Today, 13 of the 30 SSC students left Beijing by train, and will spend the next two weeks traveling in Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. As I will be staying in Beijing, I will work with Feng Laoshi, the program assistant, and one of the SSC-East China students to keep a blog about the daily activities of the East China students. To get to that blog, click "East China" at the top of the website page or click this link to the East China blog.

It may take a couple days to update the blog, as we don't yet know what internet access will be like in Jiangsu (the province which Nanjing and Suzhou are in).

The Beijing blog will continue with daily updates about the activities of the SSC-Beijing students!

The last two days have been a whirlwind of sightseeing, class projects, celebrations, and other Kodak moments (meaning tons of photos in this blog post--see below)! On Thursday and Friday, students did not have regular class, and instead engaged in a two day-long project on the Forbidden City (Gugong). On Thursday, students spent all day at the Forbidden City, and on Friday, they made presentations on their chosen topic about the Forbidden City.

On Thursday morning, students had tai-chi class (for the East China students, this was their last tai-chi class) and then boarded the bus for the Forbidden City. After a long and crowded walk through Tiananmen Square, we finally made it to the Forbidden City, an imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty. It was built in the 15th century and its architecture is exemplary of Chinese palatial architecture of the time. Before touring the huge site, students attended an academic lecture by an expert from the Palace Museum. Students learned about the history of the site, the architecture (including the imperial axis, who could go through which gates, etc.), the celebrations, and more. They also became experts at identifying pebble mosaics which had everything from pumpkins to bicycles on them. Many of the images stood for harmony, power, and most importantly, longevity.

Afterwards, students formed groups based on four themes concerning the Forbidden City: Architecture and the Forbidden City, Chinese Culture and the Forbidden City, Forbidden City as Home, Forbidden City as Seat of Power. Each group of 3-4 students was accompanied by a teacher. From there, they were given three hours to explore the Forbidden City as well as complete a photo scavenger hunt on their chosen theme. Students utilized their Chinese skills in asking for directions around the huge and very crowded site.

After the scavenger hunt, the students met at the back of the Forbidden City to head back to the Yucai School.

On Friday, students met at school and had about two hours to meet with their groups and prepare a presentation on the Forbidden City and their experiences of life in Beijing. Students collected photos and each student wrote up their portion of the presentation entirely in Chinese. With the help of the Chinese teachers, they incorporated recently learned vocabulary and grammar structures into their presentations.

Some students took a break to embark on a fish-saving mission in the pond by our classrooms!

Then at 10 AM, the presentations began. All the students did a wonderful job speaking entirely in Chinese and according to the teachers, you could see how far the students had come in just two weeks of language classes!

Afterwards, the departing East China students were each presented with a surprise gift--their own calligraphy work matted and made into a scroll!

As this was the East China students' last day at the Yucai School, there were many hugs and goodbyes, both between East China and Beijing students and between East China students and their teachers.

Then students headed to lunch, to be met by yet another surprise--cake for Abby and Olivia's birthdays! The students and teachers all sung Happy Birthday to the twins in Chinese.

Finally, the students left the Yucai School to spend their free afternoon at the park, shopping, or at the museum. Outside the school, the Beijing and East China students snapped pictures with each other, as many would not see each other for the next two weeks.

Today the students had their second culture class. This time they had a choice between Chinese dancing, Beijing opera mask-making, kite-making, and Chinese musical instruments. Again, experts were brought in to teach students about traditional Chinese culture and crafts.

In the Chinese dancing class, students learned traditional dances from various locations across China.

In the mask-making class, students chose their favorite Beijing opera masks and proceeded to paint them.

In the kite-making class, students made their own kites (and even tried to fly them!)

Finally, in the Chinese musical instrument class, students to play the hulusi, a Chinese flute. First they learned scales, then they learned a song!

After culture class, the East China students had a brief meeting and the students left school around 3:00 to see Beijing with their classmates and host siblings. Some groups of students went to Liulichang, some went to Houhai, and others went to the Pearl Market (Hongqiao).

