Today was the second, and last day, that was dedicated to spending time with our host families and sightseeing. More importantly, today is also Skylar's 16th birthday. Since we did not have classes today, our families, along with Aidan's host family, went to 庄州 for the entire day. At first, I did not know what to expect. My host family had only told me it was a farm on the country-side of 厦门. In my head, I pictured a farm with chickens and cows but it was completely different.

The car ride took about an hour and all 60 minutes of the ride, I was asleep. When we arrived and I woke up, I was very confused. All around me were homes and mountains, no farm. We got out of the car and a man guided us down a path. The walk was jaw dropping. I was in awe at how beautiful my surroundings were. To my left was a river, that looked and smelled fresh. To my right was a beautiful lotus flower lake surrounded by gazebos and brick pathways. One of my favorite parts of the walk was the bridges. Unlike classical bridges that arch above the river, these bridges were flat, right on top of the water. It had a similar feeling as walking on the rocks along the creek in my backyard.

Although it was very hot outside, the beauty surrounding me distracted me from the heat. Aidan, Skylar, and my families all came to 庄州 to celebrate Skylar's birthday. Although all of our families were with us, Aidan's host brother, cousin, and father always seemed to be ahead of us; therefore, they did not make a lot of the photos.




After a quick 10 minute walk (that was more like 15 because we stopped to take pictures), we arrived at a traditional Chinese building. At that moment, now of us knew what we were doing here nor what we were going to do. The tour guide brought us up to the third floor of this building to a performance room. There were sat down as a lady began her presentation on this city in 庄州. After looking at the pictures on the power point since I could not understand what she was saying (given that it was in Chinese), I finally understood what that place was. It is an oasis for musicians to come and work on their music and focus on more nature oriented things. After the lady's all-Chinese presentation, another middle aged women came to the front of the room and played the 古琴  (guqin). The 古琴 is a traditional string Chinese instrument. It is made of wood and is played horizontally on a stand or table. After the performance we got to touch/ play the instruments. 


After going back down to the first level of the building, we got to watch some people make the 古琴  (guqin). The were little "stations" with signs next to them explaining each step. 

1) Choice of Wood: One of the important elements of a good 古琴  (guqin) is the type of wood. There are people who are skilled in picking the perfect type of wood to make the 古琴, called a 聋人古琴  (longren guqin)

2) Assemble: After cutting the wood and shaping it correctly, one must assemble the instrument. The 古琴  (guqin) consists of 8 strings, bridge, peg pool/ string hole, gum supported, and the "dragon's gums" or the nut. 

3) Staining/ Glazing: Next one must stain the wood to give the instrument a nice dark brown color. Along with staining the wood, they also gloss/glaze it to give it a nice shine.

4) Final: The last steps is putting on the string. 

Next, we went to go look at the Lotus Flower Lake/ Pond. It was absolutely stunning! In the middle of the pond was a stone pathway with bridges leading to multiple gazebos. We walked through the pond, stopping at every bridge and gazebo to take more and more pictures. (Check my page of photos for more)

After exploring this part of 庄州, we went to a resort in the mountains, 10 minutes away. There, I learned that Aidan's host father is family friends with the people who own the resort (which is why we were able to go there for lunch). Once we walked through the gate, a atmosphere of privacy and western styles overwhelmed me. In the middle of resort was a small pond, surrounded with flowers and long grass. Across the pond was a lounge and 8 small houses you could rent for a few nights. We went to the lounge first. There we were given AC and watermelon, my 2 favorite things! After resting and cooling off for 30 minutes, we went exploring around the resort. We discovered that on the other side the pond, 6 more homes/ resorts were being made. They were very modern looking. On the side facing the pond was all glass, allowing me to look in (which was awesome because I could see the people). On the inside, there was all modern furniture. Also, each "house" was labeled with a different Chinese holiday, which I thought was interesting. On top of the lounge was an outdoor, covered "book nook" with a wall full of shelves of books that people could read. Around the outdoor room were super conformable. 


While we were enjoying the "book nook", one of the workers interrupted us, so rude, but then he invited us to watch a movie so I forgave him. We went into another building, into a home theater room. There we watched War of the Worlds in ENGLISH with Chinese subtitles. Half way through the movie we had to go eat lunch. For lunch we had "forever noodles" which are eaten on all Chinese birthdays. They eat these noodles because they are long, representing a long life.

We then finished the movie and left the "most beautiful place on Earth". We planned on going straight home but instead we stopped at the grape vineyard for a quick tour. There I tasted the best grapes on Earth. Most grapes, especially when they are not cold, are a little plain tasting. But these grapes were fresh, warm, and tasty. Our tour guide simply plucked off grapes for us straight from the vine. Since they weren't washed, we peeled off the skin before eating the grapes.

After going home, Sharon and I went to Skylar's house after dinner. Aidan and his host cousin joined us and we taught our host siblings how to play spoons and BS. They loved the game but did not really get the concept that you had to lie to win. We then ate really sweet lemon cake and sang 祝你生日快乐。

Today was so much fun and gave me the opportunity to explore more of 厦门 beauty and meet more people.

