Adventures in Asia

Seattle

2010-04-30T15:59:00.000-04:00

I am currently in the Seattle airport awaiting my flight to Beijing. Unlike last year, where I flew into Los Angeles and had a 14-hour layover, my flight only has about a 2-hour layover and I'm in Seattle this time. I will not fly into Korea (like I did last year) - my flight goes directly from the US. It's kind of weird to think that the next time I set foot on land, I will be halfway across the world, in a different hemisphere, culture and time zone.

The picture above is not one that I took but it's exactly what I saw outside of my plane window - the beautiful snow-covered mountains of Washington. I woke up from a short nap to find the entire ground covered in bright white snow with the mountain peaks bulging from the surface of the earth. I miss mountains and am very excited to see them again in Asia... and hopefully climb one again this year!

I will arrive in Beijing around 4pm (4am USA time). Carrie and I will go right to our hotel at Peking University and then maybe out to dinner. I am still exhausted from finals week at school, so I am looking forward to getting some sleep eventually.

Not sure what my internet situation will be like in Beijing - I've been told I'll have it in my room - but I will try to update this blog as much and as soon as possible with pictures and adventure updates. It also depends what kinds of internet bans China has on Blogspot this year. One never knows.

Thanks for following and I'll write soon from CHINA!

Bon voyage,
Morgan

23rd Birthday!

2010-04-30T15:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, April 29th, was my 23rd birthday. My parents decorated the kitchen in red and yellow streamers in honor of my trip to China! It was perfect. September came over to pick me up for Chicago. She had decorated her car in streamers, window pain and Morgan balloons and even brought baseball hats and blue ribbon wigs for us to wear to the Cubs game we saw. Since my flight to China left Chicago at 8am this morning, we decided to spend the night in the city and also celebrate my birthday. We saw the Cubbies lose to Arizona, we went to the University of Michigan bar "Duffy's" and ate sushi/burgers/french fries/Funfetti cake all night. It was so much fun. Birthdays should always involve 2 days of partying with friends. It made leaving for China this morning extra difficult because we all had such a great time. Thanks again Mom, Dad, September, Caitlyn and Becky!! And thanks to everyone who called/wrote me birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day.

Love,

Morgan

2010 Center for Chinese Studies Photo Contest

2010-04-26T15:17:00.005-04:00

The Center for Chinese Studies just announced their theme for the 2010 Photo Contest: Imaging China.
"As a student, scholar, traveler, or artist, one’s views about China are constantly shifting.
What will the future of China look like—what from the past will contribute to the fabric of tomorrow? How will innovation, politicization, and cultural trends affect everyday life next year, a decade from now, or well into the future? Think about what’s next for towns and cities in China and what lies ahead for the environment, housing and jobs, family, and communication."

I will have to be on the lookout for pictures that pertain to this theme. Thankfully, I should have my camera in my hands at all times for the work I'll already be doing. I was grateful to have 2 of my pictures as finalists for the 2009 contest (see previous entries for link and chosen photographs), so I am excited to be able to participate again this year!

1 week to go!

2010-04-22T20:27:00.001-04:00

I'm a week away from leaving for China. Finals are well under way here at school, I'll leave Ann Arbor on April 28th, leave for Chicago on the 29th (my 23rd birthday) and then fly out the morning of the 30th. Everything is happening so fast - I have to be extra organized this year.

An update on what I'm doing this time in China:
For the first 16 days, I'll be in Beijing with Carrie photographing social work organizations in Beijing. On days when we do not have any meetings with the organizations, I will be taking day trips to the sites - Bird's Nest, Water Cube, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Hutongs, Temples, and mountains - to photograph my nature photos. There will be about 3 days in those first 2 weeks where I'll take the bullet train to Tianjin to photograph Larry and the GIEU team. Then, on May 15 and 16, Larry and Carrie will be holding a mini conference in Beijing about social work in the US and in China. Carrie is leaving for Shanghai after the conference and I will spend my remaining days (before I fly to Shanghai) in Tianjin with the GIEU team. I am hoping I'll be able to make a sneaky trip back to Yummy Food for some veggie pizza or chocolate covered banana pancakes.

I'll be in Shanghai from May 22-26. We'll visit the World Expo, some sites in the city and spend a night in Changshu - a rural city about 2 hours outside of Shanghai. Then, I fly to Hong Kong May 26-31st. I CANNOT WAIT for Hong Kong - my favorite city in the world. Larry wanted to work with some AIDS organizations in HK but we have yet to contact any. So I will use that time to go up in the mountains and see the Big Buddha again, spend some time in Kowloon, and take a day trip to Macau. MY friend Eric is no longer living in HK, he moved back to the US, so I will have to navigate the city by myself. I'm VERY EXCITED, though.

Not sure what the internet situation will be like this year overseas. It's very possible China still has a "ban" on the Blogspot website. If they do, I will have to find alternative ways of posting pictures and updates. I also will not be flying into Korea this year for a long layover like last summer. I'll fly from Seattle directly into Beijing - so no cool updates on the way over. However, on the way home on the 31st, I will be stopping in Tokyo!! (I heard the airport bathrooms are a must-see, so when I booked my ticket, I paid an extra $5 to stop in Tokyo instead of flying back to Korea. Can't wait!)

More to come in the month ahead! It will be interesting to compare trips this time having already been to the cities once before. While I'm sad I don't have the money to go back to Thailand this year, I know my adventure will be equally as exciting and memorable.

Thanks for following!

Morgan

CCS Photo Contest Link

2009-11-17T16:53:00.002-05:00

Here is the link to the Center for Chinese Studies photo contest for 2009:

http://www.ii.umich.edu/ccs/aboutus/pressroom

My pictures are the last 2 in the slideshow. While not a winner (sad, I know) I was a finalist! And I will get to keep my matted pictures after they make their rounds throughout Ann Arbor K-12 schools and various events on campus.

Center for Chinese Studies Photo Contest

2009-11-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

The Center for Chinese Studies here at the University of Michigan holds an annual photo contest. This year, the theme was "China: Local/Global - Taking the world stage and making history at home and abroad." I entered some of my photos from my trip and these made it to the final round of judging! All of the finalists' pictures were on display in a public exhibit for the past 2 weeks. The pictures were blown up, matted and contained our paragraphs explaining how the photos incorporate the theme. Unfortunately, I did not win the contest but it was cool to have my pictures in an exhibit!

Back to China!!!

2009-11-01T11:00:00.003-05:00

Ni hao! Great news! I am going BACK to China this summer to assist in this year's GIEU Tianjin trip! My position lies somewhere between student fellow and site leader and I will be assisting Dr. Larry Gant (the professor who led our trip last year) with the planning and execution for this year's excursion.

The focus of the group is nearly identical to what we did last year: Teaching conversational English to middle/high school and undergraduate students in Tianjin, China using the mediums of the fine arts. This year, however, the trip extends beyond Beijing and Tianjin to include Shanghai as well as Hong Kong. I AM BEYOND EXCITED.

The trip begins in Tianjin (about 2.5 hours southeast of Beijing) at Tianjin Normal University (TNU). We will teach for about 22 days in both the college and a local middle/high school. I will be leading the dance portion of the teaching modules again but with a greater focus on hip hop as both a teaching tool as well as a means of communication. I will also be instructing lessons on photography. Between teaching and classes in Tianjin, the group will take the bullet train back and forth to Beijing to site-see (I'm not sure what sites yet, but I'm sure it will include the Great Wall, Olympic Village, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, etc.). We will also experience traditional Chinese performances (opera, acrobatics, etc.) similar to last year, to develop a greater awareness and appreciation for ancient Chinese culture.

Post Tianjin, we will fly to Shanghai for about 5 days. We will go to the World Expo! (http://en.expo2010.cn/). The expo brings many countries together and is all about sustainable and harmonious urban living. Over 7 million visitors are expected to visit the expo between May 1-October 31, 2010. We are in the process of contacting the U.S. Representatives about volunteering at the U.S. Pavilion (http://en.expo2010.cn/a/20090710/000011.htm)! If we are granted permission to volunteer, this would be a HUGE opportunity for students to make international contacts, talk with people from all over the world and share our knowledge and experience on sustainability, team work, and health. I have absolutely no idea what we would do if we volunteered (it could be picking up trash for all I know) but the goal is to be involved in the expo with the U.S. Pavilion. In addition to the World Expo, we may volunteer at a few AIDS organizations in the local area. Activities are TBD. Also in Shanghai, we may take a day trip or two outside of the city to Hangzhou or Suzhou like I did last year. It gives a very different perspective of China as the rural parts are often extremely impoverished but contain a vast amount of beauty.

Following Shanghai, we will fly to Hong Kong!!! Hong Kong is quite possibly the best city in the entire world for its public transportation, food, friendly atmosphere, shopping and melting pot of cultures. I adore Hong Kong and am reveling in the opportunity to go back. We will stay in the city (probably in hostels) and work with AIDS organizations yet again. I'm not sure if we'll be using our fine arts modules to communicate or what exactly, but we'll spend the remaining 4-5 days working in the city.

From Hong Kong, I will fly home. No Thailand for me this year. I am still working to make up for the money I spent last year on my adventures. While I would give anything to go back to Thailand, because I feel like that country changed my life and world perspectives, I just do not have the money or time to make the money to go back right now. (I am, however, looking into a teaching program to teach English as a Second Language in Bangkok for a year after I graduate. Details to come in a year).

So that's it! Another 4 weeks in China this summer! I have a TON to do and plan between now and then but it will all be joy, I'm sure. While structurally, the trip is about 80% the same as it was for me last year, this year will give me a completely different perspective being on the leading side of it. I am excited for the challenge and welcome the undertaking with big, wide open arms.

Until next time,

Mo Chou

Tianjin is pretty far north in the country.

But it's not too far from Beijing. Especially when taking the bullet train at 150mph!

This summer, we're pretty much visiting the entire east/southeast side of the country - Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

China 2010

2009-11-01T10:08:00.003-05:00

This is the logo for the Wold Expo in Shanghai 2010. It's 3 people (you, me, and him/her) holding hands and "living in harmony" - which is the theme of the Expo this year.

This is the sketch of what the United States Pavilion will look like at the Expo. Each attending country has their own pavillion. Some are just incredible (http://en.expo2010.cn/participation/pop/moren.htm). It will be fascinating to see them all, if anything, for their architectural qualities.

This is what Hong Kong looks like at night. It's a huge port city on the ocean and in the mountains. (Also happens to be where part of Batman The Dark Knight was filmed). This city is of my favorite places in the world.

Summer/Fall Update

2009-09-01T10:35:00.003-04:00

Well, I obviously have made it home safe and sound. Returned back to the states on July 13 only to be welcomed with the biggest hugs from my family in Chicago. The final picture count: over 7,000. My camera broke the last day I was in Thailand, in Bangkok, at the Grand Palace. I slipped on some marble stairs and smashed it in catching my fall. Very sad but between disposable cameras and some of Ellen's pictures, I have been able to keep up my photo albums.

I also have been inspired by my trip to pursue instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL). I have applied for a job on North Campus this year to teach ESL in their community language program to young kids. My interview is on September 8, so cross your fingers for me! Another possible idea for a future career is some sort of outdoor education. That way, I could still be outside, teaching, and working with kids. I have another year in my Kinesiology undergrad but my trip to Asia this summer has made me think twice about what type of grad school program to apply to. We'll see what happens.

I also am living in a Global Scholars living community at school this year. It is for people who are interested in studying, working and living abroad and improving the cross-cultural/global communication in the world. I will be taking classes and attending a lecture series through the program and will be communicating with people at colleges and universities such as Seoul, British Columbia, etc. I am very excited to continue my education in global issues, expand my knowledge base on various cultures, and improve my cross-cultural communication.

Lastly, I move back to school tomorrow (into my Global Scholars community) and will have a few more assignments for GIEU before I am officially done with the program. We have a debriefing session this weekend Friday and Saturday and a final symposium project the end of September. Not sure what we're doing or how it all works yet but a final project on our time in China will be presented.

Thanks for following my adventures in Asia this summer!

zài jiàn!

Mo Chou

Beautiful Koh Samui

2009-07-10T18:41:00.005-04:00

Ko Samui, often called just Samui is an island in the Gulf of Thailand, some 700km south of Bangkok and about 80km from the eastern coastline of southern Thailand. An island of great natural beauty and variety, Samui is home to about 40,000 full-time inhabitants, 90% of whom are Buddhist. The palm fringed shoreline and coconut and fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.

Phuket is AWESOME!

2009-07-08T11:40:00.000-04:00

I'm in Phuket now and we just spent all day at the beach. It is AMAZING. It's just like the pictures you see online. It's absolutely breathtaking.

