The biggest test in a high school student’s life is the gao cao. Like the American SATs and ACTs, the gao cao tests how a student will do in 5 subjects like math, English, science, etc. The gao cao is out of seven hundred and eighty points and unlike the SATs and ACTs where they can be retaken multiple times through the year, an average Chinese student will most likely only take it once during his or her high school career, thus putting even more stress on Chinese students. To make sure the students are adequately learning enough information, some teachers will give students extra classes in certain subjects on the weekends. My host sister, Sheng Nan, normally has physics classes every Saturday from 2 o’clock pm to 5 o’clock, however, the physics teacher still didn’t feel as if the students were learning enough, so last Tuesday, he gave my class two extra physics classes after school. Since my class follows the middle school schedule, where school end at 3 pm, they ended up staying in school until 5 just to have those extra classes. Naturally, if this were to happen at Newton South, I think students would end up attending but I think that it would be more subject to objection.
In China, there are only a small handful of good universities one can attend. The two most celebrated universities are Bei Da (Beijing University) and Tsing Hua Da. There are certainly a few other colleges that are good but besides those few, there aren’t a lot of choices to choose from. After talking to a few people, I learned that if your scores can’t get you into one of those acclaimed schools than it’s like you might as well not go to college. Since there’s only one chance to get a good score on the gao cao, the pressure is on to do well.
There are a few extra ways one can earn extra points on the gao cao. For example, the gao cao awards 5 extra points to minority students. So only if the student was not of Han descent can they get those five extra points added on. My host dad is of Han descent but my host mom is of Meng descent. Originally Sheng Nan followed her fathers’s ethnic background and was of Han descent for a while, but once she began school, she switched over to follow her moms ethnic background now making her of Meng descent. And I know what you’re thinking, but no, you can’t fake your ethnic background because everyone who is a citizen of China has a small identity card and on it lists your ethnic group. There are people who research into your background to ensure that you really are who you say you are, so it makes lying even harder. The other ways to get extra points on the gao cao is by winning a science competition or enter a swimming competition and beat a certain time set. Every little point matters on the gao cao.
It’s very interesting to find how the gao cao impacts the lives of Chinese students. Sheng Nan’s only in middle school but already for these past few years, teachers have been bringing up the gao cao every once in a while to remind them to study hard. As Sheng Nan once told me, “studying is the way to change one’s future.”
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Grade 9 Class 5
After attending class for three months and a half now, I have witnessed many things going on in my grade 9 class 5 classroom. The middle school ranges from grades six through nine while the high school ranges from grades 10 through 12. What sets my class apart from the other middle school classes is that they are currently taking high school courses half a year earlier than the rest of their grade. The students had to take a placement test to see which class they were suitable for and the students in my class scored the highest, placing them in class five.
Typically, at the end of ninth grade, the middle school students have to take and pass the zhong cao to move on to high school, however, by doing well in school and having enough smarts to be in class 5, my classmates are kind of exempt from the zhong cao. They still have to take it though, but only to signify that they have taken it. The score they get on it doesn’t really matter. Although they are part of the middle school, they can also be considered part of the high school since they are learning high school material.
Right now, my class is in an awkward transition between the two schools, middle and high school. They wear high school uniforms but they don’t participate in any of the high school activities like the high school singing competition and middle school activities. During the all school spring outing, my class stayed behind at school and didn’t go because they were not considered part of the middle or high school.
I think the closest Newton South class level equivalent to my 9-5 class is honors. The students in my class are the brightest in their grade and they have a difficult and face paced curriculum. However, if a student fails to consistently do well, then they can be bumped down a class level.
How a student does on a test ranges extremely. Since there are fifty students in my class, it’s hard for a teacher to take the time to pin point each students weakness and help him or her correct it. On a typical test, only a few students will get above an 80% and below a 50%. The majority of the student’s grades will range from 50 to the high 70s. There is a big margin separating the students who do extremely well and the kids who are failing. Typically, in America, grades aren’t that scattered.
As time is winding down and I’ve only got a couple weeks left here in China, I realize how much I will miss my class.
Typically, at the end of ninth grade, the middle school students have to take and pass the zhong cao to move on to high school, however, by doing well in school and having enough smarts to be in class 5, my classmates are kind of exempt from the zhong cao. They still have to take it though, but only to signify that they have taken it. The score they get on it doesn’t really matter. Although they are part of the middle school, they can also be considered part of the high school since they are learning high school material.
