Summer of Service

Hey this is Jean, also password-less and using Francine's account to blog.

We're leaving Beijing tonight on the overnight train to Henan province, where we will be for the next seven days, staying at Luoyang, Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, and Kaufeng. Highlights include Shaolin temple, Yellow River Park, Longmen Grottoes and much more. Details to come (after we actually visit those places). After 7 days, we'll be on the overnight train to Jishou. We might be internet-less for the next few days, depending on the hotels we're staying at, but will try to post as often as possible.

So far the tour has been fantastic, but I'm looking forward to reaching Jishou, settling down and getting down to work (and finally doing laundry as well). Until then, it's good times in Henan province with the Dream Team!

Gotta run, dinner then catching our train for Henan!

More later,

Jean

Posted by Francine Saunders at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This is James, password forgotten, on Francine's account. So far, so good in the PRC. Better than good. Fan-freakin-tastic.

Let me tell you some things you definitely want to know. First and most obviously, the Great Wall is really, really big. The kind of big that makes you and everyone you know seem a little insignificant. And there is a slide with full time staff yelling 'slow down'. Chris Schlegel did not need this.

Second. Emperors used to occupy glorious sub-cities like the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. With them, thousands of servants. The male servants were eunuchs. They did not pose any threat to the emperor, for a number of reasons, including that they did not mac on the emperess. Instead, they did servant stuff, but also made suggestions, which were sometimes followed, as to how China ought to be governed. Many of these eunuchs were not politicians. All, in fact. Which explains some interesting historical blunders. The following speculation is based lightly in truth.

One of the suggestions? A marble boat. A marble boat which actually does not float. Which was paid for with funds misappropriated from the naval budget shortly preceding the naval defeat. Which followed the construction of a MARBLE BOAT. I thought that was funny and possibly suggested by a well-meaning eunuch.

Anyhow. If you were to select, at random, a person on this SOS trip to be your best friend, well, that would be a great deal. I'm a little surprised at how competent and hilarious this group is and feel incredibly lucky to be a part.

Tooting our collective horn, and for a damn good reason,

James

Posted by Francine Saunders at 5:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Well we did a lot of touristy stuff today. I revisited the great wall and we went to the summer palace. The great wall was ok. Once again the best part was taking the chute back down the mountain. I would climb 1,000 steps to do that again...ok maybe not 1,000, but you get the picture. The Summer palace was ok. Not really all that fun for me, but hey, now I can say that I did it. I'm kinda ready to get to Jishou, but at the same time I'm really looking forward to our trip there. It's going to be awesome. Alrighty thats it for now.

peace,
Francine

Posted by Francine Saunders at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hmm, we've been up to so much lately how do I pick what to write about? We had a great time in the Ming village and today we visited another part of the Great Wall. Trivia fact of the day: The Great Wall has a Great Slide that you can take down for about 5 American dollars. You know what I say? That was 5 dollars well spent. I've been wanted to do it since last year when I got too cheap to take it. I stupidly decided to go first so that I could feel the fear of being crashed into by all the other SOSers who were racing down. Still, I feel whole now.
Tonight we are taking an overnight train to ...somewhere. (It's hard to keep track. I'm just glad I know I'm in China). I'm really looking forward to it. Apparently, Betty and Lisa are preparing personal interview questions for us so we can do confessionals on camera, a la "Real World." So, stay tuned.

Posted by Ashley Johnson at 4:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Coming from somewhat of a Luddite upbringing, this is my first experience with a blog. But I've finally figured out how to use this thing I think so we're up and running!