庄州 (Skylar's birthday day trip)

July 31, 2016

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庄州 (Skylar's birthday day trip)

China exploring 厦门 host family NSLI-Y

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There are 31 other NSLI-Y participants, 4 teachers, 4 chaperones, 3 host families, 2 host parents, and 1 tutor that have all become my best friends these past few weeks. As the program comes to an end, I have been thinking about how much I will miss these people. I am used to seeing these 41 faces everyday, all day. I'm used to waking up and seeing their face first thing in the morning, laughing at our inside jokes, and sharing funny stories. I remember how lonely I felt when I first arrived in Newark because I did not know anyone. I called my sister and friend and told them I wanted to go back home, that I didn't want to go to China, because I did not like anyone on the trip. I was wrong. Without some of the people on this trip, I probably would have gone crazy due to a mixture of culture shock and loneliness. Of course there are some people on the trip that get on my nerve, but here are the people I will probably miss the most; 

Skylar Baker: 

I'm sure all of you have read my blog and come across the name Skylar Baker a few times and have noticed that we have gotten close this past month. Even since PDO, Skylar and I have been together. Skylar is from San Francisco and I from Maryland, so naturally we have a lot of conflicting views. He is also very passionate about his views and beliefs on many topics, which contrast mine a lot. Even though we get into arguments, meeting him has given me more knowledge of other people's perspectives. His passion to learn more has encouraged me to study deeper into the things I am interested in and work harder to get to where I want to be. Not only has this trip given me insight on Chinese culture, but also other American cultures.  

Over this past few weeks, Skylar and I have become inseparable. From the first real day in 厦门, July 4^th, we noticed numerous similarities between our personalities, preferences, and attitudes. First off, we both dislike seafood. He hates it so much that, on his application to NSLI-Y, he wrote that he was allergic to seafood. His dislike for seafood is just like mine, but to another extreme. Therefore, on the first day when we went to a seafood buffet, we bonded over only eating rice for lunch. We have an ongoing jokes as well, about the things in China that are so different than in America. For example, the showers. Prior to coming to China we both loved taking showers and feeling clean, but after showering in China you do not feel clean. First of all, the entire shower situation in the dorms was hard, since you could use the toilet and shower simultaneously. Secondly, the water here always had an underlining feeling of dirtiness, no matter if it was from the sink or shower. Therefore, we would say, “way to ruin showering, China”. We would then replace “showering” with other objects, verbs, or places. Although it may sound negative, we love every part of this trip. We came to China excepting such culture shock that when we actually landed in China and didn’t feel too shocked, we were confused. Being in 厦门 has surprised me. I think all Americans have a stereotypical picture of what China is like in their mind; crowded, dirty, old, etc. Before coming to China, I thought China was a place filled of really rural and really urban areas with skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings. Although some parts of China may be like this, Xiamen, is a beauty city that has a topical feeling to it with its palm trees and oceans.

I thank you, Skylar, for being my other half on this trip and putting up with me for almost 5 weeks now. Thank you for being full of humor and making it impossible not to be happy around you. You have truly made me a better person and taught me appreciate everything in life.

Merrick Gilston:

Merrick is from New York, the Upper East Side to be exact. When people ask him where he is from, he tells them that he lives in "Gossip Girl", the popular teen TV show that takes place in the Upper East Side. Generally speaking, most kids from this part of town are rich, stuck up, and full of themselves. Merrick though, is an exception. I admire him so much because he is surrounded by so many people yet he has made himself unique, dedicated, and different. At the beginning of the trip, many of us kids and the chaperones thought he was another New York rich kid, but through the course of the trip he has proven that he is so much more.  

Looking back on PDO, I remember Merrick as a completely different person. I thought it was a mixture of a jock and nerd that was obsessed with working out. He brought a container filled with protein supplement to “stay in shape”. My first real interaction with him was after we were placed in the same group, the Orange Team. Chen 老师 was calling out students to read aloud from the NSLI-Y handbook. He called on one girl, who is so posed and collective. She sat up straight and read aloud how we were “NEVER allowed to go into the ocean”. Along with her great posture, her voice sounded like one of those voices you hear over the loud speakers at concerts. Merrick and I, not knowing each other, made eye contact and telepathically said, “omg she sounds like a flight attendant”.  

Sydney Chin:

Like the other people I mentioned in this post, Sydney is also in the same group as me. Without this grouping system, I would not have had the chance to become close with so many people. After landing in Xiamen, my roommate, Daysha, was still at the Shanghai airport (she was one of the few kids that didn’t make the flight). Therefore, I was left without a roommate. I looked around and Sydney was standing alone so I walked up to her and asked her if she wanted to be my roommate, and she said yes. Pretty simple right? But that’s how we became friends.

Sydney is like the little sister I never had or the twin that I never had. I say she is more of my little sister, first because she is the youngest on the trip (going into her sophomore year of high school) and secondly because she cute views on everything, like a little girl. Like in my previous post, she is terrified of all bug. When we spotted the cockroach, she immediately jumped over to me. Me, being like an older sister/ mom, went to get someone to help us.

Becoming close with Sydney has been so entertaining. Watching from the sideline while Skylar pranked her day after day was like watching a comedy. Without her, China would not be nearly as fun. She has been so enthusiastic with taking pictures and adventuring all over campus. She drags me on long walks with her early in the morning or late at night to see a certain building on campus, because she “hasn’t seen it yet”. I think I have walked over 100 miles because of her.

 万老师/ 姐姐:
Wan Laoshi is my favorite chaperone. A bunch of students and I call her Wan jiejie (as in older sister) not only to show respect but also because we wish she was our host sister. She is 21, just graduated from 厦门大学 and is a genius. She works for 百度 (China’s Google) and does the math and statistics for the site. Not only is she super smart, but she is also hilarious. She has better humor than most of the kids on the program. When we are on field trips, she looks like one of the participants, not just because she is short, but also because she is always talking to us laughing. She is always the first one to know who likes who in the group and who dislikes who. Now that we do not have dorms, she allows students to go into hers during our lunch break to rest and relax. In one week exactly, we will have to say goodbye to Wan laoshi because she is not coming to Beijing and Shanghai with us. In September she told me that she is going to Syria to teach Chinese. I know she will be excellent at it.