Right now, my class is in an awkward transition between the two schools, middle and high school. They wear high school uniforms but they don’t participate in any of the high school activities like the high school singing competition and middle school activities. During the all school spring outing, my class stayed behind at school and didn’t go because they were not considered part of the middle or high school.
I think the closest Newton South class level equivalent to my 9-5 class is honors. The students in my class are the brightest in their grade and they have a difficult and face paced curriculum. However, if a student fails to consistently do well, then they can be bumped down a class level.
How a student does on a test ranges extremely. Since there are fifty students in my class, it’s hard for a teacher to take the time to pin point each students weakness and help him or her correct it. On a typical test, only a few students will get above an 80% and below a 50%. The majority of the student’s grades will range from 50 to the high 70s. There is a big margin separating the students who do extremely well and the kids who are failing. Typically, in America, grades aren’t that scattered.
As time is winding down and I’ve only got a couple weeks left here in China, I realize how much I will miss my class.
Being an ABC in CHN
ABC stands for American Born Chinese, which is what I am. I love being an ABC but it’s a little different being one in China. At least once a week, I get asked “你是中国人吗?” (Are you Chinese?) and I mainly reply “我是美国人.” (I am American). Out of the probably hundred times I’ve been asked that, I’ve gotten a mixed responses ranging from “Oh my god, that’s so cool!” to “No, you look Chinese, so you must be from China . Why is it that your parents never taught you Chinese?” However, most of the time I just get smiles from people but once in a while, I get the occasional frown as if it’s incomprehensible to have a American born Chinese person who can’t speak Mandarin.
People in China mostly think of white people coming from America and some of them fail to realize that not all Americans are white. They haven’t really adjusted to the fact that America is a big melting pot for many different races and cultures, so you can have Asian Americans, African Americans, Canadian Americans, and so on. It’s a little difficult for some people to wrap their minds around the fact that I’m an ABC and that when they ask me what country I’m from, I automatically say America. It would make sense that I would reply with America because after all I was born and raised there. The thing that goes through many Chinese people’s minds is: if she looks Chinese and her parents are Chinese, then why isn’t she from China?
The thing about being an ABC in China is that the people here expect more from you. Non-Asian foreigners can get away with a simple “Ni hao” and end having people clapping and cheering for them, but as for me, it’s expected that I know how to speak fluent Mandarin.
At first when people started asking me about my background, whether or not my parents were Chinese, and why I couldn’t speak mandarin, I thought it was really strange. Normally, in America, people don’t normally ask you personal questions two seconds upon meeting you. In America, I don’t get asked whether or not I’m fluent in Chinese and my relatives, some of whom who do not speak English, don’t get asked why they can’t speak English.
Although those are the cons to being an ABC in China, there are certainly its perks. People don’t jack up prices as much when I’m at a marketplace that people can bargain in and taxi drivers don’t purposely take longer routes or drive around in circles assuming I know my way around China. And it’s not like everyone I meet shows disdain towards my identification as an American, it’s only a few compared to the many more who find it intriguing. The pros always outweigh the cons.
My advice for future ABC’s who aren’t fluent in Mandarin, is for them not to take it personally. Sure, I’ve been a little annoyed at times with the constant questioning and might have complained but not once have I taken their questioning personally or held a grudge. People in China are just curious and it’s alright for them to be. Just remember to always be friendly and smile.
People in China mostly think of white people coming from America and some of them fail to realize that not all Americans are white. They haven’t really adjusted to the fact that America is a big melting pot for many different races and cultures, so you can have Asian Americans, African Americans, Canadian Americans, and so on. It’s a little difficult for some people to wrap their minds around the fact that I’m an ABC and that when they ask me what country I’m from, I automatically say America. It would make sense that I would reply with America because after all I was born and raised there. The thing that goes through many Chinese people’s minds is: if she looks Chinese and her parents are Chinese, then why isn’t she from China?
The thing about being an ABC in China is that the people here expect more from you. Non-Asian foreigners can get away with a simple “Ni hao” and end having people clapping and cheering for them, but as for me, it’s expected that I know how to speak fluent Mandarin.
At first when people started asking me about my background, whether or not my parents were Chinese, and why I couldn’t speak mandarin, I thought it was really strange. Normally, in America, people don’t normally ask you personal questions two seconds upon meeting you. In America, I don’t get asked whether or not I’m fluent in Chinese and my relatives, some of whom who do not speak English, don’t get asked why they can’t speak English.
Although those are the cons to being an ABC in China, there are certainly its perks. People don’t jack up prices as much when I’m at a marketplace that people can bargain in and taxi drivers don’t purposely take longer routes or drive around in circles assuming I know my way around China. And it’s not like everyone I meet shows disdain towards my identification as an American, it’s only a few compared to the many more who find it intriguing. The pros always outweigh the cons.
