The Forbidden City and Some Haiku

Our sister school

Our long lasting new friends 

Never say goodbye.

David the tour guide

David who cracks funny jokes

David, our friend.

Monstrous Great Wall

Massive Forbidden City

Remember, we will.

Constant Bargaining

Buying fake shoes and cool clothes

At the Pearl Market

Prestigious villas

Eating Obama's beef dish

Marvelous statehouse (Cole and Spencer)

On our last day in Beijing we visited The Forbidden City. It was... immense. We wandered around in awe of the beautiful designs and detail that went into this lasting memorial to imperial China. PS 161 kindly got each of us an audio tour guide package, giving David a well deserved break from having to explain everything to us.

 After our visit to the City, we spent time at a local library for the English Corner. This is an opportunity for retirees to come and practice English. 

 Poly students had fun creating roosters with the senior citizens out of dough...

 ... and conversing with new friends.

And then we were back at the airport saying goodbye to our sweet guide and host, David. It was a somewhat emotional moment, but after an exciting week filled with new experiences and adventures, we were also ready to head back home to our LA and Pasadena families and friends.

PS 161 and Homestays

A Homestay

Right after school had ended, we were off.  The girl I was staying with, Emma, was leading me out the door, into the streets of Beijing, and through the subway system.  Just like we would in any other subway, we bought a one way ticket, which was sucked through a machine.  Soon, Emma, her friends, Spencer, Kristin, and I were in the train trying to keep up with the crowds trying to bustle to their final destination.  The subway system was moving so quickly.  The idea of falling behind the rhythm of those around us scared me.  One wrong move and you would be lost.

We came to a sudden stop at the vending machines.  While the vending machines at home are filled with sugary sodas and, maybe, some power drinks and water, the vending machines here were filled with different variations of coffees, sodas, milk teas, and water.  Not only did the contents of the vending machine vary, but also the process to get the food you wanted.  Kristin and I (by then Spencer had left us) watched in awe, as the girls scanned codes off a screen on the vending machine.  A minute later, a drink would fall out.  When we asked what they were doing, they said they were playing some sort of lottery to see if they could get a better price for our drinks.  It seems that they were winning.

After our long, exciting journey through Beijing's subway system, we found ourselves at a restaurant.  We ate a thin yogurt and lamb on a stick, which was washed down with pomegranate juice.  During this time, we learned more about the social aspect of Beijing culture.  The girls were talking about someone's boyfriend.  This was big news.  Students at Beijing 161 School are often not allowed to date or have a significant other, both by their parents and by their school.  I found this interesting, as there are many people at our school who do date.  Our school has never put any such restrictions on us.  This might be a sign of a greater expectation for high academic achievements in China in comparison to back home.  While a certain amount of pressure is put on us to succeed in our classes, our relationships with others, for the most part, do not revolve around school work.

The rest of the night seemed like a blur.  We went to the mall, whose shops much resembled that of our mall at home.  (There was a certain strawberry cart that I found interesting though.)  I was lead into the arcade.  Joined by Yumi and Spencer, we screatched the lyrics of "A Whole New World" in a karaoke game.  I spent my time running around the area with Emma, seeking out more games to play.  Cole, Spencer, and Albert were glued to a game.  Overall, this last night was so fun.  A feeling of energy and connection with the people around us filled the air.  It was definitely a great day. (Marielle)

Friday at PS 161

I learned a lot from the homestay. There are many elements in Chinese culture that compare and contrast to our culture. School, for example, is very intense and competitive. Because of the large population in China, the competitive atmosphere is definitely more extreme. Breakfast for them is a full course meal, while in America I rarely eat breakfast before school. My hostess really wants to attend Harvard to study history after graduating from Peking University in Beijing. He loves America and has visited a few times. He hopes to make his parents proud by succeeding in America. A highlight of the trip for me was the food. So many different dishes were offered. Some I liked, most I did not but overall as an experience it was fascinating to try new food. Duck, jellyfish, and lamb intestines have been added to my list of new food I have tried on this trip. Also, I know ZERO Chinese. (Cole)

Thanks for listening... Xie Xie

 In one of the school courtyards stand a pagoda with a table on which students can do calligraphy with paint brushes and water. A soothing and creative pass time.