It's 7:30 Beijing time and we're up to spend a day at the Summer Palace and then a more touristy chunk of the Great Wall. It will be hard to compare to what we saw hiking the other day outside the village but I'm sure it will be a great time.
Yesterday wandered around 798 Beijing Art District after the drive back from the village. It is a really incredible strip of town - somewhat detached and abstract but simultaneously defined by/ obsessed with Beijing's militaristic past. The art is versatile and all pretty interesting, from bead on silk replications of American currency, to sexualized suicide shots in public arenas, to photographs of daily life, to more classical Chinese prints. We picked up a few old chairman Mao propaganda posters lying in a stack in a little shop which I'm sure will not help me too much if I ever try to get a job with the state department.
Then it was back to the hostel, a quick shower and out again. Dan, James and I went back to the section of town (Western?) where Dan had tracked down a cello, and while he bought the cello, James and I picked out a gee-tar for the group to fiddle around on in Jishou. As of now we just have James' backpackers' guitar, a few kids who play and a bunch more who'd like to. Found a guitar with a big full-bodied sound for only 300 yuan!
Dinner of Peking duck and watching the acrobats also kind of crazy. 12 girls on one bicycle, and a guy that could do this little flip thing while balancing on a lever and flip porcelin bowls onto his head. Now the group is all assembled and it's time to head out so there will be more to come later!

Posted by Lisa Kelley at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, we're back in Beijing after a stellar trip to the Ming village, Chuandixia, and we're getting ready to go eat Peking duck and watch some acrobats... what could be better? Chuandixia and the surrounding countryside was perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Our hike up into the mountains to the Great Wall, while strenuous at times, gave us all a glimpse of some of the most beautiful vistas in the world. Our guide, Lao Leo, was apparently 76 years old and he out hiked all of us SOSers by far. (And he stopped to take a couple of cigarette breaks... go figure.) The high point for me was making it to the ruins of the Great Wall and walking across some of the rocks. The view of the surrounding mountains was so overwhelming that I can hardly put it into words but I can honestly say that it was one of the most incredible sights of my life and something that I will never forget.
It's hard to believe that I have been here less than a week. After spending a few days in Beijing and a few days in Chuandixia, I already feel comfortable in this environment and more than ready to take advantage of all that is ahead of us. More than anything, I am anxious to get to Jishou and begin teaching. All this travelling is amazing and I feel so pampered and luck to be here. But at the forefront of all of this is the fact that in just a week, we will be in Jishou, with our students, in the classroom. Until then, I'm loving all the great food, great people, the language, the sights, the smells, and the dirt.

Posted by Betty Cox at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm sitting at the internet cluster in the lobby of our hostel in Beijing, with some kid shooting zombies on the computer beside me, the Chinese desk clerk angrily arguing with what sounds like a Belgian behind me and the Chinese version of American Idol blaring across the TV above me, so now seems as good a time as any to add a blog entry. We're about to move out to a hip hop club, so if I stop in the middle, part two will follow in a few days.

Instead of trying to give any comprehensive sense of my past 10 days in Asia, I'll instead focus on the first two in Beijing, since they are the only ones in the city that I was unable to share with the other fellows. I got in on the 18th, met the indomitable Yam Ki who very kindly offered me his couch and his hospitality, and spent the 19th getting to know the city on my own. My big side project while here is recording. I'm a music major, and for my thesis, I'm hoping to compose a piece featuring a lot of found music. This means that for much of this trip, you'll find me striking out on my own with a microphone and a minidisc to record whatever interesting and unique sounds happen to surround me. So day one was a big recording day; I started out from Yam Ki's and simply lost myself on the streets of this busy, often bewildering city. This is my first time in Asia, and with everything around me new, it was great to have a full day to simply take in the environment on my own terms. Beijing is a singular city, and it lends a sense of its character quickly. Walking down the streets you are constantly surrounded by the din of construction and the constant rush of traffic, you are immediately coated with a flim of building dust and gobi desert. Everywhere you look, signs of the city's breakneck development abound. The city's countless construction projects are still largely done by hand, and when the early afternoon heat hammers the city, the workers fan out onto the sidewalk to sit and relax or steal some sleep. Despite all the din and rush, the city still sometimes offers more quietly shimmering moments, although it slips them to you covertly. I spent an hour or two in a park, the side of which was paved over by ruined buildings and parking lot, and the center of which was filled by a wide lake. On the other end was an amusement park, and the surface was dotted with swan boats. In one of these a couple had brought a portable radio, and from the shore, I recorded the tinny strains of melody drifting across the water.