My advice for future ABC’s who aren’t fluent in Mandarin, is for them not to take it personally. Sure, I’ve been a little annoyed at times with the constant questioning and might have complained but not once have I taken their questioning personally or held a grudge. People in China are just curious and it’s alright for them to be. Just remember to always be friendly and smile.
Monday, April 13, 2009
During Qing Ming festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival), my dad took Carolyn and I to Xi’an! We left early Saturday morning and arrived there an hour and a half later. After our arrival in Xi’an, we took a forty minute from the airport to see the Terracotta Warriors. Once we arrived there, we picked up an English speaking guide and then proceeded into the 3 tombs where they were located.
Insert picture DSCF3493 (this is one of the three tombs)
I thought it was amazing how they were able to reconstruct the Terracotta Warriors because after hundreds of years of being buried underneath tons of dirt, the pieces all got smashed into bits and pieces. Out of the hundreds of Terracotta Warriors built, only one managed to survive intact. By looking at their attire and their weapons, you can learn to distinguish the ranking of each one. There are four different ranks and rolls for the warriors. They can either be a general, a soldier, an acrobat, a musician, and etc.
At first, while we were driving there, I thought Xi’an was going to be dull because the scenery was just dead yellow grass and there wasn’t much to look at, however, it wasn’t until we were driving back towards the city that I began to notice how beautiful Xi’an is.
Another place we visited was this gorgeous park. There were flowers blossoming everywhere and in almost every direction you turned, there would be someone flying huge kites around. In the center of the park was a huge statue of this guy (he apparently helped guard this mythical creature named the Monkey King).
Insert Pic
Xi’an was definitely worth going to. I kind of wished I stayed for a few more days because although I saw quite a few infamous places there, I feel like there were some parts that I missed.
Insert picture DSCF3493 (this is one of the three tombs)
I thought it was amazing how they were able to reconstruct the Terracotta Warriors because after hundreds of years of being buried underneath tons of dirt, the pieces all got smashed into bits and pieces. Out of the hundreds of Terracotta Warriors built, only one managed to survive intact. By looking at their attire and their weapons, you can learn to distinguish the ranking of each one. There are four different ranks and rolls for the warriors. They can either be a general, a soldier, an acrobat, a musician, and etc.
At first, while we were driving there, I thought Xi’an was going to be dull because the scenery was just dead yellow grass and there wasn’t much to look at, however, it wasn’t until we were driving back towards the city that I began to notice how beautiful Xi’an is.
Another place we visited was this gorgeous park. There were flowers blossoming everywhere and in almost every direction you turned, there would be someone flying huge kites around. In the center of the park was a huge statue of this guy (he apparently helped guard this mythical creature named the Monkey King).
Insert Pic
Xi’an was definitely worth going to. I kind of wished I stayed for a few more days because although I saw quite a few infamous places there, I feel like there were some parts that I missed.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Classes at Jing-Shan
The American classes are the silver lining to each new school day at Jing-Shan. Our American classes are scattered throughout the course of the day so that way we don’t have to sit through the Jing-Shan classes not understanding a single word of a lecture. Wednesdays are the worst days because we don’t have our American classes until after lunch. Our American classes consist of martial arts, tai chi, brush painting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese, English, and knot tying.
Of all our American classes, my favorite is knot tying class. We only have knot tying on Fridays, period 1 and period 2. The knot tying teacher is really sweet and she’s so good at knot tying. Just by taking a glance at your knot, she can quickly tell you whether or not its dui (correct) or bu dui (incorrect).
Of all our American classes, my favorite is knot tying class. We only have knot tying on Fridays, period 1 and period 2. The knot tying teacher is really sweet and she’s so good at knot tying. Just by taking a glance at your knot, she can quickly tell you whether or not its dui (correct) or bu dui (incorrect).
Last Friday, I got the chance to talk to her before class began and I found out that her son’s in my class! She wouldn’t tell me his name because she wanted me to guess who he is. She gave me two hints, only one of which I understood, which is that her son is shy. After hearing this, I was like great… he won’t be difficult to identify out of our class of 50 students and 36 of them being boys. Haha..Chinese calligraphy is sometimes fun but it’s very tedious and slow going so you need a lot of patience for it. It takes a lot of practice just to perfect each character stroke. Usually, during one of our art classes, one person always ends up getting frustrated.
Chinese brush painting is one of the few ancient Chinese arts that I enjoy doing. It’s less tedious than Chinese calligraphy and it looks very pretty too.
