Two Months in China: A Lifetime of Change

Two months spent in a foreign country thousands of miles away from home has continuously proven to be more life changing than I thought. From May to July 2007, I took part in Dulaney High School's first ever China Exchange Program. Sixty days seems like nothing, but one thing I've learned from traveling as much as I have is that the farther you are away from home, the more you change in a much shorter period of time.

The process began a little more than a year before the trip. I was a sophomore and around January it was time for everyone to figure out their classes for next year. It was then that the principal introduced the new China Exchange Program. In his presentation, he talked about how China is an emerging world power and how important it is to keep up. He shared pictures of Xi'an (she-ahn), a large city roughly in the center of the continent, and a school called First Railway Middle School (which was actually both a middle school and a high school). He told us that this was now Dulaney's sister school in China and both schools were finally ready to launch an exchange program. Most kids sitting in that auditorium listening to the presentation couldn't care less about some far off country, but I thought the opportunity was fantastic.

How it worked
Any student interested in the trip first had to sign up and be selected for Chinese 101, which would be offered the next year. The requirements were at least two years of foreign language and a decent GPA. Thankfully, I had those well covered with four years of Spanish and not a single C since freshman year. In addition to simply writing Chinese 101 on our registration sheets, we had to write and submit an essay explaining why we wanted to take the class. Luckily for me, the process paid off and I was one of the few students selected.

Starting out
In reality, the China Exchange program began basically the first day of my junior year. It wouldn't be an exchange program if only American students traveled to China. Soon after the year began, all of us involved prepared to welcome a group of Chinese students to America. Just as we would spend two months over there, they spent two months over here. About three or four of us in the class agreed to host a student (myself included) and by the time March rolled around, we could hardly hold our anticipation. While those two months were loaded with great experiences in and of themselves, my two months in China were much more pivotal.

Traveling
We were a small group: five students and one teacher. Four of us students were in the Chinese 101 class (which was a requirement for going in the first place). The fifth was half-Chinese and a year below us, so he was allowed to come. We met at school the next day, said goodbye to our families, and piled our stuff in a van that would take us to the airport. A very long journey awaited us: first there was a short flight from BWI to New York and then came the massive 14 hour flight on Air China from New York to Beijing. The final leg was a short flight from Beijing to Xi'an. Until then, the longest flight I'd ever taken was five hours. This plane was large enough to have a middle section and huge TV screens. All of us were scattered, surrounded by strangers and crying babies. We sat in that plane for a grueling two hours before finally taking off, which meant we would miss our connection flight. For such a long flight, it didn't feel that taxing to me. I remember sleeping a lot, listening to my iPod, being served meals every couple hours, and watching a movie or two. When we finally landed, we made our way to the terminal to pick up our luggage.

Lost
Only one out of ten suitcases came rolling out. That definitely didn't add up. We waited and waited, but nothing else appeared. Then, it was clear that our luggage was lost. We had to stay in the airport until it was practically emptied out while our teacher reported the loss and had the airport set us up with a nearby hotel to take the next flight to Xi'an early the next morning. I was probably the only one who wasn't stressed. Then again, I was 16 and was only responsible for myself. At the hotel, we slept as much as we could and caught a bus to the airport in time for our early flight.

Xi'an
Our host families met us at First Railway Middle School. We were tired, but excited to see them. Like the vast majority of Chinese families, mine consisted of a mother, father, and one child. Her name was Du Jing Yi, but her English name was Melody. She was the only one who spoke English. Her parents knew maybe a few words and that was it. The first thing they did was took me out to lunch and even though I was practically falling asleep I enjoyed it anyway. About an hour later, they took me home. The family lived in a modern/Western style apartment complex and their house was very spacey. Because I was so tired, I hadn't yet gotten the opportunity to take in the city. I took a nap while Melody went back to school and woke up a few hours later.

Daily Routine
Melody and I would wake up at about six in the morning to get ready for school. The "classes" me and the other students took there didn't really count since we finished our finals before we left. Mom had some kind of breakfast prepared for me which varied between ham and egg sandwiches, ramen (not the cheap stuff starving otaku get in the States. This was real, legit ramen like they make it in Asia), and steamed buns filled with sweet red bean paste (this was my favorite food by far). For a drink, she's give me a container filled with juice or tea. After breakfast, Melody and I left the building and hopped into a taxi for a 20 minute ride to school. Xi'an is a very dirty city, honestly. Smog is everywhere and during the summer, it's actually cooler on days with smog than on clear days. Every day, we passed through one street that reeked of trash. I got used to holding my breath, but eventually my nose adjusted to the smell and it wasn't too bad. At school, I met up with the other American students.

