Concluding Reflections

May 27  -- Written by Christie Rosenzweig

Don’t be sad that it is over; be happy that it has happened. That phrase is one of the only things keeping my eyes dry right now. Those words, along with the anticipation and anxiety of seeing my loved ones. I feel anxious to see them because how can I ever answer the inevitable question “how was your trip?” To say “it was amazing” or “the time of my life” would be an incredible understatement of the experience that I just had. I can still hardly fathom that I just participated in the 2012 China Exchange program. I can barely believe that I have friends that I will miss desperately on the other side of the world from my home. As a child I dreamed of digging a hole in my backyard to China, but I never imagined what it would be like to actually be there.  And when I realized that a trip to China was my reality, what I experienced greatly exceeded any preconceived expectations. The kindness, generosity, and friendship that I was shown are still almost unfathomable. Not to mention the scenic beauty of the setting where this amazing experience took place. A dream could not have been as sweet.

        At first I was not sure I would be able to handle spending almost an entire month away from everything I have ever known. As a first time traveler, and a complete homebody, I was more than nervous about how I would react in such an unfamiliar setting. Now that this trip has ended, I feel as if the time I spent here was only a mere fraction of the time needed to truly engage in this kind of experience. There is so much to learn about China, and Chongqing, too,  that only experience can teach a person. I feel as if I have had a little taste of what life is like in China, and it has only made me hungry for a much larger bite.

       I feel now more than ever that I want so badly to return to this country. As I squinted through tears while I waved my last goodbyes to the students who truly made this trip worth writing home about, all I wanted was to stay and continue on this incredible journey.  Saying goodbye to my closest Chinese friends was like leaving a part of myself behind. I will cherish the new friendships that I have made and hopefully maintain them for the rest of my life.  This is just the beginning of our relationship and I hope to continue to learn and grow from my conversations with my Chinese friends and not let distance interfere with the bonds we have made.  I can only hope that they know how much I truly appreciate all that they have done.  I could never say “thank you” or “she she” enough times to compensate for the efforts and kindness they provided.  I know I will never be able to repay my friends for what they have given me through our brief interactions, but I don’t think that is as important as what their behavior has truly displayed. Because of how I was treated, I want to welcome newcomers to my country and assist them in any way I can. It’s not about repaying the friends I have made, but about showing that kindness to complete strangers who are in need of the same kind of assistance as I needed over these past few weeks. It is challenging and even slightly embarrassing to be unable to communicate with the people in your surroundings. I will never again be annoyed by foreigners in America who are struggling with English, because I know now that it can be equally as frustrating for them. Even people who were not partners were patient, understanding and helpful, and I cannot say that I see these same qualities demonstrated as blatantly in the country where I am from. I can only hope that I have the opportunity to repay the kindness of the CTBU students as I have these kinds of encounters in my American life.

        There are too many things to miss about China to list because it would only make me upset again. I do believe, however, that the attitudes and behaviors that I was introduced to, and appreciated while abroad can be just as prevalent here in America if I allow them to be.  I will never, ever forget the lessons I have learned or the friends I have made on this trip.  I have a new appreciation, and respect for Chinese culture, people, and attitudes and I am so grateful for this incredible experience. 

The Adventure Comes to an End

May 27 -- Written by Paula Silver (Blog Editor)
The students left Chongqing this morning at 5:30 am to begin their long journey home.  They will fly from Chongqing to Beijing, transfer airplanes, and finish their trip from Beijing to New York City.  Join me in congratulating them on their wonderful adventure.  It is clear from their postings that the learned a great deal about a culture quite different from their own -- yet in some ways very similar.  In the process, they appear to have learned a great deal about themselves.  They have made what hopefully will be lifelong relationships with people half way across the world.  Most importantly they have expanded their world view and have significantly enriched their lives and those of their Chinese friends.  Continue to watch for posts as the students write about the experience in retrospect.

The Art of Papercutting

May 25 -- Submitted by Sarah Zappulla

The other day we went to a class to learn about Chinese paper cutting.  Paper cutting is an ancient Chinese tradition.  Long before papercutting had begun, the Chinese had developed techniques for paper tearing. The practice of papercutting began during the Han Dynasty with Emperor Wu Di over 2,100 years ago.  Emperor Wu Di had a paper cut image of Li Furen, a late favorite concubine, made in order to comfort him in his sorrows.  During the Southern Dynasty, it was a custom to paste well thin silk cut into the shape of a person on screens during festivals.  The oldest recovered papercutting dates back to 1,500 years ago.