(my pitiful attempt at trying to draw a bamboo tree)
Monday, March 9, 2009
北京奥林匹克: 水立方和鸟巢
On Saturday, the American group and I took a field trip to go see and go into the Birds Nest and the Water Cube.We boarded a small mini bus in front of Jing-Shan around 8:40ish and arrived around 9:20. We got off the bus and immediately heard the song Beijing Huan Ying Ni blasting through the loud speakers all around the streets.
Upon arriving, we first went to the Olympic park to walk around. Located down the street from the Birds Nest and the Water Cube, the Olympic Park was pretty peaceful. It was kind of like a forest. There were many trees off into the distant and there were many big rocks surrounding the area. Since some of the others, Hannah, Clara, and Carolyn and I were tired, we decided to sit down while the rest of the group walked around the park.
Afterwards, we headed off to see the inside of the Water Cube. I had wanted to go inside the Water Cube for the longest time after watching Michael Phelps on t.v. winning his eight gold medals.
When I entered the Water Cube, I was so surprised. The inside of it was so peaceful and calm. On the left wall, there was an LCD t.v. screen showing clips from the 2008 Olympic events.It was hard to believe that last year, the whole arena was packed with athletes from all different countries all over the entire world competing to be number 1. The diving boards were my favorite. I took so many pictures of that. From a distance, the diving boards don't look that tall and the decieving height makes diving look kind of easy. But in reality, the diving boards are of course really high up.
This is where Michael Phelps won his 8 gold medals!!!!
The pools and the whole room give off such a peaceful feeling. It feels like you're being transported away to a more serene place.
You couldn't go down to where the pool is since there were people guarding the area.
The ceiling is decorated to look like large bubbles. The outside of the water cube looks better during the night because each bubble can change colors, so one second the whole water cube would be green and the next the water cube would change to red and etc.
The last place we visited to that day was the Birds Nest.The inside of it was huge. There were probably more than a million seats circling around inside the arena.
It was an open ceiling so sun light beamed down from high above and hit the floor of the stadium. The stadium was huge. In the middle, there were huge Fuwa statues that people could chose to pose next to and get their picture taken.
A few minutes into the visit, a scheduled performance began. Six people dressed in Fuwa costumes danced around, doing hand gestures and jumps, while loud playful music played in the background. There were five Olympic mascots: BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, and NiNi dancing. The sixth performer was an ox representing this years Zodiac animal. All together the six of the danced for about five to eight minutes. After watching the small performance, I noticed the running track on the floor. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago, Usain Bolts, the fastest man in the world, set and broke multiple new world records.
I would definitely love to go back to see the Birds Nest and the Water Cube. Although I liked the Birds Nest, I loved the Water Cube and wouldn't mind going back there a few hundred times more.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Differences
Sorry I haven’t been updating for a while, my internet connection on my host family’s laptop wasn’t really working.
There has been so much going on at Jing-Shan. Last week, instead of morning exercises, all the students had to running laps around the school. The students would line up single file with their classes, boys in one line and girls in another line, and then run behind their class leader circling around the school and the basketball courts. When I was first told that we had to run outside, I was really excited, until I found out how freezing cold it was. It was so cold that my ‘run’ turned into a slow jog. Our class leader ran very quickly, so by the end of the run, the whole class was beat red and began loudly panting after running as hard as they could to try to keep up with him.
After being at Jing-Shan for two full weeks, I’ve noticed quite a few differences between the schools in America and the schools in China. The teachers in China are usually much respected; however, during class students don’t necessarily give all their undivided attention to them. I’ve noticed that in many of my classes, kids around me do homework for other classes instead of listening to their teacher lecture. The teacher does take notice that students aren’t paying attention and that they are doing homework for other classes, but he//she doesn’t do anything about it. The boy who sits in front of me does his physics homework while in math. Doing this minimizes the hours of homework they would have to do later on when they get back home. My host sister, Shengnan, has virtually no homework when she gets home so all she does is study for the next day’s test or quiz. In America, the teachers do mostly get the students undivided attention and if the students do homework that’s not relevant to their current class, the teachers would get angry and tell them to stop.
Another more noticeable difference I’ve seen here is that, at Jing-Shan, students don’t switch classrooms unless it’s for an elective. Usually, the students stay in one classroom while the teachers move. I think in some ways this is better because the students don’t have to hectically find rush to their next class. I’ve also noticed that the kids in my classroom have a tight bond with each other. Unlike the schools in America, where your classmates in each class can vary, the students at Jing-Shan have the same classmates for every class. I think there are definitely pros and cons to this because in some ways, the students can form tightly-knit bonds with each other and become like one big family however, in other ways, students would end up having a harder time interacting with kids from other classes.