We were given school uniforms (and yes, the girls' uniforms were exactly like the ones they have in anime, only we had pants instead of skirts. I wanted a skirt so badly. Trust me) to wear every day just like everyone else. For the first two periods, we sat in the same classroom as our host students. Unlike the routine in American school, Chinese school students stay in the same classroom all day while the teachers move from room to room. Between classes, there was a ten minute break and a two hour break for lunch. Some students who lived close by went home while others ate in the cafeteria. The food there varied from traditional Chinese food to Western food. For the most part, we Americans stuck together, but all of the students at school were very friendly and eager to practice their English with us. For most of the day, we were on a different schedule from our Chinese friends. Our classes were specialized and included music, Chinese, cooking, tai chi, gong fu, and art. Once they were all over, we had the rest of the day to ourselves and hung out in the only air conditioned room on campus. Once school ended at 6 in the evening, we finally headed home.

Notable Trips
At least once a week, we would go on a field trip. We saw at least a thousand different temples and museums, but we still saw a lot of really cool stuff. In Xi'an, we saw the massive drums in the middle of the city (they're at least ten feet in diameter) and shopped at the Muslim markets where we sort of learned the art of bargaining. This was definitely one of the more interesting places we went. The streets were lined with outdoor shops and although the shopkeepers were nice, they were really aiming to outwit us foreigners. I didn't buy too much, but what I did buy wasn't cheap enough to break that easily. Near the end of our two month stay, we took a four day trip to Beijing. It was difficult and actually really annoying to see all the tourists there because we'd grown so used to being the only foreigners around and being treated like we were Chinese. I remember all of us saying at one point, "Why are there so many white people here? Go away!" In Beijing, we went to the Forbidden City, drove by the Olympic Stadium, and climbed the Great Wall.

The Great Wall, in one word, was amazing. Not too long after we starting climbing, we came to a split. One direction was almost completely clear while the other was filled with tourists. Naturally, we chose the less touristy side. It was misty and cool that day, which set a really isolated yet beautiful mood to our climb. The steps were uneven--some were only a third of an inch off the ground while others were almost two feet high. At some points, we had entire sections of the Great Wall to ourselves. It took us maybe a couple hours to reach the end (and by the end I mean the place were a huge section of the wall was missing), so we just turned around and headed back.

At one point, we took a long bus ride to a small village in the mountains to see some caves and even more temples. It was so different from the city, and while we got much more attention from the locals than we did in the urban areas, foreigners came through often enough for it to not be a massive spectacle. We toured a few houses, saw a lot of kittens, and had some children trailing behind us.

Food
I at least tried everything I was given while in China even though I had no idea what half of it was. Most of it was delicious, some of it was gross, and the rest of it was edible even if it took a few times to get used to. Just to get this stupid stereotype out of the way, no I did not eat dog or cat. Only the most rural areas of China do that, and we really weren't near those parts. I did, however, have duck and that was fantastically delicious. I had a variety of steamed dumplings, chicken feet (which really just taste like chicken skin), tons of fresh fruit, lots and lots and lots of rice, hot pots (where they're hand you raw ingredients and you hold it in a boiling broth for a few seconds until it cooked), and amazing skewers at local barbeque place close to the apartment complex where I stayed. Of course, there were many other foods I had, but I can't think of good ways to describe them. I will say this though: real Chinese food is nothing, and I mean nothing like the cheap take-out we have in America. Restaurant culture is a bit different in China than it is in the West. The vast majority of restaurants have large, round tables with a glass piece in the center on which all the dishes are placed. Everyone at the table spins the glass to get to certain dishes and places as much as they want on their plates. Appetizers, entrees, drinks, and desserts are all ordered at the same time--waiters and waitresses don't come back to the table, even in Western restaurants like Pizza Hut (we made this mistake and only ordered drinks. An hour later, we were wondering what the heck happened, but the misunderstanding was cleared and we got food anyway). Also, tea is almost always served at meals. Before China, I thought tea was gross. In China, I drank tea at least once a day and quickly grew to love it. Now, I drink tea like the Chinese do--hot and with no added flavors like sugar or honey.

People
Of course, the best part of China was all the people I met. My final assessment is that they're much more like us than we think, and that includes the students. Sure, they have much more pressure to succeed academically at the expense of developing other areas of their lives (most kids don't start dating until college, and it's not common for them to hold part-time jobs), but they text during class and make jokes with each other just like any kid in the U.S. In fact, Melody once wanted me to help her with her English homework and she eventually told me that she just wanted me to do it for her.

All in all, China was an amazing experience and there was so much more to it than what I've laid out here. If you ever have the chance to stay in a foreign country for an extended period of time, don't pass it up. It'll keep affecting your life everyday long after you're home in ways you never expect.