Our hostel is awesome and HUGE! we're about a 2 minute walk from the beach right in this adorable part of town with lots of restaurants and beach bars. We sat on the beach all day (with sunscreen) and tomorrow, we arranged a tour through our hostel. We're leaving at 7:45am to go to an island over by 'James Bond Island' and then we're snorkeling, going to Monkey Beach (where you can see live monkeys roaming around), kayaking, island tour, lunch and then in the afternoon, we're doing an elephant tour!!! I can't believe it. We got the entire package for next to nothing USD. This country is great.

Okay, well that's all i can write now. Internet is not the greatest here so I don't know when i'll be able to post again.

Arrived in Thailand!

2009-07-08T11:39:00.001-04:00

I made it to thailand. I'm at the airport in bangkok getting ready to leave for phuket. I still am unsure about the internet so more later.

Days 2 and 3 in Hong Kong

2009-07-08T11:36:00.000-04:00

All is going well - we're headed out today although it may rain (as usual). Tomorrow we have the whole day in HK again and then leave for Thailand tomorrow night around 7pm, I think. We arrive in Thailand around 11:30pm. Our flight to Phuket is at like 7am the next day, so it would be dumb and unsafe to get a cab into the city for a few hours rest, so we'll be sleeping at the airport. Shouldn't be too bad.

We saw Transformers yesterday in this crazy movie theatre. The seats rumbled and it was so loud and big. Overall a horribly stupid movie but the ambiance was really cool. Went out for curry last night and today we're going to another island around HK.

Leaving Shanghai, on to Hong Kong

2009-07-04T09:30:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have been really bad about updating you on my adventures. The internet at the hotel wasn't very reliable and I still am having trouble downloading/attaching pictures to emails. So sorry there haven't been any pictures either.

I am currently at the Shanghai airport waiting to board my plane to Hong Kong (at 9:10am) due to arrive around noon. We are staying at a hostel downtown which happens to be right next to Ellen's friend that we're meeting. He is going to meet us for dinner around 6pm and show us/talk to us about the city. Tomorrow night and the night after, we're staying in a different hostel in another part of town. Both hostels said they have internet access but I might not have access to WiFi or Skype...so I'll keep you posted.

Shanghai has been interesting. It wasn't at all what I had expected. Maybe if it was the last stop before home, I would have appreciated it more but I just didn't like it. I feel bad because everyone else I talk to LOVES Shanghai but it didn't do much for me. The city is HUGE and at night, it looks like Vegas with all of the neon lights. We spent most of our time outside of the city in Wu Zen, Suzhou, and Hungzhou with one day downtown Shanghai (it poured and was awful.) While I love China and definitely want to come back soon, I feel like the big cities are still growing on me. I like it better out in the mountains, by the lakes, in the gardens and away from the crowds of people. Hong Kong may be different as it is more Westernized and will hopefully have better food options for me. We're still not sure what we're going to do during our time here but once we learn the public transit system (which I guess the subways are spread out like an octopus?) we should be good to go anywhere.

We leave for Thailand (Bangkok) the night of July 7th. We are due to get in around 11:30pm but since it's so late and we don't want to be walking/driving around looking for a hostel, we have decided to spend the night at the airport. We are taking the earliest flight out of Bangkok in the morning (July 8) to go to Phuket - southern Thailand where all the beaches/tourists are. We are spending 2 nights there and then going to Koh Samui (a small island northeast of Phuket - also busy with beaches and tourists) and staying there for 2 nights. It was cheaper for us to spend an extra day on the island than fly to Bangkok for 2 days (bummer, right?). So we are flying to Bangkok for the day on July 12 and then I leave to come home a little after midnight that day (technically July 13). So the beach is only a few days away!!! I CANNOT WAIT.

Other than that, nothing much is happening. I'm excited to find food that will not upset my stomach. I'm getting kind of sick of muffins and dinner rolls. I guess it's better than nothing, though. HAPPY 4th OF JULY!! Hope you all are doing well and I can't wait to come home in 10 days!!!!!! yahoo!!

Recognize any of these???

2009-07-03T15:46:00.010-04:00

Here are some American products in Chinese - per September's request. Ha! Some Crest toothpaste, some Skippy peanut butter, some sick gold fish crackers that taste like the smell of salami, and some facewash.

Some dried roses and lemon slices often used in teas (so good!!! and cheap!), some noodles/sauce - we tried to make spaghetti (with buckwheat noodles and American sauce), and a menu from Hard Rock Café! Funny thing though, the Hard Rock was a knockoff!! It's not a licensed HR Cafe, so it was really funny. We met some Americans there who are from LA and we talked about Michael Jackson for a while. It wasn't anything impressive but fun to see that handbags and movies aren't the only things that are fake here.

Overlooking the Forbidden City

2009-07-03T15:18:00.006-04:00

This is a view from the top of a pagoda in a park across the street from Beihai. I forgot the name and can't find my ticket right now so I'll have to tell you later. But the park is really cool.

Apparently, one of emperors was going to either die, be killed or be exiled, and he escaped from Forbidden City without anyone knowing and hung himself on one of the trees. The tree he died on has since died also but has been replaced. Anyway, that's beside the point. We climbed to the top of this landing and could overlook all of Beijing (BREATHTAKING!!!) and on one side of the pagoda, you could see all of the Forbidden City (I can't even describe it.) IT'S HUUUUUUUUUGE. I knew the city was big because it took us like 3 hours to walk through it when we went to T-Square... but to see it from up high... all the gold roofs.... it was crazy. The Forbidden City is so large in size and covers so much land, that you can barely see T-Square right in front of it (which would be the far end if you were looking from where we were today). This picture really doesn't do it justice, but my camera batteries both died before I could get a better shot. So just trust me when I say it's MASSIVE and nearly impossible to imagine. But it was freaking AWESOME.

Beihai Park (Continued)

2009-07-03T14:25:00.011-04:00

More pictures of this fantastic park! The first is a picture of 2 gods - the gods of the East and West, I think. They correspond the the temples that are in the 4 corners of the city f Beijing. If you remember, the temple of heaven is in one corner where the emperor would go to pray for certain blessings in his city. Each temple has a god and those gods were depicted in statue form in this part of Beihai Park.

One of the details on all the roofs of the pagodas and temples. It's outstanding... the work that is put into the architecture. This park is absolutely incredible (and nearly free to get into!). I can't wait to come back to China and visit it again. I could spend an entire week just taking pictures in this park alone.

A picture of a pagoda on the water.

This one is of a giant marble wall of dragons - I think there are 9 different dragons but I will have to get back to you on their significance.

More pictures of Beihai Park. Usually, you're not supposed to take pictures of the Buddha but there were no signs in the cave saying photography was prohibited, so I took pictures. I thought you'd be interested in seeing how the Chinese (the real Buddhists) depict the Buddha compared to the Western interpretation. It's all very fascinating.

The Beihai Park Series

2009-07-01T20:00:00.002-04:00

We went to Beihai Park today after we worked at the nonprofit and the park was AMAZING!!! I LOVED IT! The big white building you see in the background of (most of) these pictures is a Tibetan pagoda. It's famous and on many postcards of China. I took almost 300 pictures of the Park alone today, so there are many more for you to see when i get home. Can't wait to show you! I'll send you more in just a few minutes.

Three Primary Colors Nonprofit

2009-07-01T19:56:00.001-04:00

Here are pictures from our day with the nonprofit called "Three Primary Colors" in downtown Beijing. They are an organization that works with young adults and adults with mild to severe emotional, behavior and learning disabilities. LOTS of drama getting there but once we arrived, we had a brief introduction and then split into groups to do some arts and crafts. I was in a painting/calligraphy group. I attached pictures of some of the artwork the people made, the warrior god thing I traced with calligraphy ink as well as the man who did my portrait. The organization also put on a performance for us and I have attached a picture of one of the numbers from it. It is 4 of the guys who played instruments and recited a poem line by line (each man had one line of the poem and they would all speak one line at a time all the way down the line and again.)

The Bullet Train

2009-07-01T19:44:00.002-04:00

Last week we took the bullet train to Beijing to work with a nonprofit organization in downtown Beijing. We took the bullet train from Tian Jin to Beijing - only a 30 minute ride! It was so cool! It went about 90 mph and was the smoothest ride I've ever had. Very impressive. And so, super clean!!! I have attached pictures of the schedule board, my ticket, the inside of the train station (nicer than most airports) and the nose of the train. Hope you enjoy!!!

King Fruit

2009-06-24T17:44:00.004-04:00

This is what King Fruit (or Durian fruit) looks like. It's really spiky on the outside (and they're sharp spikes!!) and the inside is full of these pod-like things that you remove and skin. It REEKS. Like a landfill. I'm not even kidding. Like methane, dirty socks and public restroom - much like how China smells in general, actually. But the actual King Fruit is HUUUUUUUGE. Like the size of a basketball. Then it tastes like raw onions, raw butter and a hint of sugar. It's very different and I'm so sad I can't bring one home for all of you to try.

From wikipedia: "The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia."

Pictures from lunch + more

2009-06-24T12:50:00.008-04:00

For lunch after our tour of the Shi Family Mansion, we went to this place called the Green Era. It reminded me of the Rainforest Cafe except more natural - not as many mechanical animals. There are palm trees, live animals (birds and seals) and all kinds of flowers. Even the tables were each secluded in a mini bamboo forest for privacy. It was VERY COOL and I ate up every second. I guess they also have a microbrewery inside the restaurant but we had to leave before any of us could try the beer. Shame.

This is a picture of our group from today. I bought a pair of blue Nike soccer shorts on our last day at TNU. They have a little shopping center (store full of junk, basically) for the students to go to in between classes. They sell fruit, candy, knick knacks, household/dorm goods, clothes, etc. Because I was dying of heat waring capris in nearly 100 degree weather (with 100% humidity) I opted for soccer shorts to keep me cool. Now, I wear them all the time. They are so comfortable, I think I will wear them every day from now on. They are the best 15 yuan I have spent this whole trip! (Roughly $2.20 USD). Po and the other Chinese girls said that Thailand is going to be at least 100 every day if not hotter (well, they said 40 degrees celsius which I think translates into 100+). Uh oh. I am going to be very sweaty.

Here are some pictures of some of our food we had for lunch today as well as a dragon fruit (I never knew what they looked like on the outside. But they're so neat!). I also attached a picture of these really cool hot pink plants that were growing by one of the streams.

Shi Family Mansion

2009-06-22T23:33:00.005-04:00

Hey guys, Now that we're done teaching at TNU, we're doing more tours and excursions until the program officially ends Sunday evening. Today, we went about 45 minutes outside of downtown Tianjin to the Shi Family Mansion. I believe this is the family that has been making silk kites for generations. They have a "mansion" open to tourists to visit. I didn't really understand it but got some FABULOUS pictures. It was interesting to note that the Asian idea of mansion means longer/wider house versus the typical Western view of mansion where the house is taller. This mansion had 160 rooms, the largest indoor theatre in Northern China and a beautiful Asian-inspired garden. I have attached pictures of what the building looks like - many corridors (all outside) and interesting shaped doorways. Next, I will send pictures of what the garden looks like (it was my favorite part of the whole tour).
Enjoy!

Here's what I eat

2009-06-22T23:22:00.003-04:00

Hi again,
Here are some pictures of the food I have been eating. The first one is of my veggie pizza from Yummy Food (it was the best thing in the world. SO much better than pizza hut and a million times cheaper!) and the second is of the chocolate banana pancakes we get for breakfast when we go there. The third one is of my hotpot from last night (coolest way to eat dinner!) and the last picture is of a funny road sign. My friend Amy thinks it reads, "If you drink cars, your glass will break." HHAHAHAHA There's a whole series of signs like this and she has captions for all of them!

Adventures in Tianjin

2009-06-22T23:09:00.003-04:00

I have attached some more pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first one is of me making dumplings the other night. They arranged for us to work with the head chefs of the hotel restaurant to learn how to make dumplings. It was kind of interesting and pretty difficult.

The second picture is of a foo dog outside of a really nice hotel in downtown Tianjin. We took a trip to the bookstore (so i could buy the Monkey King and a mandarin book) and while we were downtown, we walked past this hotel that had this cool looking foo dog! Reminded me of the lions that guard the entrance to the art museum in Chicago.

The third picture is of our new treasure! The other Americans who are staying in the dorm recommended this place to eat called Yummy Food. The chick who owns it speaks really good English and the food is TO DIE FOR (veggie pizza, fries, chocolate banana pancakes...). Ellen and I go there everyday (usually for breakfast) and it is amazing! the best part is that it's only a 5 minute walk from our hotel.