Although schools in China have many differences compared with schools in America, it’s impossible to say which school system is better because each one has its own benefits and its own flaws.
This week so far has been really fun and exciting. My new favorite teacher is the music teacher. He’s very funny. He teachers choir but most of the time he’s the one singing while his students are busy chatting and texting away on their cell phones.
Right now, it’s late Sunday night and I should probably go to bed soon. Tomorrow’s the start of another school week and I can’t wait for it to begin.
There has been so much going on at Jing-Shan. Last week, instead of morning exercises, all the students had to running laps around the school. The students would line up single file with their classes, boys in one line and girls in another line, and then run behind their class leader circling around the school and the basketball courts. When I was first told that we had to run outside, I was really excited, until I found out how freezing cold it was. It was so cold that my ‘run’ turned into a slow jog. Our class leader ran very quickly, so by the end of the run, the whole class was beat red and began loudly panting after running as hard as they could to try to keep up with him.
After being at Jing-Shan for two full weeks, I’ve noticed quite a few differences between the schools in America and the schools in China. The teachers in China are usually much respected; however, during class students don’t necessarily give all their undivided attention to them. I’ve noticed that in many of my classes, kids around me do homework for other classes instead of listening to their teacher lecture. The teacher does take notice that students aren’t paying attention and that they are doing homework for other classes, but he//she doesn’t do anything about it. The boy who sits in front of me does his physics homework while in math. Doing this minimizes the hours of homework they would have to do later on when they get back home. My host sister, Shengnan, has virtually no homework when she gets home so all she does is study for the next day’s test or quiz. In America, the teachers do mostly get the students undivided attention and if the students do homework that’s not relevant to their current class, the teachers would get angry and tell them to stop.
Another more noticeable difference I’ve seen here is that, at Jing-Shan, students don’t switch classrooms unless it’s for an elective. Usually, the students stay in one classroom while the teachers move. I think in some ways this is better because the students don’t have to hectically find rush to their next class. I’ve also noticed that the kids in my classroom have a tight bond with each other. Unlike the schools in America, where your classmates in each class can vary, the students at Jing-Shan have the same classmates for every class. I think there are definitely pros and cons to this because in some ways, the students can form tightly-knit bonds with each other and become like one big family however, in other ways, students would end up having a harder time interacting with kids from other classes.
Although schools in China have many differences compared with schools in America, it’s impossible to say which school system is better because each one has its own benefits and its own flaws.
This week so far has been really fun and exciting. My new favorite teacher is the music teacher. He’s very funny. He teachers choir but most of the time he’s the one singing while his students are busy chatting and texting away on their cell phones.
Right now, it’s late Sunday night and I should probably go to bed soon. Tomorrow’s the start of another school week and I can’t wait for it to begin.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tour of the School
It's only been two days into school at Jing-Shan and I already love it there. My favorite class so far is English, firstly, because it's the only class I fully understand and secondly, because the teacher is so nice and friendly. The teachers first name is Shirley but I think we call her Li Lao Shi. She is the nicest teacher I've met so far at school.
Today, Ms. Jang (the head of the exchange program in China) and Ms. Wong (an English teacher at Jing-Shan who went to America last September) gave the American kids a tour around the school. They showed us the language lab. It has many computers lined up along the walls and a circular conferance table in the middle. Wha'ts amazing about Jing-Shan's language lab is that the students there don't use it just to do listening activities or partner speaking, they also do a lot of international communications stuff with other students living in different countries like France. For example, if the Jing-Shan students had to do a project with students from France, the Jing-Shan students and the French students would go to their own language lab at their own school and then chat with each other via webcam or something. It's kind of like skype. It's really cool. Also, The Jing-Shan school does a lot to help other schools around China with fewer resources. If a school in Sichuan doesn't have a textbook but a teacher from Jing-Shan knows the material well, the Sichuan students would go to their language lab in their Sichuan high school and the Jing-Shan teacher would go to the Jing-Shan language lab and then he//she would teach the Sichuan students through the computer. It's really fascinating how advanced our technology is now compared to 50 years ago.
Afterwards, we went to Jing-Shan's trophy // memorabilia room. They have many framed pieces of paper with Chinese calligraphy written on it. They're written by important people and hung all around the room. Jang Lao Shi then showed us this one picture of a little girl talking to an American astronaut and the principal of Jing-Shan. It turned out that that litle girl was a genius and came up with an invention that would help spin silk from silk worms in space. This happened many years ago, so I'm guessing by now, she might be in her 20's. There are pictures of her early childhood hung all around Jing-Shan.