Leslie, Rory and Ashley arrived that night. The following day, I rented a bike with Leslie and saw other parts of the city at faster speeds.

Posted by Daniel Hawkins at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been only 3 days, and, surprisingly, I already feel much more comfortable being in big old China. Oh course, it was really weird when I first arrived - I had no idea how to even say anything to the costums agent who greeted me at the airport, and everything seemed...well...foreign. Oh course, the language barrier was nothing compared to the road barriers. The first day involved a lot of "frogger" style road crossings, only, as Rory put it, "it's kind of funny...except that it's your life." By now though, I feel like I've somewhat gotten in the rythm. Just stand next to someone from Beijing and do exactly what they do, shadowing them the entire way across the street. Rules of the road seem not the apply here. I have honestly never seen more taxis, buses, trucks, cars, pedestrians, and bikes going in whatever direction they feel like (or on whatever side of the street they feel like). Yet, it all also somehow ends up being very rythmic. You see very few cars with even scratches on them. Once you get over the shock of driving into oncoming traffic to make a turn, it's actually very impressive how smoothly traffic flows for the seeming randomness of where on teh road people choose to drive.

I'm trying to pick up some Chinese while I'm here, and I'm proud to say that I'm making rapid progress: I can now pronounce "Beijing" properly. Actually, I've picked up a few other words too, but usually I repeat a phrase that I learn, think I've mastered it, and then forget it as soon as I stop repeating it in my head. Since I realized that I forgot to pack the t-shirts that I had layed out at home, I'm trying to master my Chinese negotiating skills. I have learned that pretty much over 30 quids (about US$3.50) for a t-shirt or a "Lacoste" shirt is getting ripped off and that negotiating isn't really as necessary as just stating a price and sticking to it.

On the food front, everything's been great, and we've been eating for princely sums of about the equivelent of US$1. Today, Leslie, James, and I went to a great little lunch place before visiting the Forbidden City. We toasted (or Gambeed) the owner, who recognized Leslie from 2 days ago and was very excited to see her again. This resulted in much appreciation from the owner and in the gift of 3 fresh cucumbers. We greatfully accepted the gift, took one bite each in the restaurant, walked out pretending to eat them as we left, and quickly found somewhere to get rid of them so that we wouldn't suffer from tap water washed, ground-grown, developing country vegetable stomache problems.

Tomorrow, we begin our trip with Wild China, so the next stop is a Ming Dynasty village.

-Andrew

Beijing

Posted by Andrew Turco at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You may be wondering why the title of this entry is 17 Mile. One word: Karaoke. Crazy karaoke. It was an interesting cultural fusion--American music in a distinctly Chinese setting with distinctly unreadable button commands in Mandarin.

Just to clarify, this is Mike Vinson and Chris Schlegel. We're doing a lil' two-for-one blog time. It's great.

So back to last night: we sang our little hearts out, Rory holding it down with a rousing 'Men in Black,' Francine busting out 'Waterfalls,' the rest of us trying desperately to match that performance with our tambourining/maraca-ing/yelling/harmonizing. (Crazy four-part harmony on all Backstreet Boys tunes.)

On a more serious note: Beijing is an absolutely busy place. Busy in all aspects--lots of people, lots of cars, buses merging into those cars, cars merging into bikes and pedestrians. The city is being built at a fever pitch in preparation for a post-2006 construction ban, so the smog is, at times, a little overwhelming. Back at the hostel at the end of the day we do our best to scrape the 'Beijing film' off our bodies. But we love it.

As for Mike's Chinese ability: it's ungodly. He has conversed with more people than could possibly be advisable, including female hotel clerks, Chinese tourists at the Forbidden City, &c., &c. Today he talked with a cabbie who loved translating Mike's and Lisa's second Chinese skit into English.

