For me, I found the visits to the Entel Foreign Language School and Mary English School to be the most interesting. As a teacher who often teaches ESL classes, I enjoyed watching the different lessons and techniques for teaching English.
At the Entel Foreign Language School I enjoyed watching the well-developed lesson plans about numbers and the reading of a script about opening a gift. I noticed that the students were engaged, respectful, polite and eager to learn. The teacher was masterful in the activities she chose to teach and how she emphasized the main ideas. I found it particularly interesting that this lesson was teaching the students how to speak using English tones. That was an approach to teaching English that I had never considered before. In addition to the lesson, I enjoyed speaking with the 10th grade students who were helping at the summer camp especially because I primarily teach 10th grade. I noticed a lot of similarities between my students and the students at the Entel School. I liked hearing about their experience living at the school and what they wanted to do in the future.
At Mary English School, I enjoyed seeing the various classes that were being taught and the different grade levels. The students at the school seemed very excited to have us come into their classrooms and to practice English with them. The lesson that I was fortunate enough to observe had several children, all under the age of 10, who were learning English by using phonics. Again, the teacher was exceptional and her lesson was beautifully planned and executed. She focused on having very fast games and activities that moved the lesson quickly while keeping the students attention. The students were in groups and they were competing with other groups in the class, thus keeping the students actively engaged while still learning and practicing the language. It was obvious that the students enjoyed this type of friendly competition.
As a teacher, I think we are so focused on what goes on in our classroom that we often forget to look to other teachers for inspiration and new ideas. Visiting these two schools has given me several ideas on how to improve my teaching and my overall lesson planning.
Tour Blog
One of the things that I wanted to see in China was how the younger generation of the emerging educated Middle Class was adjusting to the rapid Westernization of China. Were these young people embracing Western ideas and adopting Western culture with as much enthusiasm as US news broadcasts and magazines suggest? Interestingly, based on the small sample of young professionals I met in Hangzhou, it seems that there is certainly a great deal of excitement about the globalization of China and the access to Western ideas and businesses. But many of the young people I met also expressed concern about losing some of the cultural elements that define them as Chinese: food, tea and Confucianism. While KFC and Walmart have certainly gained a strong following in China as have certain American TV shows and movies (Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives seem to be the favorites), Chinese chain restaurants like Grandma's Kitchen, which serves traditional Chinese fare, attract young families and young couples. At the Buddhist College of Hangzhou, the director said that Christianity was the fastest growing religion in China. Although Christianity might be gaining followers in China, it seems that many of those followers are older. None of the young professionals with whom I spoke was even aware that there was a Christian Church in Hangzhou, but a couple of the young women I met had become Buddhist, saying they felt drawn to Buddhism as a means to connect to Chinese culture. At the Lingyin Temple, I was surprised to see so many young worshippers. During the thirty minutes I sat in front of one of the worship halls, at least 75% of the people who lit incense candles and bowed to pray were 30 or younger. This is a very different experience from the one I had in Beijing and Xi'an three years ago, where most of the worshippers were quite elderly. Is this because Western cultural influence is more pronounced in Hangzhou than in Beijing and Xi'an?
On our last Friday morning in Hangzhou, Mimi and I went for a bike excursion to capture some of the local billboards. It was a great time to go - not only did we get great shots of the ads, we were also able to see the city just waking up, before the craziness of commuter bike traffic. I hope to use the images below in my implementation plan - I'm thinking about discussing the social changes (or expectations) that come with economic growth in China, but I also see some parallels here with imperialism. This idea of a more "civlized" Hangzhou is a very interesting choice of words!
Enjoy,
Stephanie
What a striking day! On Thursday we left early for the Hangzhou Buddhist College and Lingyin Temple, which are nestled in the hills behind West Lake. It was nice to finally be out in nature after being in the bustling city the last two weeks. The absence of honking cars and mopeds was pleasantly noticeable. After taking a brief tour of the college, we talked with Buddhist monk, Huejun Ha, about the history of Buddhism in ancient and how it is evolving to address modern China and globalization.