This last picture is of me playing with colored clay at TNU. Not sure why we did that activity but we spent about an hour and a half being kids again playing with slabs of colored clay. I'm wearing a "necklace" that Ellen made for me. She also made earrings but I'll save those pictures for later. We were a huge hit to the Chinese. Go figure.

Hope you all are doing well! Sorry I'm so bad with sending pictures. Now that we're done teaching, I should have more time to send emails.

Teapots Galore!

2009-06-22T23:05:00.002-04:00

Teapots are HUGE in China, obviously. But depending on the different material the teapot is made out of, determines what kind of tea is supposed to be brewed in it. Same with the cups. These are pictures of clay tea pots but I don't remember what kind of tea they are good for. (We learned about it at one of the teahouses we went to in Beijing but I can't remember right now.) Very cool though. If I wasn't going to be traveling around after our program, I would consider buying one but i'm sure it would break during my trips.

Shopping Trips

2009-06-22T22:02:00.006-04:00

Ooops, it's been a while. Here are some pictures from a shopping trip we took last week. I think the area was called "cultural street" but we weren't sure. It was about a 44 cent bus ride. I hope you enjoy!

I found lots of little presents and goodies here. All at great prices! You an bargain nearly EVERYWHERE in China! The picture of the fat pigs is for Philip. ha! It reminded me of something he would like. I think I will try to go back next week when we have some free time to buy one for him. Funny little thing.

This is me playing what I believe is called a "Chinese piano" - a harp-like instrument that lays down but you pluck the strings to make sound. There were little kids (like 5 years old) getting lessons right in the store when we went in. Hopefully we didn't distract them too much with our

fooling around trying to play the instruments.

We also went into a kite store right next door to the music store. I like the Kung Fu Panda kite - thought it was cute. And we call Cathleen's mom "Po" - the name of the panda from the movie. The kids were cool. All different sizes - much more interesting than Mackinac Kite company (no offense, Grand Haven.)

Here I am standing in front of a replica of an insence thing that are usually found in front of temples.

And last is a picture of the carved trim on the sides of one of the stores. It's so detailed and intricate - and all done by hand. Amazing.

This is a close up of a picture painted onto a 4 foot tall vase outside of a teapot store.

Oh, and there's a picture of some statues in the middle of the shopping street. I'm not sure what they are because I coudln't read the inscription but it looked cool and made for a good picture.

This is the tea set Ellen bought for about $6 USD for the 7 piece set!

Chinese produce at the market

2009-06-16T22:41:00.003-04:00

These are pictures from the market I went to today. It was indoors and about 99 degrees inside with lots of flies but it provided a great atmosphere for pictures. There was everything from pig's feet, to fresh tofu, the longest green onions I have ever seen and even fresh spices. It reminded me of Reading Terminal in Philadelphia but smaller. Very cool and great prices. Attached are some pictures of the veggies and fresh pasta from the market. The variety of colors and textures of the fruits and vegetables was awesome.

I believe the eggs are duck eggs that apparently can "stay fresh for a long time". I guess the word FRESH is not universal. And I think the black things in the last picture are mushrooms but I am not sure. There were many fruits and veggies I have never seen before. But that made the market that much more adventurous!

Holiland Bakery

2009-06-16T22:31:00.003-04:00

I kid you not, this bakery was called Holiland (which I think it pronounced Holy-Land) and I found it extremely amusing. These are pictures of some of the desserts in the bakery. They look "gorgeous" - as Barefoot Contessa would say.

The Monkey King

2009-06-16T21:48:00.004-04:00

Here's my face painting from this afternoon. Most of us got our faces painted - some like emperors, warriors, etc. I was the Monkey King! (A famous story dating back to early China. Everyone knows it here.) Isn't it awesome? I have better pictures on my camera but haven't downloaded them yet. It was so fun!

This is me as the Monkey King (they didn't have a costume for me though) and me with the makeup artist who painted my face. He crammed my neck at this odd angle for about 20 minutes while he painted my face. When he was done, I pretty much just wanted to take a hot shower and soak my neck but the face paint was pretty cool. He was really nice and funny - even though we couldn't understand each other's language. Included are also some other pictures of my classmates who were painted and dressed. This costume team brought giant suitcases FULL of costumes and accessories for us to play with. Fake beards, hats, sticks, you name it. I can't believe we actually were able to do this. The highlight of my day.

Tianjin Normal University (TNU)

2009-06-15T22:30:00.003-04:00

These are pictures from our first day with the students at TNU. We observed them in a martial arts class, arts and crafts crafts and calligraphy classes. The students were great and very excited to see us. I think I might really like this teaching thing!!

Temple of Heaven

2009-06-15T21:42:00.003-04:00

Beijing city is layed out like a chess board or grid, if you will. With the Forbidden City/T-Square in the middle with everything else [less] important build around it. The Forbidden City is on a central axis that goes right through the middle of the city and anything else "important" in Beijing is built on that axis - for example, the Bird's Nest is built on the same axis but farther away.

Anyway, in each of the four corners of the city are temples: Temple of Heaven, Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Earth and Temple of the Moon. Each temple had a specific and special meaning at the time of the Emperor's ruling. He would go to the Temple of the Earth and pray for a good crop, etc. Because we had limited time, we only were able to see the Temple of Heaven but that is also the most well known one. We even saw the exact stone the Emporer used to stand on to "talk to the gods."

The three roofs of the Temple each have a different meaning as well. The bottom layer/circle roof represents the earth. The middle layer represents the people and the top layer represents heaven. The temple is also surrounded by a certain number of pillars, stones, etc. that each a have different meanings (4 pillars for the seasons, 12 more for the hours in a day, etc. but I didn't learn too much about those.)

The Chinese culture at large is very superstitious and certain numbers are better than others but everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in Chinese culture is based on numbers. It's quite fascinating but difficult to follow and remember. So, that's the Temple of Heaven. I have many more pictures but they all start to look the same after a while.

Next we moved from our hotel in Beijing to our new accomodations in Tianjin. We went to Tianjin Normal University (TNU) to talk to college students majoring in psychology and education to discuss our teaching modules with them. We got their feedback and it was so fun! They LOVED my dance modules and said it was all very creative. I taught them the cupid shuffle and did some hip hop for them - they just adored it all! We even ended up staying an extra hour to talk and play UNO with them because they were having so much fun with us.

By just hanging out and talking about everyday things with them, we were able to help them with their conversational English. Very fun. They were all so nice and HILARIOUS!

Chinese Acrobats, Underwater Opera and Hutongs

2009-06-15T21:04:00.007-04:00

These are pictures of Chinese acrobats during a performance we had the chance to watch last week. It seemed to be a lot like what I think cirque du soleil is like with the costumes and balancing acts. In the long course of development, the Chinese acrobatic art has formed its own style. The ancient acrobatics stemmed from the people's life and had a close link with their life and productive labor. Instruments of labor like tridents, wicker rings, tables, chairs, jars, plates, and bowls were used in their performances of "Flying Trident," "Balance on Chairs," "Jar Tricks," and "Hoop Diving."

Gymnastics On Double-Fixed Poles: "Pole Climbing" is one of the main traditional acrobatic numbers in China; vivid descriptions date back 1,000 years. On the basis of "Pole-Climbing", new acrobatic movements such as jumping from one pole to the other, swift descent, and many others have been added.

Hoop Diving: This is an item developed from "Leaping through Rings on the Ground". It was known as "Swallow Play" more than two thousand years ago because the performers imitated the flying movements of swallows as they leapt nimbly through the narrow mat rings. It was also called "Dashing Through Narrows". The performers are graceful and agile in their movements and demonstrate incredible dexterity.

Wushu (Chinese Traditional Group Gymnastics): With movements of somersault, pulling, jumping, kicking and various postures, it has become an acrobatic symbol. The agility, precision and rhythm of acrobat movements convey a sense of vigor, strength and beauty.

Located on the western side of the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing, is China's newly completed National Grand Theater. With its unique shell structure, it looks like a transparent pearl surrounded by an artificial lake. Its interior consists of an underwater corridor, an olive-shaped hall, a public hall, and three major halls designed for opera, music and drama performances.

The theater is a perfect blend of Chinese elements and modern design. Entering from the northern gate, visitors will first find themselves in the 80-meter-long underwater corridor, flanked on both sides with exhibition areas. Above the glass ceiling is an artificial lake which casts down glimmering ripple shadows, creating amazing patterns combined with bubble-shaped decorations on the wall. The corridor ends at the "olive hall," which gets its name from its huge olive-shaped interior. Its doors are heavy and graceful, each bearing 180 round-shaped doornails – a modern version of those on ancient Chinese imperial doors.The public hall possesses the largest arched roof in China. The arch is made of brazilwood, in a deep red hue that appeals to traditional Chinese tastes. The stone flooring, dubbed the "splendid landscapes," is divided into 22 sections using precious materials made at home

The 2,398-seat opera hall, designed for large-scale opera and dance performances, and bathed in gorgeous golden light, represents the most magnificent part of the Theater. The stage can be pushed, moved, lifted, lowered or rotated swiftly; and can accommodate swift changes in lighting. The music hall is white and solemn. It functions as a performance hall for large symphonies and national music; and has 2,019 seats. China's largest organ can be found here; it holds more than 6,500 pipes to meet the demands of various music schools.The 1,035-seat drama hall is used for both traditional and modern stage plays. It is decorated using a rich, Chinese style; and the world-class stage can be raised or lower, and rotated at the same time.

A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan (1206-1341), Ming(1368-1628) and Qing(1644-1908) dynasties. In the prime of these dynasties the emperors, in order to establish supreme power for themselves, planned the city and arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty. The center of the city of Beijing was the royal palace -- the Forbidden City.

Hutong represents an important culture element of Beijing city. Thanks to Beijing’s long history and status as capital for six dynasties, almost every hutong has its anecdotes, and some are even associated with historic events. In contrast to the court life and elite culture represented by the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven, the hutongs reflect the culture of grassroots Beijingers. The hutongs are residential neighborhoods which still form the heart of
Old Beijing. Below is a picture of one of several rooftop bars in the hutongs that we visited.

Palace Ruins and the Forbidden City

2009-06-13T21:23:00.004-04:00

These are pictures from a garden and summer palace went to last week on Saturday. Sorry, it's been a while since the last update Enjoy the photos!

There were palace ruins. We also rented a paddle boat and paddled around this big, man-made lake in the middle of the garden. They gave us 3 hours to just do whatever we want.

We also went to Tiananmen Square - but it was such a soggy/rainy day. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre (referred to in China as the June Fourth Incident, ostensibly to avoid confusion with two prior Tiananmen Square protests) were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) beginning on 14 April. Led mainly by students and intellectuals, the protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world.

The protests were sparked by the death of a pro-market, pro-democracy, and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 1,000,000 people had gathered on the Tiananmen square.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Palace Ruins, Etc... (continued)

2009-06-09T20:51:00.006-04:00

Ming Tombs, Tea House and Peking Duck

2009-06-05T14:31:00.005-04:00

After the wall we did lunch and then visited the Ming Tomb. It was interesting but mostly just replica of the real thing. I can appreciate the effort put into building replicas, but it wasn't as fascinating as I had hoped. Nonetheless, pictures are below.

After the Ming Tomb we went to a teahouse (one of my favorite parts of the trip so far!!). We all sat around a long, rectangular table while this very nice Chinese woman showed us the 6 main types of tea (white, black, green, and 3 others I don't remember).

She taught us how to pour them, drink them, brew them, everything. It was so interesting and I had the best seat in the whole house.... right in front of her. It was as if she was giving me my own, personal tea ceremony! Way too cool. I soaked up that experience like a sponge.

This is a tea flower "blooming" to make tea for our group. It's so pretty and very cool to watch it open up in the hot water.

Then we were given time to "shop" around the teahouse and just about everyone bought tea or mugs. I bought a large box of Jasmine tea (so delicious) and a box of black tea (supposedly boosts metabolism to help lose weight - I call it "skinny tea").

Then we went to dinner for PEKING DUCK. We were taken to the best, most expensive restaurant for Peking Duck in Beijing (below).

This is what you see when you walk in - all the ducks lined up for dinner.

No, I didn't try any but everyone said it was amazing. I was able to put together some badly seasoned, over-salted tofu and thin pancakes to make a meal. (Yes, food has been a bit difficult.) But it was fun to watch the chef cut the duck - I've watched Food Network specials on it. Talk about a process. Another fun experience.

This last picture is of me outside near the Peking Duck restaurant. At night, everything in the city turns neon - and mostly neon RED. Not tacky neon like Vegas, but lots and lots of red neon and paper lanterns. I love it here at night!

