Visiting former students

One of the pleasures of coming to Xi’an is the chance to visit with some of the students and teachers who have participated in our exchange over the last 5 years. I always try to invite the groups who are still in Xi’an to dinner. This year is no exception. Earlier this week I ate dinner with Mrs. Fan’s group from 2007. They have just finished their studies at GaoXin No. 1 High School and when we met they were anxiously awaiting the results from the College Entrance Exam. They all looked so grown up! Kang has changed the most.  Unfortunately Sijie was unable to come at the last minute due to illness. The other four students and Mrs. Fan joined me. I gave them the medals that they would have had at graduation if they had been there earlier this month. Mr. Bolde also sent one for Mrs. Fan, so the picture shows the group with me at the restaurant. Since that night the results of the exam are in. I know that at least one will have the chance to attend one of the top two universities in China! In fact GaoXin No. 1 High School earned over half of the top 30 scores in the province! It is an amazing statistic when over 350,000 in the province took the test!

The other picture is of the class of 2008. All 5 of the students visited me in our classroom during our first week here. It was great to see Max, Allen, William, Linxiao and Holly! I hope to meet them for dinner next week. We only had a few minutes to visit that day because they are having final exams this week.

On the first day we arrived I was very happy to see Elizabeth and Junyi in my classroom at noon – both wearing their Saugus tee-shirts. I saw the boys for a few minutes later, but still haven’t had time to meet them all.


2007 Exchange Group without Sijie who was sick (wearing their 2010 graduation medals from SHS)


2008 Exchange Group


Elizabeth and Junyi

Two Days Off

Today we are back in school after having Monday and Tuesday at home. I think the students enjoyed not having classes all day but having days off when everyone else is working, and the host brother and sisters are studying for final exams wasn't thrilling. Nevertheless it was a nice break. Sam went to the public library (something I have never done in all my visits here) while Aida and Katie had lots of time with nothing special to do other than studying, reading Three Kingdoms (the book we are reading as a group and on which they will take an exam) or watching TV.

I was luckier because many of my Chinese teacher friends taught seniors this year and were on a 10-day vacation before returning to school today. So I was able to do some shopping in a large complex with hundreds of small stalls selling literally everything from clothes, to furniture to building supplies to jewelry to anything in between. It was an amazing place!

Yesterday I visited the Great Mosque in central Xi'an. It was built during the 8th century when Islam was introduced into China and modernized in later eras. It is the only mosque open to visitors in China; however, visitors are not allowed in the prayer hall (with room for 1000 people) and a ritual washing area. The style of the buildings appears to be Chinese but with many Islamic details and decoration. The mosque is located in the "Hue" or Muslim part of the city. The area is popular with locals for the good food and many shops, in addition to the many tourists who flock to the "Hueminjie" to bargain for all kinds of gifts. I also had a chance to visit my first "American" restaurant in Xi'an where we ate a "steak dinner" that was good, but after dessert we were also given either a bowl of rice or noodles - as is customary in restaurants in China. 

In our Chinese class the students are learning vocabulary dealing with clothing and bargaining for purchases. This will all prove beneficial on Saturday when we will visit central Xi'an. On that day everyone will have the chance to try out their skills.

The weather here has been very hot with temperatures in the upper 90's and only a few degrees cooler at night. We are hoping for a cooler trend by the weekend because our visit to the city walls will all be in full sun. On the other hand the dust in the air seems to filter out some sunlight because in spite of time in the sun I have not had any sunburn - which is common at home. In fact my legs and arms are as pale as when I left…

Every morning I continue to coach a group of 9 GaoXin juniors who are applying for a scholarship program in Singapore. These students have already passed the written test, but now must pass an interview. Only half of the 30 students from Xi'an who passed the written part will be chosen, so they work hard to improve their oral skills. Those selected will earn a free senior year in Singapore followed by 4 years of a university (all covered by the scholarship) and then will work in Singapore for 6 years (with pay of course). They are a great group of young people (2 girls and 7 boys). I really enjoy spending time with them. They work as a team and take pride in the success of each.