On Tuesday afternoon, students got on the bus and we headed to Beijing's 798 Art Zone. An abandoned factory district, the area was renovated and inhabited by contemporary artists in the 1990s. Much of the original architecture still stands and the brick and iron work lends the area an industrial vibe. The area is full of free art galleries, as well as shops and cafes and students had around two hours of free time to wander the streets and alleyways of the 798 Art Zone. Some students bought books, gifts, and other small items from the gallery shops or surrounding stores. They all agreed that it was a really neat area and that it was cool to see a more modern (as opposed to historical) site.

On Monday, it rained all day, but students still had tai-chi class!

After morning classes and lunch, students had their second calligraphy class. This time, they worked on writing characters and came away from class with a completed work. For the East China students, this was their last calligraphy class.

Then, after a quick all-school meeting, students headed to the gym to play sports with Chinese host siblings. Not enough host siblings showed up to have a full-on competition, so the students just included the Chinese host siblings in their sports games. They all had fun playing basketball, badminton, ping-pong, and Chinese hacky-sack (jianzi). Some students asked if we could do this every week!

Then, students headed out to activities with classmates and host siblings or headed back home to rest and study up for the next day of classes.

On Saturday, students arrived at school at 7:20 AM to head to the opening of the Beijing International Student Summer Camp at Beijing's new International Garden Expo. We sat through a ceremony, then were allowed to explore the gardens and the new garden museum. Students had fun looking around and we arrived back at the school around 1:30, giving the students plenty of time for afternoon activities with their host families!

On Sunday, we headed to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. After a hike up to the wall, students were given a little over 2 hours of free time to hike around and explore the wall. It was perfect weather for a day at the Great Wall--not raining, but not too hot, either.

Then, on the way down, if they wished, students could ride toboggans down a slide to the base of the Great Wall. They had a lot of fun!

Once the students all made it down, they used their bargaining skills at the market at the bottom of the Great Wall. The day ended with ice cream for some!

Then we took the bus back to the school, where students were met by their host families to go home for the day!

This morning, students had their weekly test with both a written and an oral component. Afterwards, they headed over to the cafeteria to learn how to make Chinese dumplings (jiaozi)! Students learned from master chefs (shifu) how to roll out the dough for the skin, fill the dumplings, and fold them into the correct shape. Students had a lot of fun making the dumplings, with some students folding them into creative shapes (e.g. heart-shaped dumpling, huge dumpling, tiny dumpling, star-shaped dumpling, round dumpling).

Then, students were split into three groups, based on Chinese level, to compete in dumpling-making. Two representatives from each level made 10 dumplings each. They were judged based on speed and quality of dumplings for the first two rounds. The third round was judged based on creative dumpling shapes!

Then the students were judged by the master chef!

Finally, the dumplings were cooked and the students got to eat their own creations for lunch!

After lunch, the students were given free time! Some students went to the zoo, others to the Pearl (Hongqiao) Market, and others off to activities with their host families.

On Thursday, students attended classes as usual. In the afternoon, we visited Yonghegong, or the Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple established in 1694. It has served as an prince's court, an imperial palace, and a monastery in the past. An English-speaking tour guide took the students around the temple's various sites. Afterward, students had free time to explore the temple. Some students burned incense, made offerings, and prayed. Others snapped pictures of the temple's beautiful architecture--including an impressive world record-holding Buddha statue, the tallest statue carved out of a single sandalwood tree!

Afterwards, students met their host siblings back at the Yucai School. Some headed home, some went shopping with their host siblings, and some went with their classmates to places like Liulichang (an art market).

Students arrived at school today via car/bus/subway along with their host siblings, who will be taking them to and from school for the first week. The day started off with a lot of chatter about host families: "Does your host family do this?" "My host sister gave me her room!" "What did your family make you for breakfast?" "Do you have any relatives living with your family?" "What does your apartment look like?" and so on. Students were both anxious and excited about their experiences with authentic Chinese living, and were eager to compare their own experiences with those of other students.