Oh, and the dialogues. The first was performed for many folk, most impressively at the Hot Pot in the Hutang last night. It was at times a bit difficult to follow but involved Mike and Lisa greeting each other, fighting, and ultimately parting on poor terms. They rectified the situation by the second.

Skit the First:

L: How are you?
M: I am fine, and you?
L: I'm fine.
M: Um...that's good. Um...how are your parents?
L: They're fine, and yours?
M: My parents are not fine.
L: Why?
M: I arrived in Beijing yesterday. Beijing is in the People's Republic of China.
L: You are a bad son.
M: I know, I know [head in hands, anguished].
L: Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You are a good person.
M: Thank you, thank you.
L: I love you.
M: I love you too, but you [edited].
L: I don't want you...goodbye!!
M: I don't want you either...goodbye...

Skit the Second [immediately following S v1.0]

M: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I love you.
L: Thank you.
M: Where did you go today?
L: I went to the bar.
M: Did you have fun?
L: Yes, very much fun.
M: What did you drink?
L: I drank green tea. Do you like green tea?
M: No, I do not like green tea. I like beer.
L: I like beer too.
M: Very good! Let's go to the bar.
L: Let's go! Very good!

[End]

So that's it for the skits. In all honesty, we're trying our best as a group to communicate. Chris went up to a few people today at the Temple of Heaven proudly announcing that the People's Republic of China would last for 10,000 years. Mike taught him everything he knows.

Mike's deep thought: 'It seems as though you can learn so much here if you just leave your ego at the door.'

Chris's deep thought: 'It's a bit anecdotal, but the Chinese people I've encountered don't mind if you speak Mandarin to them. Even if it's horrific Mandarin.'

Enough for now. We're super-duper excited about English teaching--a few of us taught a vendor today how to say 'Olympics.' Or we tried to teach. But we're ready for Jishou.

M & C.

Posted by Michael Vinson at 5:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Just settling in after a long day of orientation activities. I had a conversation with a cab driver today that was pretty interesting. Two years ago, I spent the summer in Beijing at the Princeton in Beijing program, and I was struck by the number of beggars on the streets of Beijing. Many of them were children. This time around, I have seen almost no beggars at all, and I asked the cab driver if he too had noticed this difference over the years. He said that the government has taken measures to address the city's poverty problem. The beggars are now living in homeless shelters (previously nonexistent) where they are given food and a place to sleep. The child beggars have been collected and placed in homes where they receive schooling until the age of 18.
It seems that the Beijing government is dealing with poverty in a very practical and appropriate way, and it will be interesting to see if things are done differently in Jishou.

That's all for now! Off to a hotpot dinner in the Hutong with the PiA alumni crew!

- Rory

Posted by Richard Truex at 4:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, it's about 9am in the morning here and I'm assuming, if everything went well at the airport, that the group is complete! We have all 12 people and are ready to go. Today we are going to meet up with C.P. Chou, the head of the Princeton in Beijing program, to discuss what it is like running a language school and how to motivate students. Yesterday we went to the Forbidden city and Tiananmen Square, then met Logan Li, a Beijing University student who is going to be volunteering with us. Rock out. Thank you Logan. Rory wants to call him "Wolverine" because everyone here has a nickname, which I will list out below, but I really feel that this particular name is not fitting for Logan. Here's the thing. You can't plan out a nickname, they just happen and you have to embrace that. Dinner with Logan was followed by watching the disappointing US soccer game. For your reference, here are the current nicknames:
Jean - Jean Machine
Rory- Rorysaince
Francine - Laffy Taffy
Dan - The Hawk
Turco- Turco
Lisa - Lisa Kelley (brilliant, no?)
James- Hammsterdam
Ashley - A.J.
Chris - Schlegel
Mike - The Manamal (a very new one)
Leslie - L$
Betty - ...(Let's talk about this later)