The Great Wall

2009-06-05T14:10:00.005-04:00

Today, as I'm sure you saw on the news, was the TS anniversary. Since Larry was really scared something would happen to us, we went 2 hours outside of the city to visit the Great Wall. IT WAS AMAZING. No words, really, can even describe it. The mountains are HUGE and the wall weaves in and out of all of them. I never realized how high up the wall was in the mountains until we started climbing.

There were two paths we could take - the male path, considered steeper and more challenging, and the female path, which is considered easier to climb and attracts more tourists. Of course, I opted for the challenge. Right off the bat, the climb was steep and no steps - just stone slabs. When I say steep, I'm talking an 75 or 80 degree incline. Almost impossible to climb without pulling yourself up with the handrail. It was insane. Then the slabs would change to steps but the steps would be different size. Some shallow, some deep. And then those would change back into slabs. Along the way were platforms to kind of "rest" at but the best was at the top. I felt as though I could see for miles.

I have so, so many pictures (how many pictures can a person take of the Great Wall?) and some video footage from different heights while climbing.

I brought several shirts to the wall, so I could have pictures in all of them. Here I am with Ellen in our Michigan Kinesiology shirts!

I saw the wall wind around and up through the mountains and it blew my mind to think that it was handmade. You just can't believe it until you see it in person. The scariest part was how HIGH the wall is. I really, really do not like heights. Yesterday when I rode the ski lift back down to the base of that mountain, I was pretty freaked out. But that was NOTHING compared to how high we were today. I mean, if someone bumps you while you're walking up/down by the edge of the wall, you will fall off into the valley and die. It was TERRIFYING. At times I just had to look at the next step in front of me and not look over the edge. But reaching the top was rewarding both mentally and artistically.

Along with bringing several different shirts, I brought along with Terrible Towel!! This towel picture almost got me in big trouble, actually. As I mentioned, it was the 20th anniversary of the protests at TS and security was tight everywhere. Apparently, the towel was mistaken by the guards at the Great Wall to be a protest flag. After being followed by guards for about an hour, I had to show them that it was a towel for an American sports team and wave it over my head before they understood. Phew.

Gardens, Mountains and Food

2009-06-05T10:49:00.010-04:00

We had such a great day today! You wouldn't believe how perfect it was. We started out with a 40 minute drive outside of the city to the Botanical Gardens - not as good as Longwood in Philly but still gorgeous. It is in the mountains, clean air, just perfect. We walked through the rose garden and even saw some traditional Chinese musicians playing under some of the willow trees.

Me and my day pack in front of the rose garden.

Then we hopped back onto the bus to go another 20 minutes or so into the mountains. We went to this small village (reminded me of Mexico, actually) and walked through another temple. I also climbed a mountain! The temple above was at the base of the mountain.

If my math is correct, it was 1500 feet! WHAT AN INSANE EXPERIENCE. I cannot remember ever feeling that tired. I suppose it wasn't smart to climb a mountain in 90 degree weather (I ended up getting heat stroke) but I made it to the top!

There were two paths to take - one was mostly stairs and not very pretty but shorter. The second was a mix of stairs and stone path that wound around the mountain - longer but prettier. We opted for that path. There were 5 of us total who climbed to the top.

I was so exhausted, gagging and dry heaving halfway up but the view from the top was AWESOME.

We saw the entire city and it went on for miles!

This rock says how high we are in Chinese. Like I said, if my math is right - it's about 1500 feet!

As if that wasn't good enough, there was a ski lift - yes, a SKI LIFT, that we could take to get back down to the bottom. I was so tired, I didn't even think about how high we were and how scary the ski lift would be. It was so terrifying but exhilarating at the same time. If you can imagine a slow motion zip line down a mountain overlooking temples and lush greenery. It was SO COOL!!!

At the bottom of the mountain was this soothing peaceful waterfall, the perfect tranquil end to the rigorous climb. Then we went to lunch - nothing too special other than they finally gave me tofu. I spoke with Larry and the reason we didn't have any before is because it is considered cheaper food in China - meat is for the rich. And the Chinese thought we would look down upon eating tofu so they wanted to feed us a variety of meats. But they were very accommodating when we ask them for tofu. Not all of my teammates were that respectful of the new addition but many tried it for the first time and thought it was great!

Because our day trip did not take as long as anticipated, our leaders brought us downtown Beijing to this "mall" to practice our bartering. HA! At lunch we learned how to distinguish real pearls from fake ones, so when we went to the mall many of the girls bought real freshwater pearls for $7 USD. I'm not making this up. Ellen bought 4 pairs of real pearls for about $30 USD.

Then we went to dinner at the place called The Little Sheep. It's a special place that tourists don't usually go to because many don't know how cool it is, but it's a restaurant where each person gets his/her own burner and soup base and you cook whatever you want!

You are served a plethora of raw meats and veggies and you cook it in this broth (spices, pepper, nuts - mine is pictured below and it was SPICY!!!) and you just eat it! It was SO AWESOME!! By far the coolest place I have eaten in my entire life.

This is Ellen's soup - I got a little creative and made it look like a yin-yang!!

After dinner, around 8, we came back to the hotel. We're all exhausted - especially those of us who climbed today. Wow my legs are going to be sore tomorrow morning. But overall it was such a great day! I had so much fun and it was such a great adventure!!

Confucious Temple

2009-06-02T18:05:00.003-04:00

Below are pictures of the Confucious Temple - dedicated to Confucious, obviously. It was under construction, normally there would be a moat surrounding the temple, but not today. Keep in mind, these are just a few of the pictures - there will be plenty more to see when I get back!!

Lama Temple

2009-06-02T17:54:00.002-04:00

This is our group outside of the Lama Temple with one of the Buddhist monks. The temple was absolutely gorgeous - one of them housed a 4-story Buddha made from the trunk of a white sandalwood tree. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures inside the temples, so I couldn't get the Buddha. Good thing many of the 120 monks that lived there liked taking pictures with us - here's one:

Beijing Olympics: Water Cube and Birds Nest

2009-06-02T17:29:00.008-04:00

Today we got to see the Olympic sites around Beijing including the Water Cube (swimming and diving competitions) and the Birds Nest (Opening Ceremonies, track and field and other events). They are quite possibly the coolest places on EARTH!

Olympic Sites

2009-06-02T17:25:00.005-04:00

A Few More of the Water Cube

Out and About

2009-06-01T20:48:00.005-04:00

This is me with a thermometer in my mouth because we had to check our temperature for swine flu. Our plane was quarantined and people ine masks and lab coats (looking like a haz-mat team) shot these 'guns' (thermometers) at our foreheads to check our temperature. It was scary.

I also had to walk in front of thermal cameras when i went through customs.

Funny story: Ellen has a cold, was actually quarantined for about an hour and a half but then let go. It was a terrifying experience, I have been told.

A bus with Chinese writing. I just though it was cool.

A building with cool, castle looking dome roofs. Just a fun shot.

People riding their bikes? Everyone rides a bike here...in the middle of the street too... and going the wrong way. It's kind of scary. I would hate to drive here.

My First Dinner in Beijing - Meat, Meat and More Meat!

2009-06-01T20:44:00.002-04:00

Finding food has been a little difficult - tonight's dinner was a lot of meat (see below). I had some fried rice until the second bowl the servers brought out had shrimp in it. One of the other vegetarian dishes was cucumber in vinegar, not exactly my cup of tea. I might be eating a whole lot of rice for the next 6 weeks!

A.C. Embassy Hotel

2009-06-01T20:34:00.004-04:00

This is the exterior of my hotel.

It's a 4 star hotel in China in or near Beijing (I don't have my bearings just yet - I just got in).

This is the view outside of my hotel room!

Another view outside my room! Like I said, I'm not sure if we're actually downtown Beijing or what, but it looks like a city to me.

I'm rooming with Ellen while we're at the hotel and this is our bathroom covered in our laundry - we had a laundry party yesterday. The water turned blackish-brown. YUCK.

What do you find at a Chinese convenience store?

2009-06-01T20:09:00.004-04:00

How good is your product identification? Mt. Dew

Lays Potato Chips

(Italian Red Meat Flavor)

Lipton Iced Tea

Budwiser

Pepsi look-alike?

2009-05-31T19:29:00.002-04:00

I see striking similarities....

This one's for Sep

2009-05-31T19:27:00.004-04:00

This is a Steelers picture I saw when I walked by a sports bar. I guess there are Steelers fans even in KOREA!

Airport pictures (cont'd)

2009-05-31T19:23:00.002-04:00

When I log into Blogger, it's all in Korean. So I have to guess where to click.

The departure board - all in Korean

Korean Starbucks menu

Butterflies line the ceiling

Another departure board in Korean - this one also flipped to English

Pictures of the Korean airport

2009-05-31T19:17:00.003-04:00

Coin changer that I almost tried but chickened out.

Fast food even overseas

Korean chocolate

A hands-on museum/entertainment center for kids that was across from the free wifi cafe

Breakfast on the plane

2009-05-31T17:46:00.002-04:00

This was my breakfast this morning - an "omlet" (aka a brick of eggs), a bun (seen in the plastic on the left), a dish of fruit (pineapple, green melon and one strawberry), a dish of yogurt (Dannon, you have competition) and my mug for coffee/tea. Dinner looked similar - everything served in these cute little Asian-styled dishes.

Made it to Korea

2009-05-31T17:33:00.003-04:00

Each seat had a personal screen where we could "watch movies" or the news or something. The flight crew also posted a GPS of the plane and our flight along with information on our speed, local time, destination time, etc. It was written in English, Chinese and Korean - I think.

Getting ready to cross the International Date Line!!! (I think this is where I lost my May 31, 2009 but I'm not entirely sure.)

I guess at 36,000 feet it's pretty cold outside.

This picture is just for fun. Most everything on the plane (magazines, instructions, etc.) was in Korean and some Chinese. But on the back of our seats, they posted both.

Well, I have landed in Korea and leave for Beijing in 4 hours. The flight was so long but only slightly uncomfortable. I slept for what I thought was at LEAST 8 hours, only to wake up and find out we weren't even half way over the ocean. They gave us dinner last night on the plane and then breakfast again this morning but my internal clock is all screwed up. I'm trying my best to just be on China time and not even think about what time it is in the states. But overall, the flight was fine, no problems and I'm glad to have both feet back on the ground - at least for the next few hours. My connecting flight to Beijing should only be about 2 hours, so that will feel like a piece of cake compared to the last 13.

More pictures of Santa Monica

2009-05-30T21:36:00.004-04:00

I LOVE Marina del Rey ... too bad I'd never make enough money to live there.

I guess this is another little "borough" like Marina del Rey, Malibu, Santa Barbara, etc. But I didn't get to see it. It's right down the hill from Loyola Marymount University.

Loved this mural - Create Art, Not Violence. I think it's perfect, especially in this day and age.

As I was walking down towards the water and the pier, I passed this guy who was doing sketches. Above is one of Catherine Zeta-Jones (quite possibly one of my favorite actresses in Hollywood). While I was tempted to buy it (yes, I'm impulsive) I merely settled for a picture. I guess I can say I saw CZJ while in Cali, although it wasn't her in person. :)

--
I've been to Santa Monica before but it was something like 7 years ago - probably before I really appreciated it. This time, I feel like I soaked it up. I only wish I had an extra week to spend in LA to explore some more.

Santa Monica

2009-05-30T21:24:00.003-04:00

Fun architecture - reminds me of Miami with the bright colors.

The Santa Monica pier

Santa Monica Blvd.

Sailboat on the Pacific Ocean

La mer

--
Today I had time to kill during my 14-hour layover, so I took the bus ($1.50 roundtrip) to Santa Monica and the pier. The weather seemed pretty cold for California - about 65 degrees and windy. But it was still nice to see the ocean. People looked at me weirdly because I was in long pants, my fleece and carrying my huge pack everywhere, but it was still fun! I just love California. Everyone is so chill and has their own style. I also love how eclectic the architecture and culture is. I may need to look into grad schools out here...

Chicago to LA pictures

2009-05-30T16:09:00.002-04:00

The international terminal at O'Hare - I was actually considered a domestic flight since I have a layover in LA, so I didn't need to go to this terminal. Nor did I need to be at the airport 3 hours early. But alas, we showed up bright and early at 6am.

This was hanging in a corridor at O'Hare - we saw it as we left the international terminal and walked to the domestic airlines side. Yay for Shanghai!

Me with my pack, getting ready to leave for LA.

Looking out the airplane window over canyons. I doubt it's the Grand Canyon but I really have no idea. It was AWESOME though. There was SO MUCH of it - it seemed to last forever. Very cool.