At the beginning of the trip, I didn’t know who Wan laoshi was because she was not at our PDO in New Jersey (she met us when we landed in Xiamen). About 3 weeks into the trip, Skylar “discovered” her and told me how funny she was. After talking with her for a few minutes, anyone would notice her humor. She calls herself a “wild child” because she wants to “live more and see more” without restraints. She also desires to “talk less, see more, and experience deeper things”. She is such an intelligent women who has a great heart.

Camille P.L.:

Through these past few weeks, Camille and I have been close but not too close. Even though I don’t spend too much time with her, she is an inspiration to me. Both her parents are janitors, and here she is, in China on a full scholarship. Not only that, but she is also from a very bad part of Florida. Since she has excelled in school, she was able to get all of her credits when she was a sophomore in high school, allowing her to take full time classes at her local college. Therefore, in 2017, she will not only be getting her high school diploma, but also her Associates Degree. After that, she hopes to go to a big University and study there. She has proven to me as well, as everyone else on this trip, that no matter where you come from you can succeed and do great things. Meeting her has made me so humble, because if she can do so many greats things, especially given her situation, then why am in complaining.

 

41 new best friends

July 30, 2016

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41 new best friends

China Friends host family NSLI-Y

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七月二十七号，星期三

今天我想用中文写我的日记。 我希望你享受它。

今天我很忙，很累。 昨天我二十点睡觉， 今天我六点三刻起床。因为今天我的队友 E-Portfolio, 所以我们八点十分到厦门大学。  今天是个平凡的日了可是我的中国姐姐跟我来学校。我的中国姐姐， Crystal, 跟我去了课。 早上我们有三接中文课了。下课以后我们去吃午饭了。 我们在新餐厅吃了午饭。 我吃了很多米饭， 肌肉， 和西国。很好吃！然后我跟 Crystal 在市场买了冰淇凌. 我爱冰淇凌！我吃了冰淇凌以后去我的老师的宿舍因为他有空调。我们享受了空调然后我们去文化课。 警察应该会来我们的课， 但是他没来因为他有会议。那， 我们有一门特别的课。 我们有一场研讨。我们聊天人关于中国的文化。比如，一胎制，LGBT 人权，人工流产。 我的同学问很多问题关于敏感的话题。

下文化课， 我们去兴趣课。这个星期我有空竹课， 很有意思。我玩空竹玩的很好， 可是 Crystal 玩空竹玩的不太好了。我最喜欢的课木是空竹。 然后我有辅导课， 可是我不喜欢这个课。 因为， 我们的辅导老师很文静。但是，今天课不错。 因外 Crystal 在，她帮我做功课和练习发音。 下课一边，我们唱一中文歌， 很有意思 可是我们唱歌唱不好！

然后 Skylar 的中国爸爸开车了回家。 我五点半才回家。我太累了！

明天 Crystal 要回她的家。 她跟我的中国家一起跟前因为我来中国， 所以 Crystal 想认识我。今天晚上我跟我的中国姐姐有派对！我们去骑楼了然后吃甜点。很好吃。我们吃了漫过冰淇凌还吃了每果， 很晚。 会家以后我们在我的卧室连天了。

明天是中文日， 所以我只说中文，不说英文。 还是， 星期五是“OPI" 考试。 所以今天我的中国姐姐只说中问。他们想帮我练习发音。

我很喜欢我的中国姐姐。

我的日记

July 26, 2016

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我的日记

China day in the life Friends NSLI-Y

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I have been in China for almost one whole month. Looking back on PDO seem like so long ago, but yet again I wish this program would never end. Living in the dorms was like a taste of what college would be like in 2 years. But living with a host family has been entirely different. Being completely emerged in a society that has such a different culture and language than you are used to is describable. Of course my family was excited for my arrival, but I am still not used to their customs and traditions. I also had many generalizations and ideas of what a Chinese family would be like. For example, my family does not all eat meals together. It is more of like an "eat whenever you want" type of environment. Our chaperones had always told us never to shut our bedroom door because it is rude, but my host sisters always shut their door and tell me to shut mine to "keep in the AC". They are also very tech savvy, meaning they are glued to their phones just like Americans.

Then again, this is not like all Chinese host families. Most of my friend's families are very traditional with eating meals together, very punctual, and formal. What bothers me though is how their maids are treated. My host family has a nanny/ maid who is from the Philippines and has been working for them for over a year and a half, which means she has been with them for the majority of their son's life. This seems to be very common for most wealthy families in China.
What I have noticed is that their culture is very different than American's when it comes to family dynamics. Most parents in America are worried about their child becoming to attached to their nanny if they get a full-time one, but it seems like most maids/ nannies are treated as 2nd class citizens. I understand that it is their job to work for the family, but I feel as if they are treated more as a servant than a nanny. She does a lot of work for them, not only with the baby but also around the house. But sometimes the nanny will not eat because she is too busy taking care of the baby or other things. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to her much because she is always busy, but I did ask her if she liked China and her only response was, "I miss home very much". Although their views are different than what I am used to, my host family is very kind to each other in their own ways. As I said before, they seem to be more western than other Chinese people I have encountered. It has been interesting to see how different countries have different views, especially about small things. Prior to coming to China, I knew that their values and customs would be very different, but being in a first-handed environment has given me a variety of perspectives to learn from.