After learning the history of Chinese paper cutting, the teacher taught us the five main symbols that one can use in  paper cutting: sun, crescent, willow leaf, dripping, and saw tooth.  The sun symbol is simply a circle and the crescent looks like part of a moon.  The willow leaf is similar to an arc and dripping looks like a rain drop.  The saw tooth is made up of triangles in a straight line to look like sharp teeth. After making each of these symbols, we put all these symbols together to create animals and designs. Using stencils, we each made different objects. I made a tiger and a monkey.  It looks very easy, but it was quite difficult because there is so much precision and patience that goes into making paper cut images.

Later, when we were done making our paper cut images, the teacher shared her paper cut images that she has made.  She had several portraits and they were absolutely amazing in their detail.  She said that one of the images took her three days to do.  I think it is astounding how much detail and effort goes into this tradition.  It makes you appreciate the Chinese customs and traditions.

Final Martial Arts Class

May 24 -- Written by Jackie Tomasetti (Social Work)

We had our final martial arts class today and I have to say it was fantastic.  The music combined with the moves were truly magical.  I have never done martial arts before so to encounter it was simply beautiful.  I really admire our teacher "Professor Hao."  She showed us two types of martial arts during our stay here Kung Fu, and Tai Chi.  She showed us exercises that will help improve our breathing and promote a healthy body, mind and soul.  She taught us how to follow through with our movements and listen to the music as we "bonded" with it.  As I looked around everyone looked so peaceful and calm; it was nice to see.  I have always know martial arts to be from China, but I thought it always required  "hard" movements, and not an art like it truly is.  Martial Arts allow you to showcase yourself in a different form than normally.  I really enjoyed this last class and to see everyone else enjoy it put a smile on Professor Ha's face.  I am truly grateful for having met her and having the experience of seeing myself and others in a different light.   

Attached are some pictures from our last class.

More on Chinese Culture

May 22 -- Written by Rebecca Coyle (Social Work)

One of the first classes we attended was a course on Chinese Culture.  The professor’s name was Liu Yong, but he allowed us to call him by his American name which was Kevin.  It is amusing yet relieving when a new CTBU professor or friend is introduced with a simple American name after reciting their long Chinese name.  We usually pronounce the Chinese names incorrectly several times to get the pronunciation right, and sadly it doesn’t take long to forget names because they are so unfamiliar.  Chinese names are unique because each one has a meaning.  My CTBU partners gave me the name 如月 (ru yue) which means “like a moon.”  They explained that they chose this name because they believed I was beautiful like a moon. 

I envy the Chinese culture because the people seem to have a special meaning behind everything.  In class we learned about the Chinese characters and how each one has a symbolic meaning behind the strokes that are used to create it.  The Mandarin Chinese character 好 (hǎo) means “good.”  It is made up of the two radicals 女 (nǔ) which means woman, and 子 (zǐ) which means child or son.  The character symbolizes the custom in ancient China that a woman who had children was doing the correct or “good” thing.  Americans often find it intimidating to learn Chinese because characters are used instead of an alphabet, and the Chinese feel the same way about learning English.  Kevin explained to us that Chinese people find it difficult to master English because the letters and words lack meaning, making it less significant and harder to remember.  I found this really interesting because it makes sense but is something that most people never consider.      

Class was filled with various other topics, including facts on the dynasties and power distinctions.  We learned that the three major ancient religions practiced in China are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.  Unlike most other religions, these three are not centered around one God, but rather many different Gods that all play specific roles in the culture.  My favorite ancient Chinese story is about the creation of the universe.  The Chinese believe that the first God, named Pangu, created everything that now exists today.  Pangu woke up in a cosmic egg filled nothing but chaos formed by a mixture of yin and yang.  He used an axe to separate yin from yang, therefore creating the earth and sky.  His arms are now mountains that keep the two apart.  The wind is his breath and thunder is his voice.  His eyes are now the sun and moon.  