 Our calligraphy master was very impressed with Cole's writing of the characters for Beijing!

A music lesson on a traditional Chinese harp.

Poly and PS 161 students in front of the school library. 

Group work during an English class at PS 161. 

Group presentations. The teacher had one Poly and one PS 161 student per group come and present their suggestions for beating mobile phone addiction!

We also got to do experiments during in a biology class. Unfortunately the school day ended before we could see the results of our careful experimentation.

Dao Yu Tai

Haiku

The statehouse was nice

The food there was amazing

Diao Yu Tai hen hao (Robbie)

 

Wednesday--Capital Museum and Rural Cochlear School

 

Today we took a trip to the Capital Museum and immersed ourselves in the rich history of the city of Beijing. The building the museum is housed in was massive and made all of us feel small. We saw a small theatre exhibition area with famous costumes and props from the rich theatre of China. In another room there was a showcase full of pottery along with statues, and masks. In the more history themed area we saw ancient tools, weapons, and jewelry that dated back to thousands of years ago.

 After the museum trip our guide David treated us to a pleasant "treat" which was another trip to a market! We visited the Silk Market and had a splendid time bargaining for the items we wanted. The true value of the items we purchased can be debated, but the sentimental value and story behind each thing bought is priceless. Everyone split into groups and was tasked with handling their own lunch plans along with getting back to the bus on time. I'm glad to say that my group was able to have fun, stay safe, and get back on the bus just on time! (Nick)

 Following the trip to the Silk Market was a trip lasting an hour to one of the other campuses for the Cochlear Implant school that we had already visited. Upon our arrival, they told us of their long lasting relationship with Poly. After, we presented our donation to the school and received certificates out of their appreciation and gratitude for the money we raised. Then we listened to the students at the school recite poems for us. We also learned martial arts from one of the older students, which was an activity I struggled with. Throughout the trip we had been learning a traditional Chinese song about jasmine flowers, and we performed it for the students. Along with this, we sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in English while the students sang in Chinese. After our performance, we played a game called Catch the Rat which is where an outer circle of people holding hands try to block the students inside that are trying to escape the circle. Later, we partnered with a student, wrote wishes on a lantern, and let them float away. It was a fun experience meeting and playing with the students at the Cochlear Implant school. (Sean)

Tuesday- A Visit to a Cochlear School and SYA

Today we visited one of the campuses of the Cochlear Implant chool. Upon arriving on campus around 9:30 in the morning, we were treated to delicious snacks ranging from crispy peanut butter wafers to twisty crackers and round coconut flavored balls. We then met around a dozen children, who both had and didn't have the cochlear device. The children recited Chinese poems that they had prepared for us in their singsong voices, and in turn we sang songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. The children had mixed reactions such as staring at us with mesmerized eyes, doing their own things with disinterested faces, and mimicking our hand gestures. Afterwards, we were divided into four groups and finger-painted flowers and fruits on different tree stencils and built different structures out of hexagonal shapes with the kids. It was really interesting seeing the children's creativity and their strong opinions during the activities. After saying goodbye to the children, we ate delicious lunch at a small restaurant at which we had the chance to eat lamb, chicken, and noodles with the choice of salty pork sauce, tomato mushroom sauce, and eggplant sauce. We all ate fully to our heart's desire and embarked on to our next location.   (Annette)

After lunch we went to a SYA school. As soon as the bus arrived we were ushered upstairs and were presented more snacks! There were these amazing toffee textured candies that tasted of mangos and were wrapped in rice paper. After we had eaten lirerally all of the candies, we went to Chinese history. They were talking about Chinese revolutionaries, reactionaries and reformers. Then we moved into the topic of Mao and I found it really interesting to read some of Mao's speeches with the backround of recently reading The Communist Manifesto. After that class, we rejoined the rest of our group and went to a caligraphy class. The teacher was amazing! She copied an image in about five seconds and we were all given ink and an image. It is ridiculously hard! I had too much ink or too much water on my brush at all times. After we had managed to spill most of the ink on our hands we were allowed some free time around the campus. Some people played basketball and I went with a group to look for the badminton court. We walked in a circle and made it back in time to see our Poly team win. Next, we were split up into groups of three and sent home with a SYA student to eat dinner. I went with Annette and Jack to Lina's host family's apartment. We were showered with food. There was pork skin jelly side dishes, and fruit that blew my mind and thousands upon thousands of dumplings. After eating way more than I thought physically possible, we finally noticed the time. We were fifteen minutes late! The host father insisted on taking us in his new car and we bolted for the bus. It was a great day. (Aisling)