Being in a country that adores 外国人 (foreigners) is also strange. Being asked for pictures and being stared at is a little shocking. In America if an foreigner walks by no one blinks an eye, but in China people will swarm around them taking selfies. Also being in a place that is jealous (for lack of a better word) of my home country is shocking. Everyone here has so many questions about America; they are so educated about our lives while I didn't even know who the Leader of China was until last week. In addition, when students are so passion about going to American Colleges, it makes me think why America is so much better. They refer to America as a place with more opportunities and a safer place to build a family, but is it any safer.

Since the first day I was here in 厦门, there has been a shooting or attack somewhere, a lot in America. Being in China makes me feel safe. It is interesting hearing about the news from the outsiders perspective. Instead of hearing it on the TV in my living room, our chaperones talk about it. Being in China, I feel so far away from the world's troubles. Coming to China has definitely been a break for me from our broken society.

China reflection

July 26, 2016

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China reflection

China culture shock host family NSLI-Y

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I could eat all of these in one sitting 

Sunday was our first day without classes!!! The entire day was dedicated to free time, or that's at least what we all thought. But no, our host families took full advantage of this day to show case their new 外国人. There is a WeChat groupchat with all the host parents and the chaperones; us kids nicknamed it the "Brag Chat" because all the host parents do is send each other pictures of their host children doing fun stuff. It has become a competition: who can do the coolest/ funniest thing with their student. Most families in China wrap dumplings (包饺子）on Sunday so they can freeze them and eat them throughout the week. Therefore, on Sunday the Brag Chat was filled with "my dumplings are better than you dumpling" pictures. My host mom took multiple pictures, from multiple angles, to showcase my "非常好" dumpling making skills.

Here is how you make dumplings:
1) buy meat: my host mom and the maid went out to their local market and bought ground beef and chicken
2) chop up chives (also bought at the market)
3) mix the meat and chives together and add salt and pepper

4) using the dumpling dough you bought at an earlier time, place a spoonful of the meat and chive mixture into the middle of the dough
5) fold the dough and pinch the edges closed
6) place them on a pre-floured pan and freeze

Simple right? Well apparently half of the guys in my group could not do it. One said, and I quote, "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do".

After making dumplings we had lunch: fish, rice, tofu, and veggies. Then at 4:00pm my host family (minus the mom, baby boy, and nanny) went Go-Karting with Skylar and his host brother. I learned later that my host dad is an invested for the Go-Karting company we went to. It was interesting. If we went to a place like that in America we would be forced to sign a ton of waivers promising not to sue, but in China all they cared about was getting your money, no forms or anything. We raced twice. The first time I ran off the road and had to be dragged back on by one of the helpers. I hope that doesn't reflect my actually driving considering I am less than 3 months away from getting my license. Anyways, the second time I tied for first place! In between racing we had a snack．I got a nice, COLD, mango smoothie. They also ordered DELICIOUS fires and chicken fingers for the table to share.

Ready to beat all of them (we look so funny)

Delicious mango drink with my sisters

After racing the second time, we meet the rest of the families at a fancy dancy restaurant that was practically on the ocean! And of course, since they are rich, they paid for a separate table on the rooftop. The food was really good though, and filling. After eating so much, us kids played a game. It was sort of like "Heads Up" an American game where you hold up your phone and it displays words as other people try to describe it to you. But there was a twist: the entire game was in Chinese!!! That made it really hard. But luckily Skylar and his host brother's friend was on my team so they helped me a lot.

We then came back home and Skylar and his host brother came over to play cards. I taught everyone how to play Spoons, and they LOVED it. We played so many rounds, even after Skylar and his host brother left, my sisters still wanted to play! I'm surprised they haven't asked me today to play again.

After getting a good nights sleep, I woke up at 7:15 for class. Aidan's host dad drove Skylar and I to class again and Skylar's dad picked us up. Class was the same as usually, except everyone was talking about their host family activities. After school my host sisters and I went shopping. On the way to the mall (which is a 5 minute walk from the house) we stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner. Unlike in America, Pizza Hut is a high class restaurant. The way it was laid out reminded me on California Pizza Kitchen back home. There were people who would open the door for her, someone to lead you to a table, and more people to serve you. Their pizza's we also a lot fancier, but smaller. We all 3 shared an "everything pizza" and by everything I am including shrimp (of course, everything in 厦门 has sea food on it) and chicken wings. Once we were done eating we went to a shopping mall next door called "California City Plaza Mall". There I bought a pair of shorts and a shirt for super cheap! I also got a mirror so I can do my makeup in my AC room instead of the hot bathroom!

my host sisters

Fun with my new family

July 25, 2016

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Fun with my new family

China exploring 厦门 host family NSLI-Y 厦门

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Friday evening was dedicated to meeting/ moving in with our host families. Instead of having tutor time, we all gathered in the lecture hall with our soon to be families for the next two weeks. We lined up on stage and one by one they called out names and our host families came up to "claim us" as 陈老师 would say. Thankfully, we were called in alphabetically order by our last name, so I wasn't last on stage.