Blog 5

Today is Friday, so we expected a really short week after last week’s 7 straight days, but life in China is always a series of changes of plans – perhaps especially at GaoXin No. 1 High School. Luckily my host sister and some other people from our school bus let me know that the Chinese students will have school this weekend, then will have two days off to study for their final exams. The exams will be from Wednesday until Friday. So I stopped by the office to find out what our schedule was. The lady on this campus thought we had the weekend off, so she called the main campus… and we learned that we, too, have class tomorrow and Sunday, then two days off. Then while the other students will be taking exams our small group will attend some classes taught by foreign teachers in Chemistry, Physics and English in place of their normal morning classes. These are all offered by the International Division here on campus and are all taught in English. (In fact our classroom--on the 5th floor -- is in the International Division building.) The purpose of this division is to prepare Chinese students to apply to foreign universities. These students hope to pass AP tests or the British equivalent in order to increase their chances of success. We will continue our normal schedule of 3 intensive Chinese classes, my class and then culture classes. As I write the students are learning about the masks used for Chinese opera and then painting their own masks.

As promised I asked the students about their activities over the days off earlier this week. The two girls had the opportunity to visit their host families’ hometowns and to visit the homes they or their parents live/lived in there. I had told them that life in the High Tech Zone is very different from traditional Chinese life, but after these visits I think they really understand the different life in the country or rural towns. They were able to see the traditional homes with huge double red doors and rooms inside built off a central courtyard. The kitchen is in the back of the courtyard in a small room and often has a wood stove, or a propane/butane stove. The beds in the bedrooms are large plaster or brick platforms which can be heated by small fires (built from the outside) providing for warm eating/living/sleeping. Aida also crossed (and fell in) a branch of the yellow river – but is just fine! She also attended a wedding. Sam’s family had a power outage so they spent a night in a hotel and drove to see a waterfall in the local mountains. They also ate lunch there. They were all able to see more than the high-rise neighborhood where we live.

This morning in Chinese class we watched our second movie. The last was the Chinese version of Mulan. We all loved it! Today we watched “Painted Skin” a kind of fantasy/love story set in ancient times. The main actress from Mulan was also in this movie. It has lots of action, good versus bad and special effects. (The students said it was something between Harry Potter and Ghostbusters.)

Today we were invited to a delicious luncheon by the principal of this campus – another Madame Wang. (We even got to take an elevator to the 4th floor!) We were joined by the assistant principal, Mrs. Dong (my host sister and one of the previous exchange teachers at Saugus) and our local liaison Li Xiaolan. The students are beginning to realize how much they have learned in the last two weeks. Chinese is no longer just a stream of sounds, but now they can all at least pick out words, so that they can have an idea of what is going on. Each day is a great learning experience. They have already learned more than they would have learned in 3 months (or more) at home. They have not only learned vocabulary, but also grammatical structures and how language changes according to the culture. For example yesterday we learned that in China it is not nice to call someone short, but you can say they are not too tall.

7 Straight Days

This week has seemed very strange to me, and to the students, too, I assume. As I wrote last time we had school for 7 straight days, but are just completing our three day holiday for Dragon Boat Festival and now we will go to school tomorrow –Thursday – and Friday before having a free weekend!

I last wrote just before we took our first school field-trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum located about 40 minutes away from our school. For more information you might want to look at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/

It is an incredible place! The statues are massive and the building for Pit 1 is the size of a hangar with room for a huge jet-liner or two. Although this is not my first visit I was again amazed. What is new since my last trip is that archaeologists are doing more excavation for the first time in many years. In the 1970’s they dug up a portion of the terra cotta figures which were still colorfully painted more than 2000 years after they were buried. However after a short time in the air the paint disintegrated so that now the figures appear mostly just the color of the earth they were made with. According to our guide a German company and a Belgian researcher provided new technology to preserve the colors so they are once again digging. Visitors can see the work in the pit.

We were accompanied on our field trip by a group of 14 girls and two teachers from Singapore. They had spent 10 days at GaoXin No. 1 High School and were approaching the end of their time in China. We were also accompanied by She Ying, the Assistant Director for International Affairs of the high school. She has been our main contact here for years, but usually is too busy to spend a day out of the office. It was lovely to spend time with her. Our former Chinese teacher (2008) Shi Laoshi also came with us.

After leaving the museum we went back to school where the entire group was given lunch in the private dining room of the teacher’s cafeteria. It was a delicious lunch. Katie ate nearly an entire bowl of green vegetables and Sam nearly completely handled a bowl of pumpkin cakes if I remember correctly. In any case everyone enjoyed the meal.

After a brief break the entire group then re-boarded the bus to visit the new (2007) Qujiang Pool Park. It is located in an area that was once a royal park of more than one dynasty. We took a small “train” which drove us around the lake showing the many sculptures, carvings and gardens of the park. It was a lovely day.