Later, we went to see the gym and the swimming pool. To get there we had to go through this corridor filled with plants and fish for biology classes. On one side of the corridor, you can look into the science laboratory and see the 30 microscopes lined up on top of the tables.
We walked through this hallway that looked like it could belong in a science museum. The walls were all painted nicely and there were leaves and gourds hanging from the ceiling. There were dinosaur foot prints and different types of rock displayed in a glass case. It felt as if we got transported to the children's museum in Boston.
The pool in Jing-Shan is huge. It's 50 meters long. There's a shallow end and a deep end. In order to swim in the deep end, you have to pass a test, which is to swimm 100 meters. You basically swim to one end of the pol and swim back. You can use any swimming stroke you want, including the doggy paddle. Haha.
Another cool thing about Jing-Shan is that it's got the coolest rock climbing wall. You can't use it unless you're with an instructor but it's still pretty awesome. The furthur left you go on the wall, the harder it is to climb up it.
Tomorrow's Wednesday, so my classes are as follows: first period= chemistry, second period= chemistry, third period= physics, fourth period= English, fifth period= English, 1 hour and 20 minutes of lunch and recess, 6th period= Chinese, and finally 7th period= Chinese. I'm so excited for school tomorrow because we will be starting morning excersices! The Jing-Shan school is definitely the school to be at in Beijing.
(I really wanted to post pictures but couldn't because my internets kinda bad. It keeps failing to upload the pictures for some reason.)
Today, Ms. Jang (the head of the exchange program in China) and Ms. Wong (an English teacher at Jing-Shan who went to America last September) gave the American kids a tour around the school. They showed us the language lab. It has many computers lined up along the walls and a circular conferance table in the middle. Wha'ts amazing about Jing-Shan's language lab is that the students there don't use it just to do listening activities or partner speaking, they also do a lot of international communications stuff with other students living in different countries like France. For example, if the Jing-Shan students had to do a project with students from France, the Jing-Shan students and the French students would go to their own language lab at their own school and then chat with each other via webcam or something. It's kind of like skype. It's really cool. Also, The Jing-Shan school does a lot to help other schools around China with fewer resources. If a school in Sichuan doesn't have a textbook but a teacher from Jing-Shan knows the material well, the Sichuan students would go to their language lab in their Sichuan high school and the Jing-Shan teacher would go to the Jing-Shan language lab and then he//she would teach the Sichuan students through the computer. It's really fascinating how advanced our technology is now compared to 50 years ago.
Afterwards, we went to Jing-Shan's trophy // memorabilia room. They have many framed pieces of paper with Chinese calligraphy written on it. They're written by important people and hung all around the room. Jang Lao Shi then showed us this one picture of a little girl talking to an American astronaut and the principal of Jing-Shan. It turned out that that litle girl was a genius and came up with an invention that would help spin silk from silk worms in space. This happened many years ago, so I'm guessing by now, she might be in her 20's. There are pictures of her early childhood hung all around Jing-Shan.
Later, we went to see the gym and the swimming pool. To get there we had to go through this corridor filled with plants and fish for biology classes. On one side of the corridor, you can look into the science laboratory and see the 30 microscopes lined up on top of the tables.
We walked through this hallway that looked like it could belong in a science museum. The walls were all painted nicely and there were leaves and gourds hanging from the ceiling. There were dinosaur foot prints and different types of rock displayed in a glass case. It felt as if we got transported to the children's museum in Boston.
The pool in Jing-Shan is huge. It's 50 meters long. There's a shallow end and a deep end. In order to swim in the deep end, you have to pass a test, which is to swimm 100 meters. You basically swim to one end of the pol and swim back. You can use any swimming stroke you want, including the doggy paddle. Haha.
Another cool thing about Jing-Shan is that it's got the coolest rock climbing wall. You can't use it unless you're with an instructor but it's still pretty awesome. The furthur left you go on the wall, the harder it is to climb up it.
Tomorrow's Wednesday, so my classes are as follows: first period= chemistry, second period= chemistry, third period= physics, fourth period= English, fifth period= English, 1 hour and 20 minutes of lunch and recess, 6th period= Chinese, and finally 7th period= Chinese. I'm so excited for school tomorrow because we will be starting morning excersices! The Jing-Shan school is definitely the school to be at in Beijing.
(I really wanted to post pictures but couldn't because my internets kinda bad. It keeps failing to upload the pictures for some reason.)