Lunch with the monks was truly an experience. There were three basic rules:No cell phones, no talking, and no wasting food. NCTA teachers were seated facing several rows of monks dressed in gray and gold robes. The lunch "ritual" began with a repeating bell and chant. A procession of monks then filed in with buckets of food that they quickly ladled into each person's bowl. In the absence of our usual lunch chatter the vegetarian meal was over quickly, but it felt an overwhelming sense of privilege to have been allowed to peek into their daily lives like this. Each monk cleared their own place and washed their own dishes and then returned them to their seat for the next meal.
After lunch we met Mark Lu, a Chinese American from San Francisco who has been teaching English at the college here in Hangzhou for the last seven months. According to Mr Lu, the Lingyin Temple is one the most significant temples in the all of China. This was clear when we arrived. There were throngs of tourists and pilgrims climbing the cliffs to pray and see the grottos that contained religious rock carvings like the famous laughing Buddha. We climbed many stone steps to the top of one of these paths. I was thrilled to see a water vendor at the top.
I'm not sure I have words for the temple itself. I was enthralled by the pilgrims who appeared to be cleansing themselves with incense before praying at the foot of the statues. The architecture, carvings, statues and people at each level fused ancient and modern China together.
Thursday evening a small group of us went to the night market for dinner. It's filled with stands of fresh meat and vegetables on skewers that you place in a basket and hand to vendors who grill and season it all. Served with crisp refreshing beer to counter the heat, this was one of the best meals of the trip.
Well deserved foot massages finished our day off.
The following morning I planned my first and only bike ride this trip...much more intimidating than I thought it would be- though they're are tons of people on bikes,mopeds and tuk tuks, the cars, tour busses, and trucks seriously outnumber them. There are bike lanes which are fenced off, but the intersections are insane. And everyone here goes about it all very nonchalantly. One of my Chinese hosts taught me how to be a pedestrian. He said, "Walk steadily and don't make any sudden movements, then everyone will go around you." When I asked him if he had ever been hit by a bicycle or moped he responded, "Oh yes, but it was my fault. I was rushing."
July, 20, 2012
We got a taste of tea culture from Professor Ma. She introduced us to a poem by to
Tong Lu that described the different emotional stages experienced with each cup of tea. "The first cup moistens my lips and throat, the second cup breaks my loneliness?" Tea is powerful stuff. Tea bricks were described and it was suggested that ancient money had holes in their middles, mimicking the holes in the bricks. I enjoyed imagining the foam making contests during the Sung dynasty whip contests.
My favorite part of the talk was the legend that showed the medicinal properties of Emperor Qianlong's sleeve:
During one of his trips to the area, Emperor Qianlong was watching the locals picking the tea at the foot of Shi Feng Mountain and joined in. While picking the tea he received word that his mother was ill and requested him to return to Beijing. He put the tea leaves he picked into his sleeve and quickly went back to Beijing to visit his mother. When visiting his mother, she noticed the smell of the leaves emanating from his sleeves. He remembered the tea and brewed the leaves for her. They liked the tea so much that it became a tribute tea to the imperial court. It is rumored that the flat shape of the tea is created to resemble the flattened leaves found in Emperor Qianlong’s sleeves.
I would have liked to hear about the tea culture of the peasants. It seems like the tea customs were all Emperor driven.
In the afternoon we went to the National Tea museum. We were able to see some of the tea related things that we just heard about: tea bricks, tea sets, and other tools for making tea.
We had a delightful tea tasting where we sipped Longjing tea, a Hangzhou specialty , Olong and some others.
Afterwards we walked around the tea plantation where workers were spraying with pesticides. It seems ironic that the tea is supposed to promote health yet it is sprayed with pesticides.
This was a beautiful place to end our study tour.
July 19
With so little time left in Hangzhou I felt like I really wanted to pursue my quest of finding some of the spots where the West Lake stories took place. We started out on the Su Causeway. With the breezes blowing, willows weeping and water calm except for a few fish jumping, we had a tranquil walk.