We were back in school on Sunday, so we were confused as to what culture class we would have that day. However we learned that the entire school was on “Tuesday” schedule meaning that we had cooking. The students learned how to make dumplings! They managed to finish two big bowls of them!

Over the last 3 days off each of us has spent time with our host families. I’m looking forward to hearing about the experiences of each student. As for me I spent the days visiting friends, shopping and climbing a small part of Mount Hua – one of the five “sacred mountains” of China. It is called “hua” because the five peaks resemble a flower – “hua”. It is also considered one of the more dangerous climbs because the “trail” is so steep that climbers must hold onto chains. Many Chinese people prefer to climb the trail at night in order to watch sunrise – but also to avoid seeing the enormous drops alongside the narrow trails. However now there is also a cable car – which we used! – which whisks passengers up hundreds of feet in 7 minutes. From the landing one can take several paths. Although my hosts would like to have climbed more I did manage to reach several magnificent sites including “Gold Lock Pass” where visitors buy locks with messages and prayers for friends and family which are locked onto the chain which helps climbers. We also went part way to the Dragon Ridge and Cloud Terrace. The views were incredible – as was the trail, but at no time did I feel unsafe. (Of course some of the most dangerous parts of the trail have been closed, and we didn’t venture up the steepest parts.) It was strenuous but worthwhile!

On our way to Mount Hua we also saw another incredible Chinese “dragon”. This involved hundreds of trucks backed up one behind another (forming a dragon) on the road leading to Mount Hua. The distance from here to Mt Hua is only 75 miles, but it took us nearly 4 hours to get there. The drive was more frightening than the climb though the drivers were incredibly skillful. In order to make any progress cars, buses and some trucks use the wrong side of the road or make a new (non-existent) lane facing opposing traffic, and if that doesn’t work they create a lane on one shoulder or the other. With the use of horns, flashing headlights and fractions of inches to spare we made it! It was unforgettable! Along some of the smaller roads we took (to make more progress) we saw many sections just harvested wheat. The cars drive over the wheat laid on large plastic tarps separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is left to dry in the sun and then later the farmers collect the grain and pour it in large grain sacks – all done in the roadway. (Some wealthier farmers have equipment to do this, but I saw at least 50 different places where this was the method used.) My host sister says that this method is unusual in the flatlands where combines or threshers are more common. However the area I drove through was at the foot of the mountains. Today on the road to visit relatives we saw grain drying on the bicycle/motorbike part of the road. Once again this is only for small farms and is actually not permitted.

China is working hard to improve the quality of the environment. Where many farmers used to burn fields inspectors now look for violators. The water in many lakes and rivers is improving.

School uniforms

Day 5

Today is Thursday. We have now been in Xi'an for 5 days and everyone is doing very well! The students are all happy with their host families and are learning a lot of Chinese! Each day we arrive on campus by 7:30. Some of the students take the bus while others are dropped off or take a taxi (an inexpensive and practical way to get around). Today the rain stopped and there is a hazy sun in the mist. Today all the students participated in "morning exercise" for the first time. After 3 periods all the students go out to the quad/playground area, line up, and do group exercises to music. Each day they do the same routine. Now that our students have school uniforms they blend in a little more. (I'll try to post a picture soon.) School rules require that all girls wear hair longer then ear-length in a pony tail, so Katie has begun to do the same. (She looks so cute!) Even Aida tried but her hair is too short. (The first day of school Katie's host-sister was aghast to see her head out the door with her hair hanging down.)


Our two Chinese teachers take turns every other day but do an excellent job coordinating with each other, so that one reviews what the other taught. As this room is quite well equipped in electronics they do most teaching with the aid of power point presentations. We have learned a great deal in a short amount of time as the students do their homework and work hard. On the other hand they also have a lot of fun with their host families. During our afternoon Chinese lesson yesterday we learned about the Dragon Boat Festival which will take place next week. This is a traditional festival, but up until now has never been a national holiday. The festival celebrates a poet, statesman and scholar who lived more than two thousand years ago who could not accept the government of the time and so jumped into a river holding a rock, thus drowning. The local people threw food to the fish so that they would not eat the body of the poet. They also raced up and down the river in boats trying to save him. Typical activities for this festival (May 5 in the lunar year) include "dragon boat" races (boats with dragon heads and up to 40 rowers) and eating green bean cakes (like cookies) and a kind of sweet rice dish wrapped in leaves and steamed called zong zi. It ends up looking somewhat like dark, thick jello, but is delicious.