Friday, February 13, 2009
景山学校
Yesterday, Friday, was sort of the first day of school for hte American exchange students but it wasn't the official first day. It was kind of like a half day but only school lasted for 2 hours. Yesterdays classes began around 8:00 or 8:30 depending on which class you were in. My class started around 8:00 and ended roughly around 9:30ish. Yesterday, the exchange group got 7 new textbooks (only 1 of which is in English... and i bet you could probably guess which one that is). Yesterday wasn't an official day of school for the Jing-Shan students either. They just went to school to pass in their homework, pay their lunch money for the new semester, and get their new class schedules. Monday is the official first day of school.
I got up that morning around 6:30ish and was out the door by 7:00. It took us roughly 50 minutes to get to Jing-Shan by subway. We arrived just in time for class. Since school officially starts at 7:20, next week I will have to wake up even earlier at maybe 5:30ish and leave the apartment by 6:00ish. Although waking up early is kinda hard to do, I think it's definitely worth it. Going to school at Jing-Shan is more awesome compared to going to school in America.
Each grade in the middle school is divided into 5 classes and each grade in the high school is divided into 4 classes. I got assigned to the 9th grade and I'm in the 5th class. The 9th grade in China is considered part of the middle school, but hte class I'm in is comprised of the smartest kids in that grade. So the kids in the 5th class are actually taking high school courses right now. They are taking the courses a semester earlier than the other 9th graders.
What surprised me the most was how the students all pitched in to help better their class rooms. During the beginning of class, some of the students had specific chores they each had to do. Victor (a Jing-Shan student going on the exchange to America in September) was cleaning hte black board while another student was mopping up the floors. Other students were dusting around the class and rearranging items on the teachers desk. It's surprising how the kids all came together to pitch in to better their class.
Next week, I'll follow the same schedule as the other Jing-Shan students and take all the classes they are taking. But by the second week of school, we (the Americans) will get our own schedules with our own specialized courses like martial arts. One bad thing about school is that the hours are long. The school hours are from 7:20 to 4:00.... doesn't that sound wonderful?? haha. Even though the long hours sound kind of bad, I'm still pumped for school and can't wait for it to begin.
I got up that morning around 6:30ish and was out the door by 7:00. It took us roughly 50 minutes to get to Jing-Shan by subway. We arrived just in time for class. Since school officially starts at 7:20, next week I will have to wake up even earlier at maybe 5:30ish and leave the apartment by 6:00ish. Although waking up early is kinda hard to do, I think it's definitely worth it. Going to school at Jing-Shan is more awesome compared to going to school in America.
Each grade in the middle school is divided into 5 classes and each grade in the high school is divided into 4 classes. I got assigned to the 9th grade and I'm in the 5th class. The 9th grade in China is considered part of the middle school, but hte class I'm in is comprised of the smartest kids in that grade. So the kids in the 5th class are actually taking high school courses right now. They are taking the courses a semester earlier than the other 9th graders.
What surprised me the most was how the students all pitched in to help better their class rooms. During the beginning of class, some of the students had specific chores they each had to do. Victor (a Jing-Shan student going on the exchange to America in September) was cleaning hte black board while another student was mopping up the floors. Other students were dusting around the class and rearranging items on the teachers desk. It's surprising how the kids all came together to pitch in to better their class.
Next week, I'll follow the same schedule as the other Jing-Shan students and take all the classes they are taking. But by the second week of school, we (the Americans) will get our own schedules with our own specialized courses like martial arts. One bad thing about school is that the hours are long. The school hours are from 7:20 to 4:00.... doesn't that sound wonderful?? haha. Even though the long hours sound kind of bad, I'm still pumped for school and can't wait for it to begin.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
February Trip
The February trip from Beijing to around China was pretty amazing. The trip began on February 1st and lasted until February 10th. During that ten day period, I went to Huangshan, Hanzhou, and Shanghai. Our group couldn’t have picked better areas to visit because those areas provided us knowledge of the more rural areas of China like Huangshan and of the wealthier and prosperous cities like Shanghai.
Huangshan
Carolyn and I decided to split off from the group so while the group went to do their own thing, we decided to go to Huangshan together first. Originally, we were suppose to stay in Huangshan until the 3rd but because we wanted to stay a little longer, we met up with the group on the morning of the 5th.
On the first day in Huanghsan, we learned very quickly not to flush toilet paper into the toilets since they have poor drainage there. Mr. He told us early on not to flush toilet paper, but we forgot and a few hours later, Carolyn and I accidently flushed it down a few times. That was when our toilet clogging problems began.
