Part One of a Long Chinese Break

This past month was filled with tests, travel and fun! Finally all the big tests are over and we are nearly three weeks into a five-week break. The first two weeks of our winter break my host brother still had “extra school,” and spent many hours studying while on his break. So while my host brother was cooped up inside a classroom, I was either in my room working on my 161-page winter break homework workbook or out discovering new things about the city.

Looking up at the Pearl.

Looking down.

Recently I explored the Oriental Pearl (indoor rollercoaster, arcade, museum, revolving restaurant, skyscraper and radio tower – all in one) with a couple American friends on my scholarship program. Even though I’d already been to the Pearl once, it was still great to go back and look at the city with a “birds-eye-view.”

Me.

An interesting pedestrian walkway.

The construction is ongoing.

Last week my NSLI-Y scholarship group from Shanghai travelled to Nanjing, the ex-capital of China and a city that boasts thousands of years of history. Along with the other Americans from the Beijing NSLI-Y group, we went to popular tourists sites such as the Sun Yat-sen mausoleum, the Nanjing massacre memorial, and KTV (karaoke). We volunteered at several local YMCAs and elementary schools and taught young children and disabled students English.

School girls in Nanjing.

On our first night in Nanjing we ate hotpot, performed KTV (karaoke) and got to know our fellow NSLI-Y students based in Beijing.

Hotpot.

At the first YMCA we visited, we performed songs and dances for elderly people and engaged in conversations with them to learn about their lives as Nanjingians. The elderly Chinese also put on quite a show for us with their sword dances, Tai qi routines and exuberant style of singing.

Dancing grandmothers.

During the next two days we volunteered at a different YMCA, one for people ranging in ages from 16 to 60 with mental illnesses. We were able to interact with them by playing with Playdough, performing charades and sharing songs. We ended up learning their school song and we taught them “If you’re Happy and You Know It.” We were each assigned partners; my partner happened to really like basketball and had a lot of knowledge about the NBA.

Volunteering in Nanjing.

Later in the week we volunteered at a rural elementary school just outside of Nanjing. We taught them a little bit of English, read them “The Cat in the Hat,” played bingo and made picture frames to commemorate our visit. They also performed a quick Kung-fu routine for us. For lunch we got to eat at one of the children’s homes. At yet another YMCA, we taught kids English and choreographed performances with the kids, including some funny dances and English and Chinese songs.

In the classroom.

Lunch with one of the Nanjing student's family.

For cultural and historical enhancement of the trip, we went to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. This memorial was built as a reminder of the Japanese attack on Nanjing in 1937, where over 300,000 Chinese were killed. The exhibits in the memorial were quite graphic showing the actual remains of slaughtered Chinese citizens and described in detail their deaths. It was a somber place to visit, but also had a message of peace. We also climbed the many stairs of Sun Yat-sen’s tomb and explored his mausoleum.

Inside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial.

Nanjing Massacre Memorial.

Sun Yat-sen’s tomb.

Sadly we had to leave this new city and our new Beijing friends. We didn’t get to explore on our own very much, but that’s okay because all-in-all it was a pretty good trip. Luckily we’ll get to reunite with our new Beijing friends in a couple weeks in Hangzhou, another city in China that we get to explore during the end of our long break.

Beijing and Shanghai NSLI-Y groups in Nanjing.

Tomorrow I leave for Zhejiang province with my host father and brother (host mother has to stay home and work). We will visit with my host family’s family and friends and celebrate the Chinese New Year! According to my host dad the main activity is eating; I already like the sound of it. My last trip to Zhejiang in the fall was pretty fun. Maybe if all of the people I met last time in Zhejiang still remember me, it’ll be even more exciting this time!