Caitlin's Answers

On Tuesday night, we were paired with School Wear Abroad (SYA) students. After being paired with Archer, a junior at SYA, I realized that he might be able to answer Ms. Shang's classes' questions better than I did, because he's lived in China for around eight months. So I asked him: "How often do you wear a mask?" Archer said that he had an app that measured the air quality in China that would determine whether or not he should wear a mask that day. He also said that sometimes, the air quality was so bad that schools would close, which usually happened around winter time because that was when pollution was at its worst. But generally, Archer said that he wore a mask every three weeks. Since he speaks Chinese very well, I didn't ask Archer about language barriers because it was obvious that he didn't face that problem. Instead, I asked him, "How is the LGBTQ+ community treated in China?" He said that since there is such a lack of education on that topic, people in China don't acknowledge that community. There are terms for gay people that translate to "same-sex love," but the terms can also be used to talk to friends (ex: she's my friend, I love her.) Archer also added that most people in that community are typically disowned by their families since the ideal family in China is solely comprised of a mom, dad, and a son. I hope you found this information helpful!

Monday- A Visit to a Historical Hutong Neighborhood, Taking in The Temple of Heaven, and Boosting the Economy!

Today, we got off the bus with rickshas waiting to carry us throughout the residential area, the Hutong.  Passing through the narrow streets, we got to see Beijing from a different point of view.  Cars were parked over the sidewalk and guarded by the traffic cones.  Many bikes were parked with tarps laid over them to protect from the wind.  The experience was calming and exhilarating at the same time.

We got off at the public park.  Unlike the park back at home, this one wasn't designed just from small children with its swing sets and seesaws designed to carry the weight of a toddler.  This was a park with the sole purpose of exercise.  Different devices were placed throughout the park, each with its own purpose.  One was designed for an individual to exercise their legs, while another exercised the arms.  During our time there, we got to play on these devices, as well as play several intense matches of pingpong and hacky sack.  That wasn't the only the difference.  The park was dominated not by young children looking for adventure, rather middle aged, if not senior, adults.  These were the people we encountered and played our games with.  Overall, there was a overwhelming feeling of community at the public park.  Everyone was playing with each other and willingly included us in their games and exercise. (Marielle)

Part of our Hutong tour included having lunch at the home of a local family. According to our guide, David, families could apply for a special permit to host visitors in their home for a meal. This is in part to ensure that the family complies with certain hygiene standards. To get to the home, we walked down an alleyway barely five feet wide. The home of the Zhao family is at the end of this alley. Their home is very unlike what any of us are used to. The entire house consists of a tiny bathroom/ laundry room, a kitchen that fits one person at a time, a courtyard the size of about two closets, a small guest room, and a slightly larger room which served as master bedroom, living room, and guest dining room. It was a strange sight to see two tables and several stools arranged next to the host family's bed and closet. Also, to get from one area to the next you passed through the open-air courtyard. Very different from what we are used to indeed.

The hosts cooked us up a feast of dumplings, drumsticks, sautéed vegetables and pork, and dumplings, all served with white rice. It was amazing to see what flavors came out of the tiny kitchen! After lunch, the students go participate in a lesson in making dumplings. Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law prepared the dough and filling, and the students each took turns shaping and filling little dumplings. After preparing the dumplings, we took a leisurely stroll back to our bus and headed to our next destination. (Mr. Martin)

After lunch, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which is a symbol of Chinese tourism. It is also  the location that the Emperor would pray at in hopes of receiving gifts from the gods, such as good weather, good seasons for crops, and health for family members of the common people. It was so beautiful, and I could not stop taking pictures!!!! I found it so interesting that there were 28 columns in total that were supporting the building. However, this was not a random number, as it was very symbolic. The first 12 represents the 12 months in each year. The next 12 represents the hours in a day. Using the old system of measuring time, there were only 12 hours in every day, which is only half as much as nowadays. The last 4 columns representing the 4 different seasons in every year. There were also three different layers to the building, representing Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Another area that we visited was the Echo Wall, which was really cool! If you stand at the first stone and clap, you can hear the echo once. If you stand at the second stone and clap, you can hear the echo twice, and so on. It was quite crowded, so we were unable to hear the echo, but if it were completely quiet, then it would work. It was so much fun to test it out, even if it did not work. This trip was so much fun! 