We passed the Three Moon Reflecting Pools - stone lanterns in the water. This site represents the Stone Incense burner story. I was surprised that these pagodas were not made more prominent - pictures of the pagodas lit up adorn many a post card and guide book.
As it got dark we walked to the Leifeng Pagada. It was quite beautiful. Outside there was a sculpture depicting the White Snake, the most famous West Lake Story. Each floor of the inside of the pagoda represented many different perspectives of the West Lake. Buddhist paintings adorned one floor, historical depictions of the lake another, and calligraphy and poetry about the lake were in another. Best of all was the floor that completely retold the White Snake story in wooden relief sculptures. These art works were intricate and delicate and at the same time strong and powerful. I loved seeing this most famous folk tale retold.
A moving love story is contained in the Leifeng Pagoda history. The story tells of a young scholar who falls in love with a beautiful woman, unaware that she is a white snake who has taken on human form. A monk intervenes in order to save the scholar’s soul and casts the white snake into a deep well at the Leifeng Pagoda. Over centuries the story has evolved from horror story to romance with the scholar and the white snake-woman genuinely in love with one another, but such a relationship is forbidden by the laws of Heaven. The legend was existed as oral traditions long before any written compilation. It has since become a major subject of several Chinese opera, films and TV series.
http://www.topchinatravel.com/china-guide/chinese-traditional-performan…
Today we talked with Huejun Han, a Buddhist monk at Hangzhou Buddhist Academy who gave us an introduction to the history of Buddhism in China and discussed our many questions about the practice of Buddhism in China today. While at the monastery, we had the incredible opportunity to eat a vegetarian lunch with the monks who were there. We had to eat in silence and eat everything on our plate, which wasn’t a problem for any of us since the food was delicious! The highlight for me was witnessing the monks chanting and singing prayers prior to the meal.
In the afternoon we explored Lingyin Temple. I can’t describe in words or in pictures the dramatic scale of Lingyin Temple, which is really a series of massive Buddhist temples built one above another on a mountainside. We had a great day exploring not only the various temples, but also the many caves and the hundreds of carved statues of Buddha in grottos all over the mountainside facing Lingyin Temple.
One of the highlights of my trip has been the partnership with State Street. Sarah, Steph, Angela, and I had great times with our mentors, Meg, Lillian, Emily, Sunshine, and more of their friends and co-workers. They are so sweet I would love to take them home with me! From them, I learned that young Chinese and American professionals are very similar. After discussing our favorite TV shows, stores, and leisure activities on the first night, we just happened to walk by a coffee shop that is actually "Central Perk" from the TV show "Friends," which we grew up on! This "Central Perk" is decorated like the set of the show and it plays Friends episodes (with Chinese subtitles) all day. The picture below is my favorite from this trip. I think this is more than just a fun coincidence, though; for me it represents just how similar American culture and Chinese culture are, and that China is not something to fear or despise. Of course, there are many more examples, but I'm sure my students will enjoy this one!
However, one major difference between us is that Chinese women can walk for an hour to dinner in high heels and arrive without an ache or pain or a drop of sweat!
On our free day, our mentors took us to KTV and it was a blast. Now I understand why Asians love karaoke and I do not understand why we don't do it this way in America!
I had a great time with our Chinese "Friends".
I thought this trip would China would be just academic and site seeing. Little did I know that I would meet new friends and get to know them at a personal level. One program that we are a part of here in China is a partnership with State Street, an international company. We were paired with employees of the company as mentors. I had a great mentor. Her name was Youci and she always has a smile on her face. She was very excited to show me around Hangzhou and participate in activities I wanted to do. One activity that I did not expect was that she invited me to her apartment for lunch. Her husband cooked for us a great meal filled with new dishes. For example, one of her favorite dishes was chicken feet and I thoroughly enjoyed them! She lived in a small two bedroom apartment with her husband and another couple. The kitchen and bathroom were very small. The living room seemed like a storage area with a fridge. Her bedroom has a full bed with a bed frame. I noticed that the plastic was still covering her mattress. She had a desktop computer on a desk and a little table with items for the house. She had a small table and we ate while sitting on the floor. It was a very nice lunch and we had some great conversations. We talked about schooling and the different provinces they were from. I discussed my role as a teacher as well being an Arab American. I discussed my cultural heritage with her and her husband and they seemed very interested. We even exchanged languages! She learned new words in English and Arabic while I learned more Chinese. The online translator really was essential to our conversation sometimes. This moment was just one of the highlights on this trip. I learned so much in just a couple of hours during lunch in an apartment.