Only my host dad was able to come pick me up, not sure why. After I was "claimed" I went back to the dorm to grab my luggage. My host dad led me to his car, which is very nice (hint #1 that they are wealthy). We drove for 30 minutes in silence as I tried my hardest to stay awake. I think I fell asleep for a few seconds and when I woke up I heard him talking on the phone saying 睡觉 which means sleep. We finally arrived to a normal apartment complex, nothing too fancy. It was surrounded by shops and is right next to a mall that I cannot wait to go to. Once inside the elevator my host dad, Jason, hit the button for the 16th level; the penthouse (hint #2 that they are wealthy). The elevator doors opened to two closed off mud rooms. We turned to the right; their apartment. He knocked on the door and a girl, my age, opened it. She didn't seem too excited to see me at first but she later warmed up to me. I found out that they have a 16 year old daughter, 2 year old son, a niece (who is staying with them for a few weeks) and a maid/ nanny who lives with them full time (hint #3 that they are wealthy).

Their apartment is beautiful. It has a glass chandelier that hangs over the family room. They led me to my room which is on the second floor of their 4 story penthouse. It is nice, especially since it has it's own AC unit. Then the 2 girls gave me a tour of the apartment. On the third floor is the nanny's and baby's room. The 4th floor is the roof that they use for a garden where they planted pumpkins, tomatoes, and other veggies.

For dinner last night, they took me to a 5 star hotel by the ocean (hint #4 that they are wealthy). It was a buffet inside the hotel with all sorts of food; from french fries to entire fish heads. I adventured a little and ate some fish (not the full fish) and had other beef and vegetable dishes. Dinner was very yummy but also very awkward. We all sat in silence, not knowing what to talk about. When we would talk the mom would be asking me a lot of weird questions about American schools, trying to make them sound bad.

The next day I got up at 6:30 to have breakfast at 7 and leave for class at 7:35. Oh guess who my neighbor is? SKYLAR! Isn't that crazy, out of all the people I have Skylar as a neighbor. Also another kid, Aidan, lives across the street from us. So today, Aidan's host father drove us to 厦门大学 for class and my host dad picked us all up. After class we all had dinner together which was tofu with shrimp, rice, green beans, and more fish. I tried a little bit of everything except the fish because they still had their eyes on them. My host family is very westernized. When people were down eating they got up and moved over to the family room area and turned on the TV. I expected it to be formal and a strict family meal. Also, they know almost perfect English which helps me communicate with them easily. They still talk to me in Chinese but if I do not understand what they are saying, they repeat it in English. 

Their adorable dog!!

  

The view outside my bedroom

The view from the top floor

After dinner my host "sisters" and I went to Walmart which is a high class super market here. It was only a 5 minute walk away. There we bought food for a Western styled breakfast that we are making tomorrow for the family. Once we bought our eggs, watermelon, bananas, and orange juice we were planning on going to this big mall that was close by as well. But while walking back we ran into Aidan. It was funny because I didn't see Aidan since it was so dark but my host sisters pointed him out to me and asked if that was one of my American friends because his Chinese was so bad. They told us that we had all been invited to Skylar's building (which is next to mine) for tea. We ran upstairs to put the groceries away and then went back to join Aidan and Skylar, as long as their host families, for tea.

There we drank tea and talked a little. They were discussing if we wanted to go to the country side of China for Skylar's birthday, which is next Sunday (I'm pretty sure we are going). After talking and drinking boiling hot tea, all the kids (including host siblings) went into Skylar's room to work on homework. After 30 minutes of half doing homework and half talking we went back to our apartment.

My host family/ 我的中国家

July 23, 2016

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My host family/ 我的中国家

China culture shock day in the life host family NSLI-Y 厦门

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Yesterday, we were given the privilege to go to the most famous tourist spot in all of 厦门。 鼓浪屿 is a small island that you can see from 厦门大学. On preview NSLI-Y 厦门 programs, they never scheduled for the students to visit this island, because they always expect the host families to take the children. But last year a lot of host families didn't take the participants; therefore, this year they decided to take us as a treat. We rented an entire charter bus for a 15 minute ride. Even though the ride was so short, I still fell asleep. I woke up when the bus stopped at a drop off place 5 minutes away from the ferry dock. We walked to the dock and the chaperones passed out our passports and tickets. We put our bag through a scanned, since at all public transportation requires security checks. It was pretty simple but apparently one person in our group, Leo who happens to be from Maryland as well, forgot to pick up his bag after security check. Once through security and check in, we waited for the ferry to arrive. The sign above the platform over the water said "no jaywalking"; like people have jaywalked across the ocean.

The ferry came at the perfect timely. The entire ride we had a perfect view of the city and sunset. The clouds looked like cotton candy creating the PERFECT PICTURE. The ferry ride was literally 2 minutes long, like the wait to get on the ferry was longer than the actually ride.

Once on the island we divided into our 5 groups and walked around the island with our chaperones. Our group chaperone is Cai 老师. She is like a teenage; always on her phone. She even had to use 百度, which is China's google, to search how to get around 鼓浪屿. We made so many wrong turns forcing us to back track the way we came from. We walked along street shops selling a variety of things, from ice cream to pearls. I actually stopped to buy a pearl ring, which the chaperones help me bargain down to 50 元. We walked in a giant circle, which was suspected since we were on an island. We walked on the beach for 30 minutes then went to see embassies on the island (they were still in the making).

We all meet back at the ferry dock at 9:30 and hopped on the 9:45 ferry. Luckily Leo didn't have any bags to put through security or else I bet he would have lost it as well.  We rode on the ferry for 2 minutes again to get back to the main island. Then walked to the bus stop, rode the bus back to campus, then walked to our dorms.

Our curfew was at 10:30 that night, giving us 30 minutes to hang out with our friends. Dr. Lin (one of the chaperones) left today (Thursday) to return back to her home town. She is becoming a university teacher so she had to go back to wrap up a project she was working on with another professor. So when she came to check if we were in our rooms at 10:30, Sydney and I gave her a gift (just chocolates from America). She was so grateful and told us to WeChat her if we needed anything.