Chicago/Los Angeles

2009-05-30T15:54:00.004-04:00

These were how close our seats were at the Cubs game! And we bought the tickets at a discount, too!
Go Cubbies!
Sep and me at Navy Pier last night for the concert.
Sunrise over Chicago seen from my friend's apartment window. AMAZING.

Sep and I had a GREAT time in Chicago yesterday. We saw a Cubs game and had fantastic seats! We explored the DePaul campus a little, ate at a really good Thai restaurant, and then hung out at Navy Pier that night to watch the band my friend works for. In all the fun, it did turn out to be a LONG day. I don't think we got to bed until about 12:30. Then we were up at 4:45 this morning to get me to the airport. Ugh. I'm tired, hungry and LA is grey - it looks surprisingly a lot like Michigan (unfortunately).

So I'm at the airport now (I had to pay for internet - stupid Los Angeles) trying to figure out where to eat and if I should catch a bus to Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Hollywood...? We'll see. I'm not feeling very inspired right now but it would be more amusing than sitting in the airport until midnight when my flight leaves for Korea.

Team blog

2009-05-28T17:12:00.003-04:00

Our team leader Cathleen has just created a team blog for us. Apparently, we will take turns updating it while we're in China - so if you're interested in reading about the trip from my teammates' perspectives, you can read the blog:

http://gieuchina2009.blogspot.com/

This blog will remain my personal blog and I will update it daily (internet access depending).

More coming soon!

Love,

Morgan

Other GIEU blogs to follow!

2009-05-28T10:25:00.003-04:00

Friends and family,

As I connect with some of my classmates who are abroad on other GIEU trips, I am finding out they post blogs as well! Their blogs are slightly different than mine as they post a group blog and mine is individual, but if you are interested in the goings on in Vietnam and Indonesia (that's all I have so far) you should check them out! Veitnam has posted pictures and Indonesia is just fascinating!

Vietnam: http://2009gieuvietnam.blogspot.com/

Indonesia: http://gieuindonesia2009.blogspot.com/

I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow with Sep. It looks like we'll be seeing a Cubs game in the afternoon, maybe some shopping on Michigan Avenue, a ferris wheel ride on Navy Pier and a local, hip bar with my best childhood friend who's hosting us. What more could we ask for in Chicago for a day?

New itinerary!

2009-05-26T13:27:00.003-04:00

I received a message from Larry, our site leader, today about our new itinerary! It looks something like this:

June 1 - Arrive in Beijing

2 - Tour to China National Stadium in Beijing, Water Cube, Lama Temple and Confucius Temple

3 - Tour to Forbidden city, Beihai Park and Hutong

4 - Tour to Great Wall and Ming Tombs

5 - Tour to Summer Palace and Old Summer palace; attend a Peking Opera performance

6 - Tour to Temple of Heaven and Loasha Teahouse

7 - Tour to Badachu Park, Xiangshan Park and Botanical Garden

8 - Shopping at Wangfujing and Liu Li Chang

9 - Leave for Tianjin; visit Tianjin Normal University (TNU) campus; Welcome Ceremony and banquet

10 - Visit elementary/middle school

11-14 - Teach at middle school

15 - Meet director, professors and students at TNU College of Arts

16 - 20 - Teach and audit classes at TNU College of Arts

21 - Cruise on the Haihe River; shopping at Cultural Street; visit Opera museum

22 - Tour to Shi Family Mansion

23 - Tour to Tan Gu district

24 - Tour to water park, zoo and TV tower

25/26 - Free day; shopping in Tianjin

27 - Rest and pack

28 - Shopping in Beijing/seeing group to airport/Last night in Beijing

29 - Train to Shanghai

30 - Visit/tour Shanghai

It's kind of weird that we're doing more site-seeing than we are actually working with students but maybe the students will be taking us around to the sites and it will give us a chance to teach them colloquial English.

Sep and I leave for Chicago Friday morning. We're hanging out in the city, visiting some sites and possibly attending a concert with one of my friends. Then, we're heading to the airport EARLY Saturday morning for my flight at 9:00. I will try to update again between now and then, otherwise there will be more to come from my 12-hour layover at LAX! (Perhaps a picture of a movie star or two.)

Love,

Morgan

Trip updates

2009-05-17T23:19:00.005-04:00

Ellen is a colleague of mine who is also going on this trip with me and is the one I will be going to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok with. (She's also in the School of Kines.) She has a cousin who teaches English in Beijing and he is going to meet us at the airport and take us to the Beijing Zoo!! I'm so excited! I cannot wait to see a real Panda!!

As for our trip itself, it looks like we'll be spending some time at Tianjin Normal University (TNU) - as of May 14th. We'll be working with high school/university students like we had originally planned. I'm not sure what this means as far as Beijing itself, the Peking Opera, Dr. Lu Sr. or any other details from our original itinerary. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I expect we'll hear more in the next few days as we get closer to our departure.

Packing fiasco

2009-05-17T22:58:00.004-04:00

Sep and I have been making numerous lists of things I need to remember to pack for China. Everything from toilet paper, to a converter, to bug repellent, to a clothes line. My list is about a page long and I have been DREADING trying to fit it all into my pack (see photo above). But good news! I have extra room! Even with packing everything on my list, it looks like I'll have some extra room for souvenirs after all! It's pretty crazy to think I am going to be carrying my life in a hiking pack for 6 weeks. Granted, some of that time will be spent in a dorm room, but I am fitting my LIFE into a pack. And I look forward to the challenge of carrying it around Southeast Asia.

Kids from other countries melt my heart

2009-05-11T20:01:00.003-04:00

Stephen and his older brother with his brother's elementary class in Korea - aren't they ADORABLE?!

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My friend Stephen, who is part of GIEU Indonesia, has begun his field site experience already. He left last week (a week early) to spend a time in Korea with his brother. His brother teaches English over there at an elementary school. Stephen has been posting pictures on Facebook of his adventures and they look awesome! Looking at Stephen's pictures makes me want to move abroad and teach elementary English (and dance, maybe!) too!

Depending on finances, next summer Sep and I have talked about teaching abroad - perhaps in the Czech Republic... so I guess it could happen! But Stephen's pictures of the kids remind me of how great it was when I taught dance at the elementary school in Grand Rapids. What a fun age! And it would be great to have that experience with children across the world!

2 Weeks Pre-Travel

2009-05-11T18:48:00.004-04:00

Map of Tianjin as compared to Beijing (above)

Close up of Tianjin (above)

A little over two weeks until I leave for China. Drama continues to unravel with our trip - for example, we may no longer be working in Beijing but in Tianjin (a city Southeast of Beijing about an hour and a half). What we are doing in China still remains somewhat of a mystery as well. I'm anticipating numerous updates on details of the program between now and when we actually arrive in China. Not to mention, two people have also dropped out of the program for various reasons. So... we'll see what happens.

Nervous to fly

2009-05-03T23:13:00.005-04:00

I'm not flying Southwest, obviously, but this is a cool shot.

THIS is my plane. Asiana Airlines. Let's hope my nightmare is not a premonition...

--

I'm getting ready for my trip - packing, planning, prepping, practicing (eating with chopsticks), and trying to figure out which 3 t-shirts I should bring abroad for 6 weeks. Talk about stressful.

I also have this reoccurring nightmare/phobia that my plane to Seoul, South Korea will crash in the Pacific ... I'm not even kidding. I've never flown overseas nor have I ever had a flight that lasts 15-20 hours, so I'm probably just freaking out but I seriously feel like our plane is going to crash. Ugh...

Official send-off

2009-05-01T13:27:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, GIEU held convocation - our official send-off to the various field sites. The people going to Viet Nam leave tomorrow, the New Zealand kids leave Sunday and the Indonesia trip leaves early next week.

We also had our last team meeting yesterday. The next time I meet up with my team will be in Beijing! I kind of can't believe it. The trip still seems surreal to me - maybe because we've been thrown a few curve balls or maybe because I'm so excited but the countdown is T minus 29 days until blast off!

I will update more between now and when I leave. But for now, it's a lot of prepping and packing... and practicing eating with chopsticks.

Thank you for your support and the birthday wishes!

Love,

Morgan

Going to China after all...

2009-04-28T20:42:00.004-04:00

We had a team meeting tonight to discuss more "details" of last week's emotional roller coaster. Larry began our meeting by handing back our passports. He said something like, "Inside, you'll find your visas for China..." We all looked at each other very confused (because as far as we knew, we had been denied) but sure enough, inside our passport was a lovely, page-sized sticker - our Chinese visas!

We all had many questions but reserved our emotions - mainly because it seemed as though every time we were updated on our travels and got excited, the plans were switched.

HERE'S THE KICKER:

There was never anything wrong with our visas. When the Chinese National Security claimed that there were students on our team who failed the background checks because of misdemeanors, this was false. When Larry and GIEU involved higher ups (i.e.: the UM provost, etc.) in our situation and talked with the embassy, the embassy told them that our visas were in the mail and they had no problems with them. So, the Chinese National Security (which apparently doesn't collaborate with the Chinese Embassy) 'fabricated' or 'lied' or 'fibbed' those details about the misdemeanors. Nothing about that story is true. After further thought and investigation, it seems (and Larry told us this) that the Chinese government was going to 'deny' us entry into the country because of our involvement with Golden Courage. GCI is one of 5 NGO's in the entire country and they rely on government funding to survive. Therefore, the government feels they have a say in what GCI does - including interacting/hosting American instructors/interns for the summer. This probably also has something to do with Dr. Lu Jr. being part of the Tianamen Square riots 20 years ago and getting exiled from the country. I'm sure they (the government) are apprehensive about our involvement with him and his organization. Because GCI relies so heavily on the government funding, they cannot risk to bring our team in to work with them and possibly lose that funding. So Larry, GIEU, Dr. Lu Jr., and Golden Courage decided it was best not to risk anything that could harm the GCI program and the kids, so we will not be working with them anymore. As soon as GIEU told the Chinese National Security that we were no longer working with Golden Courage, they had no problem granting us entry into the country. So, something about our previous denial into China definitely had something to do with Golden Courage - details are to be determined. DRAMA.

What does this mean for our trip?

We are no longer working with Golden Courage, obviously. We are also not going to work with high schoolers or elementary students like before. Instead, we are staying all 4 weeks at Peking University in downtown Beijing and working with college students our age. Peking University is THE BEST school in China. It's extremely difficult to get into and has a prestigious reputation. Larry said, "This is the Harvard of China." So, not to brag, but it's kind of a big deal.

We will still do the basics of our arts modules but focus mostly on English. Many of the students are said to have very good English but want/need to learn English from native speakers. They are also interested in learning colloquial speak. So, we'll be engaging in many informal teaching situations (hanging out, being friends, etc.) to help them learn. We will live in the dorms at the school, attend the opera, visit tourist sites, even take a day trip to Golden Courage but strictly as tourists - not as teachers, sadly. There is still debate about what/who/if UM and GCI will send some Golden Courage students over Ann Arbor in the fall - we'll see what happens with that. I can't believe the Chinese government would endorse that but it would be great to see them!

So all the original travel plans are the way they were a week ago. I'm still going to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok. I still need to buy a bunch of travel gear, I still need to take all of my malaria and anti-diarrheal pills, and I still will run out of money by the end of the trip, but at least all of this will be done with my entire team, with Larry and IN CHINA!

The countdown:

-3 hours until I turn 22

-2 days until my summer is 'official' with no more required obligations for school

-32 days until I leave for China

-And 81 days until I join September in Florida for a post-travel vacation!

YAHOO!!!

The one & only,

Mo chou.

No trip this summer

2009-04-28T10:44:00.002-04:00

As of today, it's all over. No trip to Tanzania and no trip to China. We have a team meeting tonight to discuss "details" but I'm not sure what other details need to be talked about at this point. I don't really feel like hearing how we came so close to going overseas and then things were messed up.

I'll update later if it's worth while. Otherwise, I"m working on changing the name of this blog to

www.morganNOTinchina.com. Look for it.

-Morgan

Getting used to the idea of Tanzania

2009-04-23T13:31:00.000-04:00

I just got SO EXCITED for Africa!

The Best of Both Worlds

2009-04-23T13:23:00.002-04:00

Habari! (Hello, in Swahili)

Ninaitwa Morgan (my name is Morgan)

It appears as though the Chinese government have not approved our visas or entry into their country. I received an email this morning from Larry saying we will be getting 'the best of both worlds.' We have postponed our trip to Beijing until 2010 and will now be traveling to Tanzania this Summer. According to Larry we're 'headed to the cradle of human civilization' (not sure what that means) and we're 'working in some capacity with HIV/AIDS education, English teaching and health ministries' (not sure what that means either.) The details of location and activities are still being determined. So are the dates. I guess ideally, we'd be taking the Tanzania trip the same time we were going to take the China trip. We might only be staying 3 weeks though, instead of 4. I'm just not sure on details right now.