Today we had a packed day starting at 7:30 am. After a 1 1/2 hour bus ride, we arrived at Wuzhen, a canal/river town. The sections we saw were older, with many trade shops. It was fascinating to learn about dying cloth and other trades. I visited probably the one and only Chinese bed museum, and almost literally got lost in the maze of Ming and Qing beds.
In the end we returned to State Street for our last meeting with our mentors. We shared our "teacher" presentation to them, which consisted of a picture show, various sharings and a skit. It was well received. I will have to say that I loved the mentoring program. I learned so much about China from young, hard-working young ladies. They were so delightful and open to our questions. It was amazing, and I truly enjoyed all three visits with them. I do believe this has been the highlight for me so far, but yet it is hard to decide. It has all been fantastic.
Today we had a packed day starting at 7:30 am. After a 1 1/2 hour bus ride, we arrived at Wuzhen, a canal/river town. The sections we saw were older, with many trade shops. It was fascinating to learn about dying cloth and other trades. I visited probably the one and only Chinese bed museum, and almost literally got lost in the maze of Ming and Qing beds.
In the end we returned to State Street for our last meeting with our mentors. We shared our "teacher" presentation to them, which consisted of a picture show, various sharings and a skit. It was well received. I will have to say that I loved the mentoring program. I learned so much about China from young, hard-working young ladies. They were so delightful and open to our questions. It was amazing, and I truly enjoyed all three visits with them. I do believe this has been the highlight for me so far, but yet it is hard to decide. It has all been fantastic.
More Mandarin today.....what a complex language! I secretly live in fear of being called on in class....there are many more people with better linguistic skills than I possess!
We spent a lot of quality time today with Mary Ma....I heart Mary. Everything about her communication skills, from her voice to her explanations and family stories hold my full attention. I think her lecture today really provided a lot of valuable first-hand information to go with the things I'm sure we have all seen and read on China's econmic revolution of the past three decades....the changes are enormous. As a successful Chinese business woman, I don't think there could have been a better choice of speaker to lead us through these topics. The clothing factory was fabulous.....not what the typical American might imagine it to be is conjuring up the images of what might accompany a "Made in China" label...and the Rubin brand will certainly not be sold on the racks at Walmarts back home!
As I write I'm sure the rest of the group is finishing a lovely dinner....I'm a little bit under the weather so I'm alone in the hotel room wishing I wasn't.
We began another great day in Hangzhou with a visit to the Hangzhou Entel Foreign Language School where students from across China come to learning various foreign languages, including English. The school is a private secondary school that was founded in 2008 and currently have 780 students. While the school features foreign language teaching, it also promotes a curriculum designed to "communication, inquiry, intellectual achievement and independent thinking in a world increasingly without borders."
We began out visit to the school by viewing the students morning "eye exercises" and then a demonstration lesson in English instruction to 12-year-old students. The students practices saying various dialogues in English and sang songs as a group. Along with doing the set activities, the students were encouraged to be creative in the conversations they created and demonstrated in English. After the lesson was complete, the teachers had some time to converse with students and teachers at the school. We finished our time at the school with a lunch in the cafeteria and a visit to the dormitory areas of the boarding school. All in all it was a great experience to see this form of educational program in China.