By moving in with the host families, students stepped out of their comfort zone, most of them for the first time since we arrived last Saturday. After three days of spending almost all their time inside the gates of the Yucai School, living amongst fellow Americans, it was certainly a culture shock to leave the school and live with Chinese families.

For some students, the biggest challenge was communication --the Chinese host siblings varied in the amount of English they spoke. Some spoke very little, some spoke a lot. Some students had never faced a language barrier before, so they had to figure out a system that worked for both them and their host families. For some students, the biggest challenge was the difference in living standards between China and the US. The homes are obviously different, as well as the surrounding areas, and this was the first time most students were able to experience Chinese living standards. There were also some things that students just weren't used to such as the food, the customs, and the regular routines of the host family. Both the staff and students knew there would be a bit of culture shock going in to a society so different from what the students are used to, but I think the students are dealing with it well!

If any questions or issues came up regarding the host family, students brought them up to myself or another program staff member. We did our best to deal with them, whether that meant reassuring the student, talking with the host siblings, or calling the host parents.

Beyond the chatter about host families, students attended classes as usual in the morning. After lunch, students attended elective culture classes. The four choices were Chinese dance, Beijing opera mask making, paper-cutting, and Chinese yo-yo. Most classes brought in outside experts to teach the students.

In Chinese dance class, students had the opportunity to learn a few different styles of ethnic dance, from minorities in places like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. They also had the opportunity to try on traditional costumes and use props!

In the Beijing opera mask making class, students painted masks to look like characters from traditional Beijing opera.

Students in the paper-cutting class each made a few intricate and very neat-looking paper cutouts.

Finally, students in the Chinese yo-yo class had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to use it. We all agreed that the use of the Chinese yo-yo in the acrobatics show two nights ago made it look way easier than it really was (in the acrobatics show, they would toss the yo-yo in the air, do flips, stand on each others' shoulders, and always manage to catch it!).

After the culture class, students were met by their host siblings and taken home to their host families to spend the rest of the day!

Today was an exciting day, as students were finally able to move in with their Beijing host families! For the last three days, we lived in the Yucai School dormitory, as the Chinese host siblings were finishing up their final exams. Today, however, they finished testing and their summers officially began, meaning they could start hosting our students.

Before meeting host families, though, the day began as usual with tai-chi class. This time, the class lasted the whole 20 minutes, and students had a lot of fun watching and learning from the tai-chi master. Class began with warm-ups, then moved on to learning a sequence of moves and poses.

After tai-chi class, students attended their second day of class from 8:30 - 12:20. They are settling into the rhythm of classes and getting used to the homework load, which is more than many of them are used in Chinese classes at home.

Students ate lunch at the cafeteria, then had free time in the afternoon to pack their belongings and prepare to meet their host siblings. Around 4:30, we had a short discussion about host family expectations and any issues that might come up, then the Chinese host siblings came in to meet our students! Many hugs and handshakes ensued.

Having met their host siblings, students then walked with them over to a banquet room at the nearby Rainbow Hotel. At the banquet, students met and sat with their entire host families. Then both faculty and students made speeches, welcoming the foreign students to China and expressing hopes about lasting bonds and cross-cultural understanding.

The president of the Yucai School gave a welcome speech, translated into English by Miaomiao Wang, the program's resident director. Then a Chinese student made a speech entirely in English, expressing his hopes that the foreign students would have a memorable experience in China and that the host families would play a part in making the experience meaningful and enjoyable. Afterwards, one of our China Institute students, Natalie, made an impressive speech entirely in Chinese about how host families would foster cross-cultural exchanges and opportunities.

Although there was, of course, somewhat of a language barrier, the Chinese and American students were able to get to know one another over dinner.

Finally, the students all went home to spend their first night with their Beijing host families!