I guess we just sit and wait some more .... I'm not even sure if I can refund my ticket to Beijing. I didn't buy insurance for it. :( To be honest, I'm more stressed about this 'adventure' right now than I was Tuesday night when I learned of it. I just REALLY HOPE I'm not out $1200 for my plane ticket. Even though GIEU is covering everything for Africa, I cashed my savings bonds to buy that ticket to China. If I can't get some sort of refund, I don't know what I'm going to do....?

I wonder if we'll get Tanzanian names.... in Swahili, or something... ? Or if we'll be living with the locals? If we can climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?

I feel horrible about bailing on the Golden Courage kids. I wish there was some way the Chinese government could have understood our plea to help, and that we were coming to China to work WITH the country, not against it.

More details will be posted as I learn of them.

Kwaheri! (Goodbye, in Swahili.)

Morgan

China or Tanzania?

2009-04-22T09:32:00.003-04:00

Apparently, the Chinese government is not giving our team permission to enter their country. They are not giving us our visas and our trip may be postponed until Summer 2010.

The story goes something like this:

There are 2 major anniversaries this summer that would take place while we are there: A 20-year anniversary of the student-led protest in Tiananmen Square (1989) and the 60th anniversary of the Communist government. The Chinese officials are afraid that we, as Americans, are going to cause 'a disturbance of peace' - I guess because some members of our team have misdemeanor on their record? I have a foggy understanding of everything at this point. So, the people who have records here are seen as a threat by the Chinese who are reviewing our background checks/visa information.

What does this mean?

We are patiently waiting to hear back from Dr. Lu Jr. to see if we can get the visas for China. He said we will know by tomorrow. He is working with an international lawyer and has many people on his side backing his story. He is telling the government that our team is going over there not to protest, or inhibit with the celebrations, but to teach homeless, impoverished HIV/AIDS infected youth. Michigan's GIEU program is also writing letters on all of our behalf saying that Larry Gant, our professor leading our program, is our 'dad'. Yes, our dad. He is writing a letter saying that we are his kids and that we will not go anywhere in China without him. Should be interesting - considering we have people of all ethnicities and we're all pretty much the same age. I guess we'll say we're adopted.... ?

So we will find out tomorrow if the trip is a go or no-go. If we do not get access to China and our visas, we will be taking an alternative trip to Tanzania this summer. The trip would be completely paid for by GIEU (airfare, lodging, everything.) We would be working with the same types of children (HIV/AIDS/severely impoverished) doing the same teaching modules we had originally planned for China (arts and English). Then, in 2010, we would be given the chance to go to Golden Courage to do our lesson plans. This trip in 2010, would be through GCI, not through GIEU - kind of like a study abroad.

There are still many questions to be asked and details to be figured out. But for now, we just sit and wait, patiently, and trust that Dr. Lu Jr. will do his best to get us over to China. Most importantly, we need to go for the kids. The kids have been learning our English and Chinese names for months now, and they are anxiously anticipating our visit. Dr. Lu said they are very excited to have American big brothers and big sisters. They would be devastated if we cannot come over this summer. So I hope it works out. (Even though a free trip to Tanzania sound breathtaking - we NEED to go to China for those kids.)

So, that's all I have at this point. Our entire meeting last night focused on this new drama. Everyone was silent - stunned - numb. The situation is completely out of our control. All we can do at this point is be patient and hope things work out as originally planned.

This is going to be the longest 32 hours of my life.

I will update as soon as I have more information.

Always,

Mo chou

Belated entry

2009-04-19T20:31:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated in almost 2 weeks. I have been slammed with work and finals preparations.

Last week in our team meeting, we had the director of Center for Chinese Studies come in and give us a power lecture on 'Social and Political Challenges of Rapid Economic Growth in China.' Invigorating, right? Parts of the lecture were fascinating to compare with our own Western government. But for the most part, I found the material dry and over my head. I am not one for political science or economics but I took mad notes so I can study up before going abroad next month. Basically, I learned the following:

-There are major trends of inequality among the Chinese- Urban citizenship is highly valued but only given to a select few. People holding urban citizenship have better opportunities (economically, health-related, politically, etc.) Rural citizenship (the majority of the Chinese) are overlooked when it comes to government funds, education, health care and political voice.

-There is a growing number of 'floating population' - migrants, basically. Who travel from city to city looking for work but can barely support their families. This population is extremely devastating to hear about. They are completely overlooked by the government but make the largest portion of Chinese residents. Note: The children of GCI all have parents/guardians that are part of the floating population - which contributed why they never received any formal education.

-There are major population issues in China - which most of us have heard before on the world news. How the professor described it was, "It's like all of America lived east of the Mississippi." Hard to imagine 1.6 billion people stuffed into an area that small. China has decided for some years to implement the 1-Child law. This law states that a couple is only allowed to have one child - unless both the husband and wife are single children, in which case they may try for 2 children. A couple may also try for two child, apparently, if the first one is a girl. But I keep getting mixed reviews on this. So, I'm not sure if it's enforced. There is a major sex imbalance in China because girls are not wanted. These are also rules that only apply to the Urban population of China, not the rural.

Basically, we spent an hour talking about how corrupt the Chinese government is, how only the rich are the successful ones in the country and how the government is trying to 'get better' but isn't, really. We talked briefly about the different pollution problems (air and water) but focused more on the government.

Well, that's about all for now. I've been practicing my Mandarin, although I am not sure how much I am retaining. It's proving to be quite difficult. I'm also practicing how to write the numerical characters for numbers 1-10. Just for kicks, I guess.

More will be posted Tuesday evening (ideally) about our last meeting. We'll be discussing the etiquette expectations at Golden Courage. Dr. Lu Jr. is coming in and this will be the last time we see him before China. Should be interesting! We're definitely getting down to the wire now! (To put it in some perspective, my classmates that are going to Vietnam and Indonesia with this GIEU program are leaving in a matter of days.... like 12... so, it's all coming very quickly!)

All best,

Mo chou

Map of Beijing, China

2009-04-07T23:46:00.002-04:00

More random pictures - Food

2009-04-07T23:44:00.001-04:00

Note: I did NOT take these pictures

More random pictures - Parks

2009-04-07T23:42:00.002-04:00

More random pictures

2009-04-07T23:38:00.003-04:00

Please note: I did NOT take these pictures - I found them online to 'enhance' my blog entries

Chinese smog - smog over land (above); smog in city (below)

Over 100 degrees......HOTTTTTTTTT

How to survive in Beijing 101

2009-04-07T22:12:00.003-04:00

Tonight we had a meeting with Lucinda and Jeremy (former delegates to Golden Courage in October 2008) to talk about some basic things to expect in China this summer. This meeting was particularly informative as I continue to plan the details of my travels and packing. It was great to hear their stories of the delegates' time in China in the fall and what we can expect as young, American 'tourists' this summer. Here are some of the basics that I learned from tonight:

Food

-There are many vegetarian options (about 70% of the food served will be vegetables and/or with tofu)

-I should practice with chopsticks NOW!! Otherwise I'll have a difficult time eating meals. Forks aren't available - obviously

-Dinners are served around a circular table that rests on a Lazy Susan - so it rotates and there are between 10-20 tapas styled dishes of food for each dinner (no dessert)

-The markets are supposed to be incredible and an adventure all of their own

-Chinese food as we know here in America is not even close to the Chinese food we'll eat in China - that goes without saying (it'll be better!!)

Hotel

-We're staying at a hotel the first week while shadowing the students at the opera school

-The hotel is literally down the street from the opera school

-It is safe for women to walk [alone] at night around the hotel

-The hotels will have Western style bathrooms with toilet paper provided - everywhere else we'll need to bring TP and we'll be using "squat toilets"

-Internet is provided in the hotel

-We will be the only Americans in the hotel and the only people who speak English in the area of the hotel in Beijing - most of the locals in the area have never seen Americans so we will be stared at out of fascination

Parks

-There is a huge park across the street from the opera school that has lakes, temple replicas and thousands of visitors everyday

-Crowds often form around Americans (particularly if they participate in any of the activities in the park i.e.: singing, dancing, Tai Chi or Tai Chi ball) because the Chinese are fascinated by Americans

-It is a great time to wake up and do Tai Chi with the locals and to immerse ourselves in Chinese culture right next to our hotel!

Time

-Being late is the most offensive, unacceptable, frowned upon thing we could do in China

-To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late = our motto for the month of June

-We should expect to be everywhere 20 minutes early because the Chinese start activities, etc. 10 minutes before that

-The jet lag is rough - drink water

Dress

-Short clothing is unacceptable - the Chinese are modest

-Rarely should we wear any clothing above the knee, although longer 'shorts' are okay

-The Chinese do not dress up - they are not dressy people so when we perform in front of the officials/government, we can dress 'casual' by American standards because that will be dressy by Chinese standards

Weather

-It's going to be HOT (80-90 degrees) in the city

-The school we're teaching at is about an hour outside of the city (north, I believe) and will be 10-15 degrees cooler because it is in the mountains

-There is no telling what the air pollution will be like during our week in the city, so we are advised to bring a few bandanas. Jeremy said when he was there after the Olympics, the air was pretty clean, but the days that it was not, he could feel in his eyes and lungs after being outside for only 2 minutes.

-The air in the mountains will be clean and refreshing... not to mention the beautiful backdrop

-June is the rainy season

-When we go to Thailand, it's going to be in the 100's

Diversity

-While many Chinese have never seen white Americans, they also have never seen black Americans - they will stair, again, out of fascination

-There is a place that was recommended we visit for hair washing/upper body massage and the workers are captivated by naturally curly hair - yay for me!

Behavior

-Free speech is not free in China

-Under no circumstances are we to talk about religion, politics or sexuality

-Some Chinese locals may try to engage us in conversations about Chinese or American politics (if their English is good enough) but they may actually be trying to get us in trouble with the government: if we talk about religion, for example, they might say that we are trying to convert them - and then we're in big, big trouble with the Chinese government

-We need to be aware of what to say (and what not to say) and where to say it (and where not to say it)

-It's a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy with regards to sexuality

-Under no circumstances are we to talk badly about the Chinese government or policies - even if we are unaware of how the subject came up in a conversation or where that conversation is headed - we should say, 'That's interesting. Bye now.' And walk away.

Airport

-We will be picked up at the airport and driven back to the hotel upon our arrival

-We are encouraged to bring books, music, etc. for the plane ride

-The plane ride is LONG

-Most people have a layover in Tokyo (that really cool airport that is built on a man-made island per the Discovery Channel) but I am flying into Seoul instead. However, when I go to Shanghai and Hong Kong, both of those airports are in the list of top 10 airports in the entire world - so I guess it all works out after all.

Well, I can't think of anything else to write about, really. We only talked about Beijing 101 and the logistics of our visas this evening. No time for Mandarin today. We only have 2 more team meetings too! I can't believe how close it is to travel time!!

More again soon.

Love,

Morgan

Random pictures

2009-04-01T21:18:00.001-04:00

Because I didn't really have much to report from my meeting yesterday, I wanted to keep the blog interesting by adding some photos. These are some pictures of the Buddha statues I might see in Asia this summer. I think they are breathtaking! I cannot wait to play around with my camera to capture all kinds of angles. These statues look incredible and it will be amazing to finally be able to see them in person!

Short update

2009-04-01T20:39:00.004-04:00

This is a picture of the backpack from REI that I want to get for my travels. You can fold the straps in to make it a duffel bag and the little pack shown below can be removed to use as a daypack. This bag is amazing! What would be more amazing, is if I could fit all of my belongs for 6 weeks of travel to fit inside!

Meeting update:

Yesterday, as we do every Tuesday night, we had another team meeting. The Chinese delegates have gone back to China (or they will the next day or so) so it was a smaller, quiet, sad meeting. Fortunately, we'll see them again in 50-some days!

I had to get a picture taken for my visa and I can say wholeheartedly, that the picture is the worst I have ever taken. I wasn't sure when the guy at Walgreens was going to hit the shutter, so I was NOT ready. I look PISSED in the picture. My nostrils are flared, eyebrows furrowed... it's positively the worst picture I think I have ever seen. Thank goodness the visa is only good for 3 months! I will have to scan it and post it. It will surely turn a bad day into a hilarious one!