Today Professor Zheng Rui introduced the art of Chinese calligraphy or "Shu Fa". He explained that to the Chinese there is no way to really capture a translation of calligraphy. Professor Rui discussed with us the first forms of shu fa which was found carved in bones during the Shang and Zhou Dynasty. There are over 2,000 symbols or charachters that have been carved by the iron brush! Later the invention of the hair brush began and it is believed that the stroke of the brush can reveal one's personality. The stroke of the brush can show what you lean, your talent and your ambition. After getting to know the history behind the art of calligraphy we were asked to participate in a pratice of types of shu fa. Sara was the first to volunteer at creating a sample of seal script, which is the oldest type of shu fa. Several participants followed her lead by taking the brush and moving it with their own energy in marking the paper with their lines. Professor Rui emphasized being free to express yourself through the lines on the paper
My roommate and now friend Kristin Luxon and I spent our free day with State Stree employees June and Jessica. The weather was the best it's been since we've arrived--pleasantly warm with a tolerable humidity level. At ten o'clock they met us at our hotel, and from there we walked to the nearest bicycle kiosk where Jessica returned her rented bicycle and then flagged down a taxi to take us to the silk market. While the trip was only ten kilometers, it took us nearly an hour with heavy trafic. The drive, however, was worth it. We found it hard to choose gifts for our friends and family (and for ourselves) with the wide variety of choices and plethora of small shops displaying traditional and modern prints. Graciously our Chinese hosts helped us bargain, and we both left with at least five silk scarves. Afterwards we took a taxi to a 300 year old building along the Grand Canal that provided us with a traditional Chinese lunch, tea ceremony, incense burning, Chinese calligraphy, and a tour of their ceramic tea wares. As a surprise, the calligraphy artist made us all scrolls to take home. Mine, which reads something along the lines of dreaming big, will hang in my classroom. Kristin's, the Chinese symbol for dragon, was exceptionally stunning and was drawn on paper with flecks of gold. Afterwards we walked along the Grand Canal to wait for a water taxi. From there we took two packed standing-room only busses back to campus. It was easy to find our stop, as it was the last one on the route, and everyone was required to get out. Instead of going to the canteen for a light dinner, we bought drinks at the campus grocer and watermelon and mango from a nearby fruit seller. The mango was the sweetest and tenderest I've ever tasted.
Perhaps the best part of the day, however, were the hours we spent talking to Jessica and June about their daily lives, thoughts, and impressions of the US. They asked us as many questions as we had for them. They wanted to know what our impressions were of China? What did we find surprising? What are our thoughts on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau and their relationships with China? We compared trends and traditions in both countries relating to marriage, dating, career choices, pets, and the changing roles of women.
Their attempts to show us traditional Chinese culture led to indepth discussions and deepened our understanding of China and its people. We are fortunate to have had such experiences, and we hope to continue our discussions and friendships after we both leave China.
Today was our free day to explore Hangzhou. Most of us spent at least part of the day with our mentors. My first adventure of the day was a bike ride to Walmart. We were curious to see what a Chinese Walmart would be like and I was also on a mission to buy a swim suit. There is a beautiful pool a few minutes from the hotel. Hangzhou has an ingenious system for renting bicycles. After purchasing a card and leaving a 300 RMB deposit, you can take a bike at any of hundreds of bike rental stands. You swipe your card and pull the bike out. When you have finished using it, you find another rental stand wherever you are and return your bike there. If you return the bike somewhere within one hour the rental is free. If you keep the bike more than one hour it costs about 25 cents an hour. All main roads have bike lanes separated by barriers or hedges. These lanes are shared with scooters and occasionally with cars. For the most part they feel pretty safe. The most challenging part was navigating large intersections.
We returned to campus and went to the canteen for lunch. Because it was Sunday, it was far less crowded than usual. Food in the canteen is very tasty and inexpensive. My lunch today of lo mein type noodles and vegetarian dumplings was under $1.
Susan, Danyelle and I were picked up by one of our mentors, Alice and took a cab to meet our other mentor Sophie downtown near her apartment We then took a half hour bus ride to the silk market, home of all things silk. Hangzhou is known for the quality of its silk. There was store after store full of beautiful silk shirts, dresses and other items. Sophie and Alice especially enjoyed finding traditional style silk dresses for Danyelle.