Famous building on 厦门大学

Today (Thursday, July 21) was another normal day of classes. Our new unit is about shopping so 杨老师 showed us how to use TaoBao (the Chinese amazon that has FREE 2 day shipping). During the lunch break, Skylar and I met up with one of the Chinese tutors we used to have named Lexie. We had lunch with her at the cafeteria. After that she showed us where the bookstore was because we wanted to look at cool 厦门大学 tshirts. We ended up not buying anything and just headed to culture class at 1:30. Since we have an oral proficiency test tomorrow, instead of a culture lecture we had time to prepare for it. Next I had Chinese paper cutting. I learned that our class switch off everyday so one day is Chinese knot tying and the next is Chinese paper cutting. Tutor time was normal, we just practiced pronunciation and more grammar.

Skylar, Lexie, and I

For dinner me and some friends went to the restaurant on the first floor of our dorms. I got sweet and sour pork and dumplings. We ate and then walked around the campus. Skylar and I went back to the bookstore and he bought a tshirt. I wanted to buy a 厦门大学 hat but I didn't like any at the bookstore. I ended up finding one in the Student Union building.

Tonight I finished packing because WE MOVE INTO OUR HOST FAMILIES TOMORROW!
The schedule tomorrow is:
Regular class 9-11:50
Lunch break 12-1:30
OPI 1:30-2:30
Interest groups 2:40-3:20
3:30 MEET OUR HOST FAMILIES
-we have a small ceremony to meet our host families
-around 4:30 we will move out of our dorms and leave....

I'm excited to move in with my host family but also nervous that it will be awkward and hard to communicated. I learned that my host family is pretty well off with 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms in their home. They also have a 15 year old daughter and a dog!!!

鼓浪屿

July 21, 2016

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鼓浪屿

China day in the life exploring 厦门 Friends NSLI-Y 厦门

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July birthdays

Sunday, July 17, we celebrated all the July birthdays. After a regular day schedule we went to a restaurant instead of the cafeteria, for dinner. The restaurant was on the first floor of our dorm building. They ordered our food ahead of time (they asked us during class what we wanted) so it was ready when we got there at 5:30. I ordered a spicy chicken dish and it was so spicy is partially burned all the taste buds off. I couldn't finish it but another girl, Jessica, got the wrong dish so she gave it to me to eat since they made her another meal. After we finished eating our meals they brought out the cakes! Since there were 4 people with birthdays in July (Michael, Andy, Tim, and most importantly, Skylar), they had 4 different cakes. They were so pretty and so yummy! We sang happy birthday in Chinese 4 different times for everyone and then they began to cut the cake. Everyone got a slice and ate every bit, trying to savor the delicious taste!

Sydney and I ready for the concert

After dinner we walked over to the 厦门大学 music hall. Remember the high school we visit last week, 厦门外国语学校? They were the ones who preformed. They invited us (since it was at the 厦门大学 campus) and gave us free tickets. It was their 10 anniversary concert at 厦门大学 so a lot of alumni came to play as well as the students. They were absolutely amazing! They all played so passionately, even the ones in the back row. The concert lasted for 3 hours; super long but super good.

The next day, Monday the 18th, was another regular day except we had another buddy activity. We played a game (more like a challenge) where we had to lift someone of the ground for 2 seconds only using 4 fingers and a fist. So we divided into teams of 6; 5 people to hold the person and 1 person being held. 4 out of the 5 people could only use 1 finger to lift while the 5th person used a fist. We ended up just grabbing Maddie by the belt loops on her shorts and lifting her up which gave her a huge wedgie but worked!

She loves me

After dinner Maddie, Skylar, and I planned on going to the reservoir but by the time we were ready to go it was already getting dark. Therefore we ended up just walking around campus and looking at the little shops. I bought a map of 厦门大学 which I'm going to pin on my wall back at home. I also got some cool pencils for school that have Chinese writing on them. Skylar and I were on the lookout for 厦门大学 t-shirts but we couldn't find any. Later someone told us to check the campus bookstore so we might go there another day.

Also the mommy cat gave birth!!! I saw her the other day and she was so skinny I thought it was a different cat. But no, it's the same cat. Hopefully, I get to see the babies soon!!!


Guess what?!?! We move into our host families on FRIDAY!!!

Birthday celebration

July 18, 2016

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Birthday celebration

China day in the life exploring 厦门 Friends NSLI-Y 厦门

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Today was titled "mingle day" so they forced us, instead of encouraged us, to sit with the locals at lunch and dinner. Besides that today was a normal day, besides our weekly buddy activity. Last week we did a scavenger hunt to get to the know the campus. They gave us photos of locations around campus and our assignment was to find the places and take an identical picture as the ones we were given. But today was different. First we played the human knot game and then another group activity. It reminded me of musical chairs without the chairs. The loser had to go up on and do something embarrassing. I wouldn't have lost except Sydney pushed me out of the spot so I had to go up on stage with Merrick and do a Chinese folk dance we had learned in interest group. It was probably hilarious to watch.

Anyways on to the important stuff. After the buddy activity they announced the winner of this week's "strive for excellence". And the winner goes to..... Team 5. Wait what? You must be confused right now since the title of this post is "shopping trip" with 3 exclamation points. That's right, we didn't win. Team 5 did. After I heard we didn't win I tuned out until I heard the words, "Team 4 will also go shopping". Apparently within the time I wasn't listening, 杨老师, my favorite person, said that we only lost by 2 points and I earned the highest amount of points the entire week so she was awarding us even though we technically didn't win.