Posted by Ashley Johnson at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chiiiiinnnaaaa! Just got in yesterday and it feels good to be back. Jean, Daniel, Ashley, Leslie and I spent yesterday walking around Beijing and doing some all important errands: cell phones, money exchange, embassy registration, and buying sweet fake NBA jerseys. We also had a bit of time to wander around the hutong, Beijing's dilapidated network of alleyways that is home to many of the city's residents. We met a talking bird, a bunch of stray dogs that looked scared out of their minds, and an old Chinese man that followed us around saying "meiguo hao, meiguo hao" (America is good, America is good).

We had quite a few taxi rides yesterday and we were able to get a sense of the city's development. Beijing is rapidly preparing for the Olympics, and completely new districts seem to sprout up overnight. Every other block is a major construction project. The city itself is separated into rings surrounding Tiananmen square and the Forbidden city (like planetary orbits in the solar system, if you can picture it), and an entire ring has been added over the past year and a half, expanding the city miles outward in all directions. Beijing is a city of opposites; multimillion dollar office buildings shadow the rundown hutongs, rich CEOs work only minutes away from people struggling to get by, and traditional Chinese architecture is blended together with modern skyscrapers. In a many ways, Beijing's development is microcosm of China's development as a nation. As it develops, the city and the country struggle to preserve traditional culture and raise the standard of living for all its residents, not just the fortunate few.

Ok enough of that. The rest of the group comes in tonight. Looking forward to seeing everyone and perhaps catching the US soccer game at a local bar.

Quote of the Day: (translated) "US soccer is terrible. The only thing worse than US soccer is Chinese soccer" - Beijing cab driver

- Rory

Posted by Richard Truex at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I've been wanting to write something in the blog for quite some time about how nice it was to have some time after school ended and before we headed to China to really think about the trip, prepare for it, read up on China, pick up little momentos from home, etc...so I guess that's why it's now the night before I leave that I'm writing as I'm nervously trying to throw the last few things together and into my bag.

Except for the last minute rush, it really has been nice to be able to have a few weeks between the end of school and my departure flight to be able to share my plans with friends and to have some time to actually enjoy preparing for our adventures instead of trying to get ready in the midst of a million other things. At this point, I have a bunch of images of what I think everything from Beijing to my classroom will look like. That's of course in addition to the physical images that I have in the form of postcards of New York to show my students.

Anyway, I don't have too much to say at this point, except that I know that by the time I post my next entry, this one will probably feel like a million years ago. I'm just getting ready for my last night in my own bed and I've spent the day taking in the fresh air and familiar sites around my house and neighborhood. Now, I'm ready for China. Off to a dinner of non-Chinese food with my family and a few friends in the backyard...

New Rochelle, NY - June 20, 2006

Posted by Andrew Turco at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

verrrrry surreal to be putting my first post on this blog from Japan, but with my flight to beijing coming up in a few hours, I thought I'd put something down before I get to china. My flight in a few hours also means, however, that this has got to be short. Like everybody else, my main thought at the moment is how PSYCHED I am to get this whole business underway. I've spent the last few days hanging around Tokyo, and I'll spend the next few days hanging around Beijing, but I really just want to get rolling. Meet up once again with the dream team, get acquainted with this magnificent country I'll be spending my summer in... you know, the JUICE of it.

My friend is bothering me to get on the train to Narita, so I gotta roll. I cannot wait to get this project underway and I am so excited and honored to be doing it with such fantastic people.

Beijing will meet its first SOSer in ~8 hrs!

daniel

Posted by Daniel Hawkins at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Thought it'd be good to include a good group photo so you can identify the blog entry with a face.

Here we are at a Chinese restaurant in Princeton during our first dinner together.