Alice and Sophie both work as accountants with State Street financial services in Hangzhou. Sophie is 24 and is originally from Szechuan province. Alice is 25 and from a town near Hangzhou. It was really delightful to spend the day with them. When we first met them last Wednesday, 5 of us went out to dinner with them and a group of their friends. We had a fabulous meal and learned a lot from the 7 young women about daily life in Hangzhou. All but one of them rent apartments with roomates and all have plans to someday their own apartment (about a million RMB). I was surprised that all but one of them had siblings. If you were an only child you are allowed to have 2 children with no penalty. If you weren't, or you have more than 2 children you must pay a fine of 10,000 RMB (about 1/5th of these women's annual salary). I look forward to seeing Alice and Sophie again on Wednesday. Spending time with them has been one of the highlights of my experience so far.
From the Silk market we took an"unofficial" van taxi to West Lake. We walked on the Causeway which was packed with people today. Although it was quite overcast today, the temperature was down to 30 C, which felt downright cool after the past week in the high 30's. The girls recommended a restaurant on the lake which was very tasty. It was my first time eating jelly fish - not at all the texture I expected and quite good. After dinner we took a leisurely walk along the lake until well after dark and then took a taxi back to the hotel.
In 2003 the NCTA study tour visited Hangzhou and it is the same, yet different. Vehicles still drive with their horns, people are active day and night, the air is pungent and the city is still a destination city. But there are fewer street vendors and more malls; huge construction efforts and the necessary people relocation to build new structures; and fewer recyclers and street beggars. But our hosts are extremely proud of their city's history and the new direction Hangzhou is moving toward.
Notes of interest:
1. After hot, humid weather for days, the heavens dumped rain on Hangzhou this afternoon just as we set off to explore the area around the Knife, Scissors, Sword and Fan Museum near the Grand Canal. I left my umbrella on the bus with my schedule papers, passed up an opportunity to buy a cheap umbrella at the 'Dollor General' style store, and am umbrella-less for tomorrow's activities because another bus picked us up for the return to campus. AND I cannot refer to the proper names of several places we have visited. So pardon that.
2. One day early in the week, we visited a modern school that educates the children of migrant workers. This school offers a free education to the off-spring of any migrant worker in Hangzhou who can verify actual employment. I must say, the facilities are modern, clean and well designed. Then the head of the school spoke to us about education in China in general and China's response to the issue of migrant workers' children not having access to schooling in particular. This school we visited is held up as a model that provides not only pre-school programs but offers outreach in the evening on parenting skills. The government is conscious of this issue of migrant worker's children's needs and views this school as a model to deal with educating children of parents coming to Hangzhou to find work. Another school we visited that same day is Mary English School that offers supplemental education for students who need extra support. This school operates on a fee basis for busy parents with children who can benefit from some extra help. Our group spent time in a 'middle school' class learning English where the teacher placed an emphasis on grammar, practice and role play. For another half-hour, we visited little ones practicing to improve their CHinese writing with picture prompts to encourage them to express their own ideas using teacher generated vocabulary. Each school is an interesting opportunity for children to maintain their skills and enjoy sports, robotics or cooking in a sfe environment.
2. It seems the CHinese are encouraged to do 'Community Service', too. Yesterday, Friday, we connected with some corporate mentors at State Street. This financial institution encourages their cadre of young workers to spend time sharing the charms of their city with visitors.
So all of us are paired with a Hangzhou resident to spend time in Hangzhou, sharing time and ideas. Mia, my mentor, has been with State Street for 4 years. She married young and has a 1 year old son. During our initial conversation, she shared that her son lives with her husband's parents which is the traditional arrrangement. However, next year she and her husband will care for their then 2year old boy. Mia asked if I thought it is ok to place this boy in Kindergarten and care for him themselves. She is proud of this new program of independence but nervous and tentative at the same time. THis arrangement is a new direction for young CHinese parents. Mia asked if she should expect to have both career and family. It seems Chinese young women want the best of both worlds in the social realm, as China takes its place in the developed world.
3. Closing to prepare for another early day: a group of us will visit the Cathedral and a Mosque before connecting with our young Hangzhou mentors.
pei mei