Outdoor shopping mall

Shopping was so much fun. We road a public bus for 1 元 which is about 15 cents in America. It was pretty crowded so we all stood up. After 4 stops we got off at a giant shopping center. They gave us 1 hour to shop inside and then we had to meet back up with our chaperones at a Starbucks. During that hour Sydney and I scooped out the entire mall before we bought anything; therefore, we would know which stores had the cheapest/ best stuff. We ended up buying everything from a store named "Mango". We each got shorts, the same pair of shorts, for 100 元 which is about 15 US dollars. I also got a shirt for 70 元. After one hour we met up at Starbucks, which on a unrelated notes is really expensive in China. We all traveled as a group to the outdoor shopping center that was down the street. There I bought another shirt for 60 元. We all walked around for another hour and looked inside some local shops. There were a few pearl stores that we digging out pearls from real oysters on the street!!!

Getting pearls

Me and Sydney happy cuz we went shopping!!!

On that way back to 厦门大学 we saw the ocean and actually touched the sand. It was a pretty small beach but it was beautiful (because it was dark and we couldn't see how polluted the ocean was). But once we got back the real drama happened. They gave us no curfew (just had to stay in the building) as a reward. Sydney and I chatted with some people for about an hour but around 11:15 we saw a cockroach!!! It was so gross but I'm pound to say I stayed cool, for the most part. Sydney, on the other hand, was freaking out. I quickly ran out of the room to find Jackson because he is known for killing bugs quickly and quietly, but I couldn't find him anywhere!! So I ran down the hall and asked Riley to help catch and kill the bug. First Sam came to try to help but he soon proved to be useless so Riley came. More and more people trickled in wanted to know what was going on. We picked up the bugs and scared the poor thing out into the open. They covered it with a trash can. Some genius had the bright idea that use paper as a lid but they somehow forgot about gravity. Since the paper wasn't sturdy enough the bug was able to jump out back into our room. But before that happened the guys, being typically guys, shoved the trashcan into our faces to freak us out. This is when someone, I don't even know who because their was so many people in the room wanted to watch, hit the table and knocked out our glass water bottle. It shattered all over the floor. Riley, not being very bright, didn't even realized he had dropped the bug and proceeded to carry out the EMPTY trashcan like a hero. It took 3 people to tell him that the bug was still in the room. At that point the room was packed with at least 10 people who were screaming, not aware that other people were sleeping right next door. At that point I knew 杨老师 heard all the noise from her room downstairs so while the guys handled the bug killing, I went downstairs to tell the chaperones what was going on. They came back upstairs with me to check if everything was okay. By the time I returned the cockroach was smashed on the ground. We cleaned it up as well as the glass. But Sydney was so scared still that we ended up sleeping in 杨老师 bed and she slept in ours. We went to sleep around 2:00am and woke up the next day super tired.

(Sorry no pictures of the cockroach, next time maybe haha)

I think yesterday (07/15) was the most exciting day yet.

Shopping Trip!!!

July 16, 2016

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Shopping Trip!!!

China day in the life exploring 厦门 Friends NSLI-Y 厦门

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Today was Immersion Day which means ONLY Chinese speaking, NOT ENGLISH what so ever. For incentive they used the point system as a prize again. Therefore, if any adult chaperon heard/ saw you speaking English they would take away points every time. It was hard but I made it through the day, speaking less than normal. Other than immersion day, today was a normal day with classes in the morning and afternoon. Class was a little more confusing because 杨老师 couldn't use English to help us out when we were utterly confused. But I caught on pretty fast. Tomorrow is also the day we find out if we won the most points and if we win we get to go shopping tomorrow night!!! I really hope we win. I asked 杨老师 how I could earn more points and she told me to be really passionate in class tomorrow and she will give me extra points. But the thing is, I am the only person that speaks in our class already so I guess tomorrow I will be extra enthusiastic. After lunch we had more culture class which is starting to get boring because 陈老师 only lectures and lectures and lectures. A lot of people had breakdowns today because they were over stressed. Today on girl, who is the type to never be overwhelmed and is nicknamed "the mama bear of the group" had a breakdown because she felt so must pressure and was sleep deprived. My friend, Maddie, talked .to some of the chaperones about it and requested we had one afternoon off where we did a group activity like flag football. I thought that was a good idea.

We had our second Green Clean Up today except it wasn't really a "clean up". We had to pick up bikes that had fallen over and count them as we went. Team 4 got 111 but team 3 claimed they got 183 which couldn't be possible since we were only given 20 minutes to pick them up. So according to my calculations if they got 183 bikes in 20 minutes, that's 9 bikes per minutes.... seems a little far fetched. But so many people complained that they were lying so no one got points. I was fine with it because I'd rather have no one get points then another team get more points.

Our new 朋友

Anyways, at dinner I sat among the locals. I sat with Sydney and two Chinese men. One just returned back to 厦门 from studying in England for 6 months. They were both studying at 厦门大学 to get their PHDs in economy and management. Sydney made a joke about how China has no toilet paper and the men gave us tissue paper. We also got a selfie with them!!!!

Coolest cafe ever

After dinner I went back to the Cafe in the tunnel to get something to drink with Maddie and Daysha. Maddie and I got lemonade which felt like America and Daysha got watermelon juice. The lemonade was so fresh and yummy but the watermelon juice was to die for. It tasted exactly like sweet watermelon. We also took cute pictures and walked through the tunnel. There was some graffetti that I didn't see last time I went to the tunnel. I love the tunnel and China!!!