As I said this will be the first year that it will be a national holiday, so to make up for "lost time" there will be school all weekend and then we will have off Monday through Wednesday. On Saturday we have a previously planned outing for the day, but then will have regular classes on Sunday. :)

News from XI'an

Sunday was a good day of rest and settling in for our small team. Each spent time with his or her host family having a variety of experiences - visiting Xi'an by night, eating out etc. On Monday morning the students met me at school by 7:30. Everyone knew that we were to give short speeches at the Flag raising ceremony and I think we all practiced the night before. My main help was my little host niece who is 8 years old. She was a very patient teacher! But when we arrived the sky was gray and it looked like rain. After a short wait outside we were ushered into an office while everything was arranged. Then each student was assigned a class on the 2nd floor of the teaching building in "Senior One" (10th grade). For those of you who have read this blog or been here in earlier years there have been big changes - now each student has a chair instead of a stool though they still manage to fit 55-60 students into each room. Each was introduced, assigned a seat mate and was applauded by the class. By the time of the flag raising ceremony it was raining - so our speeches were canceled for now. It is still raining today, so we'll see when the ceremony will occur.

Yesterday our students attended classes ranging from art to physics to math. In China students remain in one classroom the entire day - and the entire year. The teachers rotate to the rooms on a varying schedule. (Most teachers at this school teach from 2-3 forty-five minute classes per day while the students are in class from 7:30 to 6:00 with two hours off at lunch for eating, sports and a mandatory sleep time.) Our group will attend the daily reading period and two other classes each morning before reporting to our classroom (on the 5th floor) for our special classes. We have two young Chinese teachers who give us lessons for two periods before lunch and one after. (They take turns teaching.) Yesterday we had a kind of placement test so that they would know the level of each student in order to plan a program.

Lunch begins at 11:50. As "foreign guests" we are allowed to eat in the cafeteria reserved for teachers and seniors, however as yesterday and today were "special days" we ate in the teacher section. During and after lunch yesterday we met with several host brothers and sisters as well as some of our former Saugus students. It was wonderful to see Junyi, Elizabeth, Allen, Bill, Gary, Derek and Holly!

The "special days" of yesterday and today are the days of the National College Entrance Exam. This is a very high-stakes test which will decide the future of each young person. Depending upon the score they earn over these two days the students may attend a top ranked university - a virtual guarantee of success in life, a lesser university from which they may get a good education but without a guarantee of a job in the future, or if they fail they may redo their senior year in hopes for doing better. The school and the students' families do whatever they can to help these young people to excel. The results will be out before the end of June.

After lunch is sleep time. (GaoXin students who live close to school, or the students who live in the dorm often go home at lunchtime or "sleeping time" while the other students put their heads down on their desks in their classrooms.) Since we don't have sleep time at 1:00 we have our group meeting or discuss the novel that I have assigned. At 2:00 we begin our third Chinese language and/or culture lesson. After that we have an hour and one half of some kind of activity class. These classes may be calligraphy, paper cutting, art, cooking etc. Yesterday was Kong Fu. You will see below a picture of the students during their first lesson. They did incredibly well! Our teacher is a tiny but very strong woman who does all her teaching in Chinese. I was amazed at how well they did - even the two students who are left-handed and are not used to putting their right arms in such activities.

Today we were supposed to have cooking,class but due to the special nature of the day it didn't take place. Instead the students have extra time to start homework or read their novels. At 4:30 when the students normally go home we will be picked up to have dinner with Madame Wang, the person in charge of the middle school and all international exchanges. This school has several different exchanges. Our classroom is in the new "international wing". Here students prepare for U.S., UK, Singapore, Australian or other foreign universities. In the fall they will begin offering AP classes.

All the students are doing very well. I am proud of their hard work and enthusiasm! They all seem to be bonding with their host families and adjusting to the new life at GaoXin.

Blogging Trouble in China

It seems that Patty is having some trouble gaining access to her blog site in China. Until she is able to solve that problem, I'll try and place here the information that she sends me--Jenk

The adventure has begun! After a long day at Saugus High School, with final exams for the students, and correcting final exams for me, followed by graduation we headed to LAX. Sam, Katie, Aida and I boarded our Air China flight to Beijing’s Capital Airport. It was built for the Beijing Olympics and is a testament to a Chinese love for beauty and design. Even the tired students were amazed. We easily passed through immigration, then took the train around the airport to our connecting flight to Xi’an, arriving only 30 minutes late (due to congestion on departing runways in Beijing). We were greeted by a crowd of host families and GaoXin No. 1 High School’s wonderful Madame Wang. After a quick picture (see below) we each headed off with our host families.