In Huangshan, the houses are much colder than outside. At first I thought it was very weird because I’m more accustomed to thinking that it should be warmer inside a house than outside it. However, in Huangshan it’s the complete opposite. It’s freezing in the house and warmer outside. On one day, the weather outside was relatively warm but once we got into Mr. He’s house, we had to bundle up and wear our jackets and gloves while we sat in the living room and watched tv.
Carolyn and I got to visited Mr. He’s (the teacher we were staying with) high school. Mr. He’s high school has a huge court yard and has trees and shrubs everywhere. It was very peaceful there. Although Mr. He’s high school is one of the best in Huangshan, it was lacking some modern facilities. The school wasn’t as technologically equipped as some other schools are. For example, in the girls dorm, which is either ten to a room or eight to a room (if you chose to pay an extra 100 yuan), only the girls who live in the eight to a room have electricity. The rest of the girls have to charge their cell phones during class in the classrooms.
After staying with Mr. He for a few days, we met up with the group early on February 5th to climb the famous Huangshan. There was a lot of fog that day, so our view of the place wasn’t that great. There were so many stairs to walk up and down that we quickly got tired. Despite that, it was definitely worth it. When we got to the top, we had a great view of the scenery all around. We could see little buildings on the ground.
Huangshan
Carolyn and I decided to split off from the group so while the group went to do their own thing, we decided to go to Huangshan together first. Originally, we were suppose to stay in Huangshan until the 3rd but because we wanted to stay a little longer, we met up with the group on the morning of the 5th.
On the first day in Huanghsan, we learned very quickly not to flush toilet paper into the toilets since they have poor drainage there. Mr. He told us early on not to flush toilet paper, but we forgot and a few hours later, Carolyn and I accidently flushed it down a few times. That was when our toilet clogging problems began.
In Huangshan, the houses are much colder than outside. At first I thought it was very weird because I’m more accustomed to thinking that it should be warmer inside a house than outside it. However, in Huangshan it’s the complete opposite. It’s freezing in the house and warmer outside. On one day, the weather outside was relatively warm but once we got into Mr. He’s house, we had to bundle up and wear our jackets and gloves while we sat in the living room and watched tv.
Carolyn and I got to visited Mr. He’s (the teacher we were staying with) high school. Mr. He’s high school has a huge court yard and has trees and shrubs everywhere. It was very peaceful there. Although Mr. He’s high school is one of the best in Huangshan, it was lacking some modern facilities. The school wasn’t as technologically equipped as some other schools are. For example, in the girls dorm, which is either ten to a room or eight to a room (if you chose to pay an extra 100 yuan), only the girls who live in the eight to a room have electricity. The rest of the girls have to charge their cell phones during class in the classrooms.
The next day, we went to a Daoist Mountain. While we were walking up and down the million narrow steps, we noticed the many villagers walking around. It turned out that there was a village on the mountain. There were people old and young living all around the mountain. Some of them raised livestock while others ran restaurants. It was like a bustling little town up there. The most fascinating part of the Daoist Mountain was the couple of temples carved into it. Within each temple, there were huge figures of Lao Zu and other important people.
After staying with Mr. He for a few days, we met up with the group early on February 5th to climb the famous Huangshan. There was a lot of fog that day, so our view of the place wasn’t that great. There were so many stairs to walk up and down that we quickly got tired. Despite that, it was definitely worth it. When we got to the top, we had a great view of the scenery all around. We could see little buildings on the ground.
Hangzhou
To get to Hangzhou from Huangshan, we had to take a four hour bus ride there. Once we got there, we did a four hour walk around West Lake. The lake was very peaceful. While we were walking around, we saw peacocks and different kinds of tree. We went to a gated area filled with peacocks and Carolyn decided to try out her peacock mating call. Then Amy saw a statue (or what she thought was a statue) a few feet away so the group decided to walk up closer to it to get a better view of the statues. However, once we got to the statues, we realized that they weren’t statues but tree stumps covered in garbage bags. That was definitely the highlight of my day.
Shanghai
Our next and final stop of the trip was Shanghai. On the first day, we visited the Pearl TV tower. We went up 90 meters first and then we kept going further up in the tower. We had an amazing view of the river and the buildings surrounding the TV tower. Carolyn and I wanted to mail postcards to people from the tower but they ran out of postcards.
We went to many places in Shanghai. We went to a silk factory, a tea shop, and a store that specialized in pearls. In total, I think we spent more money in Shanghai than in the other previous cities but it was well worth it.
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