Squad

Zootopia

I think this is new?

MTV welcome to my crib

Wow, we move into our host families in 1 week!!!! Crazy!!!

Immersion Day

July 14, 2016

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Immersion Day

day in the life exploring 厦门 Friends 厦门

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Our desks; the tables fold down  

Today was another normal day with classes, classes, and more classes. In Chinese class we practiced making appointment. I realized I haven't showed you what our classroom looks like. It is actually really nice. It's in the Foreign Language building which is newly renovated, except they must of forgot to update the bathrooms because they do no actually have toilets, just holes....

We were supposed to have another Green Cleanup but since we went traveling tomorrow and walked a lot, they moved it to tomorrow. I also had E-Portfolio this morning in between breakfast and classes. Don't ask me why it's called E-Portfolio because it's basically like support group. So once a week each team talks with one of the chaperones about their feelings regarding our experience with cross-culture immersion. Today we received a packet discussing culture itself and self-identification.

The tunnel cafe sign

After classes were finished all the team leaders had a meeting with the chaperones to discuss their teams behavior and feelings about the trip so far. Apparently Team 5 is in the lead for this week. I think it is rigged because Team 4 (my team) definitely got the most points. Like I have been carrying everything for the chaperons all week for points, but that wasn't enough. :(

The tunnel

We finished eating dinner and Maddie, Skylar, and I (Cami was going to come but she was too tired) went to the tunnel again to check out the 厦门芙蓉隧道 (Xiamen Furong Tunnel) coffee house. Yes it is coffee shop inside the graffiti tunnel. It is so cool. I had seen it last time I went to the tunnel but we didn't go inside it. Anyways it is filled floor to ceiling with post-it notes that people wrote in Chinese. It also sells cell phones, books, t-shirts, magnets, postcards, and more. They also sell coffee, frapas, cold drinks, etc. It was awesome!!! I got a 厦门 tshirt and a phone case.

Cool new graffiti 

My new phone case

Today was fun and chill and I had NO HOMEWORK!!!!

七月十三号

July 13, 2016

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七月十三号

China day in the life exploring 厦门 Friends NSLI-Y 厦门

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The Maritime Silk Road Museum 

Today, July 12, all of the 32 NSLI-Y 厦门 participants traveled to 泉州, an ancient city that was part of the maritime Silk Road. Our first stop was at the QuanZhou Maritime Museum. Walking into the exhibits was breathtaking with multiple real ruins displayed as well as replicas. Also because of the breeze coming from the air conditioning machines. Skylar and I have decided that next we must visit the Chinese Museum of Air Conditioners because we always tend to huddle around them when we see them.

Skylar and I sitting in front of a boat replica 

The Cross-Culture Exhibit was very impressive. What impressed me the most was that 泉州 is the only city where Hindu ruins were found. These ruins included temples and altars that have very distinct carvings on them that attracted many tourists and experts. Hinduism was a very prominent religion in China which was first introduced by immigrating Indians in the 13th century. This suggests that there was a large Hindu community in the Fujian province. This was very surprising to me because Eastern China is known for its                                                                                     very Buddhist and Muslim community.

Replica with the map of maritime silk road

The "World of Chinese Ship" exhibit was fabulous as well with its countless real boats in display. There was a raft: boat that was completely made out of an ox hide. Crazy right?!?!? Other part of the exhibit that I really liked was the miniature replicas of ship building with little plastic people figures. It reminded me of "Night of the Museum" with all the tiny people that come to life at night. I wonder if the figures in the Maritime Museum come to life when the building is closed...
After visiting most of the exhibits inside my group went outside to the Oyster Wall which is exactly what it sounds like; a wall made of oysters. Later 杨老师 told me that some houses around the area are built out of oysters as well.

For the rest of the day we traveled to three different temples. First we went to the 通淮关庙 (Tonghuai GuanYue Temple). It was stunningly beautiful and was built by the third student of Muhammad. Sadly, most of it was destroyed during Son and Yuan dynasty because of the war. We also went to another temple where a “superhero” type figure was worshipped by three different religions including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Toaism. People would come to and pray, light incense, leave gifts, and feed the gods food.

Sorry, there are no actual pictures of the inside of the temple because it is against the rules. There was actually a sign that said "No photographing" haha

Second temple we went to. Look at those dragons 

Maddie and I with our new friend :)

The last temple was my favorite because of its extraordinary architecture and history. The 开元寺 (Kaiyuan Temple) is a Buddhist temple. Although it is formally known as a Hindu-Buddhist temple, the main hall shows off the main Buddha, Vairocana Buddha. Built in the second year of Chuigong Reign, Tang Dynasty (686), the two towers located on the East and West of the temple grounds showed off their phenomenal structure reflecting early Ming Dynasty architecture. The East, regarded as Zhenguo Pagoda, was built in the second year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1238-1250).  It’s solid, octagonal wooden structure draws the attention of many. The 16 Buddhist figures carved into the wood from top to bottom is jaw dropping. The West tower, called Renshou Pagoda, was built during the same time period as the East tower. These two towers are, to this day, the tallest twin towers in China, reaching 45.06 meters high. Also fun fact: there was a tree in the temple that was 800 years old!!!!

One of the two towers 

Main temple building

Sky and I

All in all, today was a success in my opinion. I loved being able to learn more about the history of China and the city I will be staying in for the next five weeks.

泉州

July 12, 2016

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泉州

China exploring 厦门 Friends NSLI-Y 厦门

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