Maggie Liu
Production Editor
The strong wind buffets the small group of Temple City juniors as they struggle up the last few steps of the Great Wall of China; the breathtaking sight of endless hills and lush vegetation makes up for the weather and their exhaustion as they look down from the top of this amazing monument.
“It seemed magical; this piece of wall was built from so long ago yet it still stands today,” Junior Eric Chen said. “The steps were really steep and scary, but all in all it was a great experience to see what it felt like back then.”
A small group of students, Juniors Calvin Chan, Kyle Chan, Eric Chen, Josh Chun, Brandon Kuo, Dennis Lee, Briana Li, Karen Liang, Janice Ly and Sean Niwa, chose to spend their spring break touring China and immersing themselves in its culture by applying what they have learned in the past few years about the country and its language.
The trip began on April 1, and along with the Mandarin teacher, Ms. Susan Zheng, the group travelled the eastern half of the country and hit three major cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an.
Besides the Great Wall of China, their voyages allowed them to visit many sites that they encountered in their textbooks, including Tiananmen Square, the Jade Buddha Temple, the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Terracotta Army, located in Xi’an.
“[Xi’an was my favorite place] because the activities we did there were more about the history, unlike Shanghai, which was more commercial and more modern,” Chan said. “It was more interesting to see.”
At Beijing, students ate dinner at traditional Chinese compound and, later, asked the cook questions about his profession. Their tour guide, a native of Xi’an, also narrated stories about living in the country as he drove the students around. Their experiences there exposed them to the differences between their lives in the United States and those in China.
“The people and how they live, I think, struck me as different. Even though we were sheltered in our tour group, we could still see the lives the people had to endure. You see the slums, and so that struck me,” Lee said. “I mean, I already knew about it but to see it is different. That’s probably the thing I remember most in China.”
Besides touring, the students shopped in Shanghai, watched an acrobatics show, practiced tai-chi, took a ride on a rickshaw and biked on the city wall of Xi’an.
Of course, going to a foreign country meant that speaking the language was a must. Even though their tour was directed towards English speakers, it was still necessary for them to speak Mandarin when interacting with locals, whether to shop or meet new people.
“[A couple of guys and I] had a gentleman’s wager to see who could get a picture with the prettiest girl,” Lee said. “We had to use Chinese to talk to them to try and get a picture with them.”
For some students, the rare opportunity of visiting China with friends was an escape and allowed them to get closer than they ever thought they would.
“I miss the times we had together. Lao shi [Chinese for teacher] was really relaxed and we saw a new side of her. I miss the times when we could wake up in the morning and see each other right away,” Chen said. “Basically, we just chilled with each other, ran around half-naked in our boxer, locked people out and made jokes about each other.”
Their time in China goes to show that students intending to take a language for three or four years should take advantage of the school’s cultural immersion program.