods I ate:

Whole fish served in Beijing

• Tofu and mushrooms
• Caramelized sweet potato
• Fried lamb on a stick
• Whole fish, including the eyes
• Fish head (literally just the head of the fish without the body)
• Jellyfish
• Shark fin soup
• Sea cucumber
• Chicken feet



American breakfast made by my host family in Shanghai

• Whole shrimp

Thank you Wilson family!

     My trip to China this summer proved to be one of the best experiences of my life! I am immensely thankful to the Wilson family for funding the language travel program as I significantly improved my Chinese speaking and reading ability and made many wonderful memories on the trip.

Thanks again!