To learn more about our team members, since we are spending a month together on intimate terms, we played 'Speed Dating'. It was pretty random. Everyone had cards with questions on them (i.e.: What is your favorite color? What is your ideal pet? If you had 6 more hours in the day, what would you do with the time?) We only got about 3 minutes with each person to chat. The thought was cute but the execution was a bit off. We also spent a considerable amount of time on our Mandarin lesson. I'm having a particularly difficult time learning the numbers. The inflections are also very confusing to me. Each word has a different tone, and there are five tones in Mandarin (see one of my earlier entries) so you could be talking about your friend, for example, but would actually be saying the tone for horse or something. So, I have LOTS to practice between now and the end of May.

We also received a more detailed day-by-day schedule of our time in China in June. We will be very, very busy. Every day there is something we need to attend to, whether it's shadowing the students at the opera school, touring the sites, teaching, taking pictures for our photobook ... lots of work. Originally, Golden Courage wanted us all to start bright and early at 8am on June 2. They decided, however, that we'll need a day to recover from jet lag. So, we still begin at 8 but the day will consist of us getting familiar with the opera school, the local parks, and resting. The second day though, we're starting our shadowing!

There isn't much else to report from the meeting. It was a lot of catching up, reviewing documents, discussing some trip details, etc. We only have 3 more team meetings! I can't believe how quickly this semester has flown by for this trip. Our next meetings will be practicing more Mandarin and focusing on the 'culture shock' of visiting China. We will learn about customs, appropriate public behavior, manners, and we'll get all of our cultural questions answered.

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine! Sorry I don't have more to say. Check back again soon!

Zai jian!

Updates!

2009-03-26T09:40:00.005-04:00

September is a genius and saw this in the SkyMall catalogue. It's called a DreamSack and it's basically a really thin sleeping bag/linens. Since a normal sleeping bag would be too bulky to carry around with me, this DreamSack would be just like sleeping on sheets at night but it folds up to weigh less than half a pound! I have to get one.

Toilet paper is not always provided in restrooms in China - especially in rural China where we'll be spending most of our time. If it is provided, it costs. So, I have to bring a bunch of these little Charmin To Go. Good thing September gets them in her Christmas stocking every year! We always knew they'd come in handy some day.

Interesting fact: We are strongly encouraged to bring American face wash because while face wash and soaps can be purchased in China, they have bleach in them to help bleach the skin and make the skin 'whiter.' Whoa... It's so interesting to me that in America, it's the exact opposite. For once in my life, it'll be good to be pale!!

Ni hao!

I haven't posted in quite some time because I have been bombarded with school work, exams, projects, papers... the typical UM busywork. Only 4 more weeks of school and only 64 DAYS UNITL CHINA!

There's much to update on:

First, the past 2 weeks or so, we have had some delegates from China in to visit our team here at Michigan. Dr. Lu Sr. is here with his wife, there are some staff and volunteers from GCI and they have been shadowing us around campus. My friend Ellen (the girl who I am traveling with after our program) and I have taken 2 of the GCI staff around campus to get smoothies, play monopoly, etc. They are very sweet, funny and offer great insight on our project and Chinese views of Americans. They are leaving next week but we will be meeting up with them again when we arrive in China in June.

Secondly, we have started to put together our teaching modules for the kids. I'm not sure if I wrote this in a previous entry, but we are no longer going to work with elementary schools. Only high schools. I am extremely disappointed about this but high schoolers will still be fun. We are teaching at boarding schools in rural China outside of Beijing and staying on campus in the dorms with the kids (only 20 minutes from the Great Wall!). Each of the teaching teams have great ideas for projects to do with the students. The arts & crafts team are doing things like gingerbread houses, friendship bracelets, popsicle stick picture frames, and magazine collages. The singing team is going to teach the kids the 'Hokie Pokie' and 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' as well as some Disney songs. The theatre/games team is going to show the kids how to make musical instruments, play charades, improv theatre, and skits. And my dance team is going to focus on hip hop and dance team dances to do with the kids. I am going to incorporate some games I used at Coit (the elementary school I taught at the last 2 years), exercises from Interlochen (with regards to improvisation and movement), dance team routines and YouTube videos. We all presented a 10-minute synopsis of our teaching modules to Dr. Lu Sr. and the Chinese delegates and they seem very impressed with our ideas for the kids. Now, we're all even more excited for the trip than we were a week ago!

Next, we got Chinese names! Dr. Lu assigned us special Chinese names that we are going to use overseas this summer. They're so awesome! My name is Mo Chou and I guess it means 'no worries.' There are two characters but I will have to practice writing it because it seems very complicated. At our meeting next week, Dr. Lu Jr. is going to explain in further detail what the names mean to the Chinese and why they were chosen specifically for us. I love that my name starts with 'Mo'... that's what people used to call me in Philadelphia, so it's cool that it's reintroduced now for this trip to China.

Lastly, I am putting together a list of things I need to take overseas this summer. I am basically going to be living out of a backpack for 6 weeks because that will be the easiest way for me to transport my things from site to site. If anyone has any advice on what to bring, what not to bring, how to backpack, stories (good and bad), etc. I am all ears. What the delegates said on Tuesday was LESS IS MORE. Space is limited, accessibility to things like running water is limited, everything... so we have to pack very light but very intelligently (as if we are only staying 1 weeks -not 6). So, any of you with camping experience, you're input is much appreciated!

One last thing, if anyone has ideas on small gifts to bring over that are particularly American, let me know! We might be staying in some of the children's homes for a few nights and we are encouraged to bring some sort of thank you gift/compensation to our hosts. What would be something cool and thoughtful to bring?

Hope everyone is enjoying Spring! More updates to come.

Zai jian!

Mo Chou

Chinese Opera With Dr. Lu Senior

2009-03-09T20:56:00.005-04:00

This character is actually a monkey from the Monkey King story. I guess it's very popular in China - especially among the children.

We had another team meeting tonight where we met Dr. Lu Sr. (former dean of Beijing Opera), Dr. Pong (Dr. Lu Sr.'s wife - a renowned physician in China), Dr. Lu Jr. (founder of Golden Courage International). It was so great!! All are very nice are so excited to have us come to China this summer. Dr. Lu and Dr. Pong spoke little English, so Dr. Lu Jr. translated for most of our conversation. Since they have much experience with Chinese Opera, Dr. Lu (Sr.) shared a powerpoint presentation, complete with clips and videos, of what opera is like in China.

Classical Chinese opera is very different than what Americans think of opera. In China, it includes singing (in Mandarin), dancing (Chinese dance), acting, Kung Fu (Asian stage fighting), and acrobatics/tumbling. The costumes are very intricate and actors usually have their faces painted. Each color of paint has a different meaning. For example, red is courage and bravery; blue and green represent fierceness and astuteness. Yellow is a sign of a violent temper. And silver and gold are colors of gods. If interested, this website is a really good resource for Chinese opera:

http://www.southbaychineseschool.org/FLAP/0607/ChineseOpera.pdf

So after the opera presentation (Dr. Lu Sr. even acted out a scene and sang for us!) we learned how it is going to play into our trip to China. Before today, I believed our team was going to watch performances each night our first week. But it gets even better.... that whole first week in China, it is going to be like we are opera students. We are going to watch the various classes (singing, dancing, acting, Kung Fu, acrobatics). We also are going to shadow the performers and learn their parts!! We get to try on the opera costumes and even get our faces painted with our favorite colors!! I cannot believe it. It all sounded so exciting while Lucinda was telling us, that I wanted to squeal. Trying on costumes and make up?! WOW!

Towards the end of our meeting, we all went around the room and introduced ourselves to our guests. After introducing ourselves, Dr. Lu Sr. asked if we wanted Chinese names for our time in China! Apparently, Chinese names are taken very seriously and a lot of thought is put into a person's name. Not to say that names aren't important in America, but Americans probably do not care quite the same way about a name as the Chinese do. So Dr. Lu Sr., Dr. Pong and Dr. Lu Jr. are going to look at our pictures, read our biographies and they are going to assign us our Chinese names next week! When we are in China this summer, we will be able to get "chops" (I guess they're like stamps) that we can use to stamp our names back in the states. We'll also learn Chinese calligraphy so we can write our names with their special brushes and ink. This is going to be great!

I posted pictures of what the face paint looks like in traditional Chinese opera. It's very intricate and symbolic. If you have any suggestions on what colors/designs I should have my face painted like this summer, I'd love to hear them!

Xie xie! (Thank you!)

Love,

Morgan

Day 3 of retreat

2009-03-09T11:08:00.002-04:00

For our final project of the retreat, we had to complete what was called a Religious Immersion Project. We were instructed to visit a religious service/celebration that is unfamiliar to our own and participate/observe/interact. Some places people visited included the Baha'i temple, a meditation and relaxation gathering, African Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist church, Hindu commission, the Salvation Army, the Quaker house... everything sounded so interesting. Unfortunately, many of the [cool] places were far away and required a car. So, I was unable to get to any of those. Also, there was a cap of 2 people allowed per location. All excited for my possibilities, I found my top choices were taken and my plan B was shot down because the buildings were off campus. So... I went to the First Baptist Church. It wasn't exactly the exotic experience I was hoping for, especially since I grew up with a Catholic upbringing - I was hoping to experience something different than Christianity. But it was okay.

The service was early, and with day light savings time, I felt like I was getting up even earlier. Not to mention it was POURING rain outside and I had to walk a mile away. What a nightmare. I made it in time for the service but was completely soaked and freezing. I found the service to be quite similar, actually, to a Catholic service (although the Catholics would probably disagree with me. So might the Baptists.) But I could definitely pick out similarities between the two. Again, I was rather disappointed that I could not attend something like the Zen Buddhist Temple or the Baha'i center but the one woman who introduced herself to me at the Baptist Church was very nice. I had expected a service in a mega-church, complete with lights, a rock band, and movie theatre screens (we all have stereotypes and generalizations) but I was pleasantly surprised to find the perish/congregation to be no more than 50 people and rather quiet. No tv's, loud music (except the organ was pretty loud), in-your-face preaching... it was completely different than I had envisioned. The woman I spoke to encouraged me to come back and join the church for 'college night' (somehow I don't think their idea of college night involves $3.00 pitchers and $1.00 jello shots), and she said she hopes to see me every week. I think next weekend I will try to visit a different service to see what kind of celebrations are offered in the Ann Arbor area.

Our retreat officially didn't start until about 1pm yesterday, so I had some time from the end of the service to the start of the retreat. We had to make posters of our experience to share with the group and briefly discuss similarities and differences between the service we attended and any service we were familiar with. All very fascinating.

After the presentations, the retreat started to come to a close. We went over some last-minute details about what's to come of GIEU between now and the end of April, journaling, essays, requirements, etc. And then we were dismissed early!

Overall, the retreat was an interesting experience. It was not at all what I had expected and some parts turned out to be even more fun and interesting than I had thought! I met some fun people (one girl I went to Interlochen with!) and learned more about the different field sites and projects.

Next month, on April 30 we have our GIEU convocation. It's the official send-off for our field sites as it will be the last time we all meet before we go on our trips and reconvene in the fall. We have to give presentations on our projects, discuss who we'll be working with, what we'll be doing, etc. Parents, family, friends are invited to come! So if you're interested or in the area (and want to celebrate my 22nd birthday a day late) you're more than welcome to come!!

Much love,

Morgan

Day 2 of retreat

2009-03-09T10:28:00.003-04:00

After the first day of the retreat, I was pretty annoyed to be going back again at 9 o'clock Saturday morning. But everything turned out to be good, actually.

We had 2 guest facilitators from the campus group called IGR - Inter Group Relations and they met with us for about 3 hours working on social identity awareness, conflict resolution and teamwork. I felt like I was a few steps ahead of the group because I had just completed the same activities at my Intercultural Leadership Seminar over spring break. We spent the first part of the morning filling out and discussing our social and personal identities with one another. Then we did an activity called, "Who Owns the Zebra, Who Drinks the Water?" - another activity I did at ILS. The large group was divided into 3 teams and given about 40 minutes to try and figure out the puzzle. I was in charge of watching how people interacted, conflicts, teamwork, etc. The puzzle is so fun if you haven't done it before! You can check it out at this website:

http://www.themathlab.com/gym/brainbuilders/logic/whozebra.htm

I made a list of all kinds of observations and after one of the teams solved the puzzle, we spent another 40 minutes discussing the teams' work. Other student fellows and site leaders who were present also made observations and shared their thoughts. It was funny to hear everyones interpretations of how their groups worked through the problem because most were very different than how we, as observers, interpreted their actions/facial expressions/body language.

During and after lunch, we were shown a painting and in teams of about 8, asked to discuss what the painting was about and perform our interpretations in front of the entire group. There were some really creative ideas and a couple of the skits were hilarious. It was a good team bonding activity and also tested our creativity. Definitely wasn't something we ever considered doing in art history class.