A Visit to Ciqikou

Written by Caitlin Pinter (Education)

The first time that we went to Ciqikou was on May 13.  Ciqikou is an old town that has been preserved in the modern Chongqing Shapingba district.  The town reportedly looks as it did at the turn of the 19th Century.  There are two main streets that have many different shops, places to eat and and shops that let you try on traditional Chinese clothing, which some of us did. We even found a bit of America when we saw cotton candy being made alongside some traditional Chinese snacks.  The shops carried calligraphy tools for Chinese characters, handmade crafts, toys, and even rice jewelry.  While I was walking along the streets I was very surprised to find that most of the stores featured handmade gifts.  The rice necklaces have pieces of rice paper with English characters spelling your name on one side and Chinese characters on the other side.  The rice paper is placed in a very tiny bottle and some of them have very small flowers inside the bottle too.  My partner was with me during this trip, along with several of the other CTBU partners.  My partner was showing me some of the traditional food that they have in China that I had not seen before.  In China serving food on sticks is popular and I was able to try some of these foods. They were all very spicy.  One thing that I have seen in a lot of different places in China is corn cob on a stick. Many of our partners seem to enjoy this and like to eat this as a snack.  I found a pearl shop, where I bought some jewelry.  Just outside the store there was a man who was opening oyster shells and pulling the pearls out right in front of you.  After the pearl shop there was a store that had a lot of traditional Chinese outfits on display.  I decided that I was going to put one on, and take pictures.  Jackie and Alex also tried of different outfits and took pictures too.  The outfit that I had on was blue, pink and yellow.  It had lots of intricate designs on it and was very beautiful.  After I had put the dress on, the woman shopkeeper did my hair.  I had a hair piece on and rhinestone crown that was very large.  Part of it was in my hair and the other half of the crown was hanging down on my forehead.  Jackie was wearing a traditional Chinese bride outfit and had a very elaborate head piece which consisted of pearl-like bubbles, sticks, flowers, and rhinestones.  We had lots of fun dressing up in these outfits and our partners enjoyed watching us get dressed up and taking pictures with us.  We were supposed to go back to Ciqikou today; however, it is the first day that it has really rained a lot. There was a large thunderstorm last night and it still has not stopped pouring.  Hopefully we will be able to go back again before we leave to return home.        

A Visit to the Hot Springs Spa

May 21 -- Written by Sara Watson (Social Work)

On May 20^th a group of us decided to go to the Hot Springs on the day we were free.  It was kind of like a water park only the pools and tubs were filled with warm and hot water.  There were many pools you could go into.  There was a larger pool that had a water slide, a lazy river where you could just float in and travel around in a circle, there were caves you could go into that held many small hot tubs (at about 37 Celsius, which is 98 degrees Fahrenheit) and a large sauna.  There were also beds within the pool you could float on top of and little water jets shot up onto your back, giving you a message while you’re lying in the pool.  One pool in particular had our group very intrigued.  There are these little fish in the pool that if you dip in your foot (or your whole body, as our group liked to do) then the fish will swim to you and eat your dead skin.  Hot spots for the fish were feet, especially heels; knees and elbows.  I thought this was so fascinating.  The fish felt like little tiny lips nibbling on your skin, it just tickled.  We all had different opinions about this interesting experience with the fish.  For example, Jackie and Caitlin would dip their entire body in and have the fish nibble on their lower lips, whereas Rebecca and I were hesitant to just put our feet in.  But it was a lot fun to watch!  There was a buffet that was available, so we decided to eat lunch there.  We found out that the food is on the second floor and as we’re walking trying to find the buffet, we’re told that we have to go into the bathrooms, shower, and change into clothes that are given to us.  We had fun taking pictures in the clothes.  We were given long brown shorts with baggy brown shirts.  They looked like Chinese traditional clothing.  After we were dressed we were then able to head to the buffet.  The food there was really good.  They had fried rice, noodles that were similar to lo mein, shrimp, duck meat, and of course watermelon! The deserts were very tasty as well.  For our group, the egg tarts were a big hit.

 

The Hot Springs was such a relaxing place to go to.  They were playing nice, calm, music at various pools around the park.  There were hot tubs with incense in them with flowers floating on the top for a nice fragrance.  The incense in the hot tubs has different purposes.  We think the hot tub that had rose petals floating on top softened your skin.  It was a very peaceful day and we were all so glad that we went.  It was an experience that added to all the other great experiences that is making this trip one to remember.

Sara at the hot springs spa

Jackie and her little friends

Ooh. . . they tickle