- Yumi :)

Questions Answered!

I, Caitlin Wu, will be answering questions asked from Ms. Shang's Chinese classes. The first question asks, "How often did you wear a mask?". Prior to the trip, we were warned that the air quality in Beijing during our time of arrival would be very unhealthy. So during baggage claim, we all received masks in order to solve that issue. With our first step outside and into Beijing, the majority of us were wearing these masks. After realizing that the air quality was not as bad as we had anticipated, all of us took off our masks and for the rest of the trip, none of us have been wearing them (including those of us with severe asthma). The second question asks, "Is the language barrier a problem in Beijing?". Our group is mainly comprised of Chinese students / fluent Chinese speakers (with some not having any prior experience with Chinese). And a lot of the people in China, especially people selling items on the street or in bargaining markets, are pretty familiar with English. Because of their experience and ours with the other's language, the language barrier does not present a huge problem for me in Beijing because it doesn't really exist. I'm pretty fluent in Chinese -- I went to Chinese school for a couple of years and both my parents speak Chinese in our household. Because of my experience and the experience the people I communicate with have, the language barrier is not an issue. For others who are not incredibly familiar with Chinese, it is still not that present because of the amount of English the other person knows. The miscommunication can simply be solved by hand gestures or social cues. So far, the experiences the group has had with living conditions and communication have been positive, and I am excited for the days to come! 

- Caitlin 

Sunday- From Ancient Royal Residences to Breathtaking Acrobatics shows

On Sunday morning we went to the Summer Palace. When walking to the Temple of Buddhist Incense, we were able to observe the beautiful architecture. We had the opportunity to meet a sweet old man who had mastered the art of water painting. With a very large brush and a water bottle, he wrote beautiful messages to us, including a "Welcome President Trump to Beijing!" His handwriting in English is better than mine. We then continued to the Temple of Buddhist Incense. To get to the top, we crawled up six long flights of stairs. On the way up, we were able to see some of the rooms in the Summer Palace. At the very top, the Buddha stood. All throughout our journey up, the entire Summer Palace was packed with tourist and visitors. After we made our way down, we took a dragon boat across the lake to lunch. -Kristin

 

After a delicious lunch, we ventured to the Olympic Village. It was cool to walk around the Bird's Nest and imagine the village full of Olympians and fans. In my group, many people waved and asked to take pictures with us. While it was probably because they were excited to see American foreigners, we hoped they thought we were Olympians. We then travelled on the hilariously dangerous roads to a tea ceremony! As a tea-drinker myself, I was very excited to taste a bunch of tea. We were able to try 5 different teas that all held special purposes, from helping you sleep to helping your blood circulation. We were all bundled over in laughter at the Pee-Pee Boy, a little boy who pees out the hot water that you pore on his head IF it is the right temperature. We were told that as students if we bought something, we would get a free Pee-Pee Boy; so we all bought something. It was a super fun afternoon as simply put: every aspect of this trip has taken my breath away. 

-Jeilani

After the tea drinking ceremony, we got in the bus and went to an acrobat show, with acts of all sorts including spinning plates, Chinese yoyo-ing, jumping through hoops, and 5 motorcycles driving inside a hollow orb. The performance was astonishing. The acrobats were very talented as they bent and contorted themselves into un-humanlike shapes. It was awesome. After the show, David told us a story about how one of the motorcyclists lost a leg due to an accident during a show a few years back, which is the reason they only have five motorcyclists instead of six in the act. After the show, we went to dinner at a casual restaurant a few blocks away from the theatre. We ate eggplant, porridge, pork, and so much more there. Then we drove back to the hotel and on the way, saw the hospital at which Shang Lao Shi (Ms. Shang) was born! When we got back to the hotel, we briefly met and then went on to the cold pool and dry sauna. We had free time and then went to bed, needing rest after an exciting and eventful day.- Alexa