After the skits we were told it was time for another movie. Afraid of what this one could possibly be about, we all reluctantly walked into the auditorium. The movie was called Baraka and I am happy to say, it is now in my list of top 3 favorite movies. It was absolutely incredible. There is no dialogue - instead it is a series of photographs, some time-lapse video, of all different places on Earth, people, religious practices, museums. It was breathtaking. The video opened with shots of the Himalayas to Japanese flute/meditation music. It showed various religious practices from all over the world, waterfalls in Africa, temples in Thailand, the lush vegetation of Indonesia, Buddhist monks, Indigenous tribal dancing, people crowding in subways in Japan, Ayers rock, the Australian Outback, Auschwitz, Times Square, burning oil fields in Kuwait, everything. It was mesmerizing. I highly recommend it - for the photography, the music, the meaning.... at one point, my friend Stephen turned to me and said, "I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be feeling right now." It is one of those films that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. Because there are no words, no explanations of what is happening, why those sites are being filmed, the interpretation is left to the viewer. It was, by far, my favorite experience of the entire weekend.

If you're interested, you can read more about the movie here:

http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/baraka.aspx

Post-movie, we learned about our Relgious Immersion Project for Sunday. More info in the next blog entry (Day 3 of Retreat).

Saturday night, I went to a Chinese film about love and relationships in China in the 21st Century. As part of our team requirements for China (separate from the GIEU retreat), we have to go to at least 3 Chinese films held every Saturday evening and write a 2 page reflection on one of them. This was the first one I attended. Next week, is one about the Bird's Nest - the Olympic Stadium. Should be interesting. After the movie, I met with my co-facilitator for the dance module for our trip and we planned what we're teaching the kids in China. Details on that to come as things are not finalized yet. But I can't wait!!!

Watch Baraka!

Day 1 of retreat

2009-03-09T10:06:00.003-04:00

I was unable to access this blogging website much this past weekend so I am writing now about the retreat I just finished. Every year, as part of the required obligations of attending the GIEU field sites (because GIEU is also considered an academic class - we get 2 credits for it), students are assigned a weekend for a retreat. These retreats last all afternoon (4-10pm) on Friday and all day (9-5pm) Saturday and Sunday. They are designed to aid in team building skills, intergroup relations, intergroup dialogue, social awareness, cultural awareness, among other things. There were about 35 students at the retreat this weekend and it was lead by 2 main facilitators along with about 10 guest facilitators throughout the weekend.

Friday was pretty boring. Not to mention it was about 65 degrees outside and all of us wanted to be playing frisbee, not doing icebreakers. We were paired up with another random, unfamiliar GIEU student, someone going to a different field site than ourselves, and we had to 'interview' them - the facilitators idea of an icebreaker. We sang some chants and the director of the program opened the whole retreat with a libation (in a plant.) He apparently lived somewhere close to Uganda and at the beginning of each group meeting there, the leaders would pour water into a plant and then sing chants. It was interesting but confusing. Because only 1 or 2 other people from each field site were there, the retreat was not intended for me to learn more about China. Instead, it was to help me build skills that I can use not only in my trip to China but also in my life (or so they told me.) Needless to say, I was skeptical of the entire weekend.

Two other China team members were also at this retreat and at one point, we were all instructed to draw a picture of what we are doing overseas this summer. It was cool to go around the room and listen to all the projects. They sound so NEAT and much more interesting than they did on paper in the original field site descriptions. After our drawing/sharing session, we watched a horrible movie called Black Robe. I found it extremely offensive and completely irrelevant to the GIEU program and our field sites. By Friday night, I was ready to scream. In fact, I actually might have at one point while venting to September on the phone that night. However, Saturday would prove to be much better.

Golden Courage Website

2009-03-03T20:44:00.001-05:00

http://www.goldencourage.com/

Ni hao!

2009-03-03T20:11:00.002-05:00

Ni hao! Wo jiao Morgan! (That means, 'Hello! My name is Morgan!' in Mandarin).

We had another team meeting tonight and our first Mandarin lesson! I learned the 5 tones of Chinese and how to say some basic phrases. I've downloaded a couple Podcasts and free programs from the internet to aid in the language-learning process. Learning Mandarin is proving to be quite difficult for me as it is completely different from my English and French background. It's very interesting, though, and I look forward to learning even more of it from the kids in Beijing this summer.

We also had a visit from some Golden Courage guests this evening. One woman, Lucinda, is the executive assistant to the founder of GCI and two other staff flew in from China to help us develop our curriculum and serve as translators for us. They're going to be shadowing us and our every-day routines to get to know us better before we go overseas this summer. They staff hope to sit in on some of our classes, go out for lunch, and hang out with our team members to learn more about what/how we're planning on teaching this summer and to give us more background information on the children and GCI.

We also talked more about the kids and how to be culturally sensitive to them and their past experiences while teaching this summer. Lucinda shared stories with us about some of the children and their traumatic pasts - and how learning fine arts opened helped them in their healing processes. The stories are utterly heartbreaking. It's so unfair that children as young as 5 years old are forced into the sex industry or forced into working 60 hour work weeks just to have enough food to survive. The experience thus far has shown me how fortunate I am to live in a country that values freedom, to have parents, and money, and food, and shelter, and an education. I am so lucky to be able to make this trip to China this summer to help give back what I have learned in the arts and in the American school system, so I can help others (ie: children) improve their lives and give them a future to look forward to. And in return, learn from them and their culture.

The movement/dance team I am on for this trip consists of 3 people. (I guess not that many people wanted to bust the moves in a new country). We're going to meet on Saturday to discuss our curriculum and how we're going to go about implementing the National Standards for Arts Education (it's intense.) I like to think of myself as pretty competent in dance and movement but I am a believer of the theory that you do not know a topic until you are able to successfully teach it to another individual. The standards are really pushing me out of my normal context of thinking when it comes to dance. Some of the standards can be found here:

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards.cfm

While this project is already proving to be a challenge, I cannot wait to meet with my group and start planning our lessons.

That's about it for now. I have my GIEU retreat all weekend where we will discuss more cultural competency (like the conference I attended over Spring Break) and strategies for effective teamwork.

Zi jian! (Goodbye!)

Love,

Morgan

First Team Meeting

2009-02-17T20:44:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago we had our first team meeting for China. My team members seem great, the leaders are wonderful and the program sounds like even more fun than I had envisioned. The goal for the undergraduates in the program is to design a set of curriculum that will teach the Golden Courage students English as well as American arts. The curriculum modules are broken down into 4 areas: arts/crafts, movement/dance, music/lyrics, and theatre/games. I will be teaching movement/dance as well as arts/crafts. We have to develop two different sets of curiculum that will be used for the younger children (5-12 years old) and the older children (13-18 years old). Since one part of the program focuses on teaching American culture, we will use things like the Hokey Pokey, chicken dance and hip hop (for the dance portion) and finger painting, invisible crayon writing and sketching (for the arts & crafts portion.) The English part of the program will teach the kids left, right, front, back... maybe even kick-ball-change or shuffle-step (for dance) and shapes, animals and the color wheel (for arts & crafts.) The idea is to leave these modules in China so the Golden Courage teachers can use them for future lessons.

We also received a more detailed schedule for our time in China:

June 2-5th - Program begins at 8am. Day trips to cultural arts sites in Beijing: Traditional Chinese Opera, Modern Chinese Opera, Traditional Chinese Music and Chinese Acrobats.

June 6-7 - Visits to Golden Courage children's homes

June 8-13 - Teach curriculum at school site 1

June 14-19 - Teach curriculum at school site 2

June 20-21 - Visits to Golden Courage children's homes

June 22-26 - Day trips with children to famous sites in China

June 27-28 - Student presentations in China to Chinese government and school officials.

While I am officially finished with the program at 8pm on June 28, I will be staying in Asia for 2 extra weeks to explore. I'll be staying in Beijing until July 1 and then flying to Shanghai (staying for about 3 days). Then, on July 4, I will fly to Hong Kong and stay there for 3 days. I will fly to Bangkok, Thailand on July 8 and stay there until the 13th - when I fly back to Beijing, and ultimately back to the States. So my extra 2 weeks looks something like this:

Beijing - June 28-July 1

Shanghai - July 1-4

Hong Kong - July 4-7

Bangkok - July 8-13

(fly home July 13)

I am so excited to be able to see so much of Southeast Asia. The temples in Shanghai are supposed to be breathtaking. The city life, shopping and entertainment in Hong Kong is supposed to be a crazy good time and the city of Bangkok as well as the beaches on the coast are things that can only be described once experienced in person. I CANNOT WAIT.

I am also on the PhotoVoice team to teach our China team as well as the children in China how to use the program PhotoVoice (a tool that involves photography to help learn language and social justice. The children will learn how to use cameras and will take pictures to make a presentation. They will choose their favorite/best 4 pictures and present to the school why they chose those pictures, why those pictures are important to them, and what they learned using the PhotoVoice program.) I am also on a team to help edit a photobook/scrapbook that we will be making for the schools. We will collect pictures, quotes, journal entries, etc. and put them into a scrapbook-like album that we will mass print for the schools to sell on their websites as a fundraiser. So, not only do I get to combine my dance experience, my secret ambition to be an elementary art teacher but I also get to do photography!! This trip couldn't be more exciting for me.

We have another team meeting tomorrow evening (we meet every Tuesday) and then I have my GIEU retreat all weekend beginning Friday night.

I will post more information as I receive it. Tomorrow should be interesting, as we are going to meet with the Golden Courage International representatives and learn more about creating arts curricula for children/youth affected by AIDS. We will also be learning more about Mind/Body theory (and even have a brief Mandarin lesson!)

So, more to come!

Accepted!

2008-12-20T23:21:00.003-05:00

Yesterday evening I received my final placement for going abroad this summer with the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates (GIEU). I was assigned the China trip titled 'Cross Cultural Communication through Art: Community Work with HIV Affected Youth.' I'm SO EXCITED! The program description is as follows:

In collaboration with Golden Courage International and the University of Michigan Musical Society, GIEU students will use the arts to deepen their cross-cultural understanding, co-creating with Chinese artists, HIV/AIDS-orphaned youth and caring adults. They will experience Chinese arts and culture through performances and field trips and use the arts as a medium for teaching English to Chinese children and teachers.

The program is scheduled for June 1 - 29, 2009 and will take place in and around Beijing, China. The trip is basically divided into 4 weeks - each week filled with different activities and objectives.

Week 1: We will stay in Beijing while experiencing the arts of China, including traditional Chinese opera, modern Chinese opera, traditional Chinese music and Chinese acrobatics.

Week 2: We will volunteer in the public school system (K - high school) at an on-campus school site a few hours drive outside of Beijing, teaching English and American arts to Chinese youth.

Week 3: Similar to week 2. We will share our experiences from week 2 at a second on-campus school site that will give us an opportunity to practice our new skills a second time while connecting with more children in China and use our knowledge of culture to teach basic English conversation to the children, using arts to increase and enhance communication skills.

Week 4: We (U of M and the Chinese students) will experience China together by going to some of China's most famous sites. These sites include the Great Wall of China, Chinese night markets, Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the National Museum, Old Beijing, the Bird's Nest (aka: the Chinese Olympic stadium from Summer 2008), and National City. We will also create a final presentation and performance of experiences in China. This project will be presented in front of Chinese officials as well as University of Michigan community and friends with musical accompaniment provided by Chinese university students.

The school that we're collaborating with is called Golden Courage International (GCI). It is an incredible institution that rescues a number of Chinese youth from severe poverty, HIV/AIDS and prostitution in China. For most, it is an experience of a lifetime and they sound very excited and grateful to be part of such a wonderfully supported school. I urge you to check out the website and even read some of the children's biographies. They will melt your heart. I CANNOT WAIT to meet them this summer!

http://www.goldencourage.com/en/about_us.html

And so begin my adventures in China! For the next 4-6 months, I will be meeting with my team, going on retreats, learning Mandarin Chinese, planning a teaching curriculum for both the Chinese teachers and students, learning to use Photovoice (an arts teaching tool that focuses on photography) as well as many other activities that will enhance the experience and broaden my horizons.

Please check back often, as I will make updates throughout the winter semester in Ann Arbor. I have limited knowledge of what our hotel arrangements will be like in Beijing, but I have been told I will have internet access and therefore, will be blogging every night (I will be 13 hours ahead of Eastern time in the USA) to keep everyone up on what I'm doing. Pictures will be posted as I upload them onto my computer as well. For now, happy holidays and thank you all for your excitement!

Love and go blue!

Morgan