Third Row - Andrew, Leslie, James, Chris, Anastasia
Second Row - Betty, Rory, Lisa
First Row - Mike, Daniel, Jean Ashley, Francine

Posted by Richard Truex at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok guys. I admit it. I'm nervous as a fish on land. I will say that this blog here reignites my excitement for china, but I can't help think about the fact that I'm going literally half-way across the globe to do something I've never done before...teach English. What an opportunity!! Too bad the reaction that I get from people here is, "China? Again? But why? [said with a whiny, child-like voice]." They'll get over it lol. Can't wait to see you crazy cats over there in that hot Zhongguo (thats "China" for the non-speakers) sun. Catch you on the flip side!

-Francine

Posted by Francine Saunders at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The program starts in 3 weeks, and now that we have some people starting to follow the Blog, it's probably about time to explain a little more about what we will be doing this summer.

Summer of Service is a student-initiated program sponsored by Princeton in Asia. The program was created with several purposes in mind. First, the program will offer Princeton students an opportunity to understand another culture by living and working in China. Most of the program participants have never been to China before, and this summer offers a great opportunity to escape the Princeton bubble and see the world. Second, SOS will provide underprivileged Chinese university students the opportunity to study English with foreign teachers, an opportunity usually extended only to students in China's more developed eastern cities. Third, the program will promote internationalism and cross-cultural understanding, strengthening ties between China and the U.S. at a grass roots level.

We will be teaching an English immersion program at the University of Jishou, Teachers College. In China, most English education focuses on grammar and written work, with little emphasis on accuracy of speech and listening comprehension. Our program will focus primarily on improving the students' spoken English, and small class sizes will allow us to give our students the personal attention needed to attain language fluency. Many of our 150 students come from underprivileged, minority backgrounds. Many of them are students at the University of Jishou, but around 50 of them are actually English teachers in the Hunan province. We will improve the English of these teachers, having a ripple-effect throughout the region.

I will post some more detailed information in the next few days.

Posted by Richard Truex at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

So I just finished writing in the journal, and I figured hey, why not write in the blog too while I'm at it? So that is what I am doing. While listening to Chinese music...how Asian of me...oh wait, I am.

Anyway, I'm still at school for reunions, but I can't wait for Beijing, random village and Jishou! I picked up some pens from the U-store, as well as several sketched cards with Princeton buildings. I may drop by again to pick up more pencils, just in case(!), so let me know if you want me to get you some more Princeton souvenirs.

A few days ago, I was at Borders and bought a nice blank sketchbook. I think in addition to the blog and the group journal, I'm going to keep a personal journal/scrapbook too (for journal entries, random pictures, tickets, etc.). When I'm older it'll probably be nice to have something to jog my memory and remind me of the good times (not that I'd forget or anything).

That's about all, I hope you all are enjoying reunions or home!!

Jean

Posted by Jean Hsu at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

since i've been home, i've had more than a few times the awkward summertime conversation, 'where are you working,' &c. kids my age twist their faces into horrible shapes and ask why china; adults my parents' age seem to think i'll become a communist. this, until i tell them i sort of already am a communist, and then they just leave me alone.

i hope all you guys are doing well in your respective home states, pennsylvania is as beautiful as i remembered it, though when i walked into my room a few days ago it was strewn with boxes and the instructions for what seems to be a do-it-yourself jacuzzi kit. i'm sleeping in the living room.

as for chinese culture, my parents continually bring it up at dinner, in wal-mart, during phone conversations. tonight we had some so-so beef stir-fry from hunan palace, which used to be a quaint little gas station on the outskirts of town. i told my folks as best i could that the meal was delicious, though probably not nearly hot or giardia-y enough to approximate things overseas.

on a (more) serious note: i'm extremely excited to hear about your breaks and, of course, to see you come the mid-end of june. is anyone else flying out of philly in the a.m. (ashley i'm looking at you) and/or out of dallas at 12:05 p.m. on the 20th?

have fun but not too much (mike i'm looking at you).

was that last jab too easy?

chris.

Posted by Christian Schlegel at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)