CSB China 2012: 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Link for Picasa Pictures

Lest any visual stone remain unturned..

https://picasaweb.google.com/huberh/CSBChina2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCOi--ayH6L3M6wE

Saturday, February 18, 2012

We have the same flight crew for both legs of our journey. Two of the flight attendants I chatted with just over a week ago are asking about our trip. A number have commented on how fab our boys are behaving on the plane. I’ve been wandering up and down the aisles watching them find goodness in the situation, being in close proximity with little opportunities for movement or anything other than quiet entertainment. The seats are comfortable, liquids are regularly distributed, the sound system and reading lights for the majority of the seats don’t work but boys are coping because they know they can. They’ve been exposed and immersed in so much rich history, architecture, customs and traditions. Far from home they’ve discovered things about the world outside of their own and also about themselves. They’ve practiced and refined dealing with unexpected “situations” over the course of the past eight days and have found that they can and will deal with what life offers.

I noticed that the desk light did not work in the hotel room when we checked in on Friday, a much-needed device that enhances my ability to see what I am blogging. It took three phones calls to the front desk to get five hotel employees to take four trips to my room to make the desk light functional. They came, first individually, then in a triple batch with tools, and finally, even after light had been restored, another showed up with a bag of chocolate bars and a screwdriver (?). I watched her watch the light turn on and off, off and on, clearly functioning and yet she remained with chocolate and her tool. She remained in the room until I gave her what I hoped was a universal sign of functionality-a big thumbs up. The situation needed to run its course and I was one part of a larger machine.

The trip was sometimes like that. Things weren’t always as expected (but frequently also were because of detailed planning and the perfect balance, I hope, between nurturing, nagging and the serendipity of connecting with people that you know on one level and then, through proximity and opportunity, discover in a new way.) Life, and our trip, unfolded in remarkable, edifying, thrilling and unexpected ways. Things happened that didn’t always seem to make sense but most frequently goodness prevailed because we willed it to be so. We became the vehicles of opportunity and goodness. Most of us resist change. We create pictures of how things need to be and mesh the pics with the stories we tell ourselves in hopes of creating a stable reality. The best planning, organizing, and communicating can only take us so far, both on the trip and in life. It is relatively easy for most of us to shine in the best of circumstances. How we react and sustain ourselves in the face of the challenges that life always provides defines who we are and who we continue to become.

As I typed the boy’s final reflections for the blog, late last night and early this morning, I was struck by their willingness to find opportunity in the situations and circumstances they experienced. We look back on fond moments on the trip; the sweetness of boys singing a well-known Chinese folk song on the bus with Howard, our Xi’an tour guide, faces flushed with excitement amid thousands of terra-cotta foot soldiers, the frosty mountain air after learning about, scaling and descending the Great Wall, the thrill of so many choices at breakfast and the sweet goodness of being with people who know you and like you because of and in spite of it all. There were so many moments of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. There were little chats about choices and times to examine decisions made and their effects. We went to the same places but had different take-aways…as in life.

The 2012 China Trip was not a vacation. It was a cultural opportunity, a personal and group journey. In the end, as in life, we get what we get from it and part of what we get is dependent on what we invest. Some boys wrote about how this trip opened their worlds, helped them expand their willingness to experience the new, to experience responsibility without burden, to see the world with fresh and open eyes. The best of trips make you a better person, because things go so well and because they don’t. In the end it all seems magical and exciting and worthy of reflection and wonder. Because, if you are lucky or willing, goodness, opportunity and growth are always around the corner, even in another corner of the world.
-h2

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Last Post

I found that the experiences gained through seeing places like the Great Wall or the Terra Cotta Warriors cannot be found through videos, pictures and stories. There is more to these laces than what could be captured or told such as what is around, the sound, the environment, the smell, and most importantly, the journey. I have heard many stories and facts. I have seen many pictures. But nothing could compare to the full experience. The first shock is one of the best parts. You can see the amazing length and height of the Great Wall, the countless numbers of Terra Cotta warriors and the beauty of the Temple of Heaven. If I only saw pictures, I would only see a small, unmoving frame which forces you to focus on only one part. The experience of shock allows you to see the full image from any angle of your choice. Unfortunately, the first shock lasts a small amount of time and nothing could compare to the first experience. Knowing this could be good or bad for me in the future. Now I will appreciate my first impressions more.
-Rex

I had many new and different experiences during my China trip. It was my first time going to China. I was surprised by how many people there were in the train stations. It made me believe in the the huge population of China. It was hard to move around in the train station with so many people there.
-Thomas

Throughout this entire China trip, we all have experienced strange and very different foods than we are used to eating—from French fries to sheep penis-we’ve seen it all. We had to eat many interesting sights and tastes that kids would usually avoid.

This was a very different food experience for me. I am not too picky of an eater. Aren’t we all though? Coming on this trip forced me to jump out of my comfort zone so that I could fill my belly. I tried a lot of stuff that I would normally avoid in the United States. I had to branch out and stretch my enjoyment of food.

At first, this seemed like it could be the hardest, most painful thing that I could do at the time. But as the days went by, and I was exposed to more and more foods and dishes. I began to like the food I was trying and I also began to try lots of foods. Not judging it how it looked or smelled but just going for it. This really branched out my palate of food and what I liked or didn’t.

This will really change my future. The first and most obvious reason is that I will be able to try and enjoy more foods. If I’ve never had a dish before, I’ll be able to openly try it. This will truly help me in the future and I will become, with time, less and less picky.

The second reason is that I can become less judgmental about people-not judging them appearance or how they do things. I will try and test them before I come to a quick, first sight judgment.

-Albert

Overall, I learned a lot on this trip. Out of all the things that I learned here, I think that the Terra-Cotta Warriors were the most interesting. I was surprised that there were thousands of soldiers and they still have not found all of the artifacts in the area. I thought it was really cool that the farmers spent all of their time creating the warrior’s extremely precisely when they could have been farming or doing something else. I also thought it was very exciting how they have not found all of the warriors and the artifacts, because it gives you the sense that there is still a surprise somewhere, buried underneath the ground and you can’t anticipate finding it or having someone else discover a new secret.

I will take a lot away from our visit to Terra-Cotta Warriors. Now I will be sure to be aware of what is around me and not think that every interesting thing has been found or discovered.

-George

I have had many different new experiences during the China trip. It has been my first time going to China. I as surprised by how many people there were in the train stations. It made me believe in the huge population in China. It was hard to move around in the train stations with so many people there. You had to push, you had to shove, and you had to run. This was the only way of staying with the group. This was a new experience for me. When I got in the train and in my room, Jackson, Isaac and Leo were there. The room was so small that we couldn’t move almost anywhere. We had to move our suitcases up to the top shelf, which was extremely difficult. Jackson almost had a bag fall on top of him! I had a slightly hard time falling asleep on the train. The train was loud sometimes and sometimes moved suddenly.

As a result, I learned that train stations in China are dangerous and have a lot of people and that night trains are hard to sleep on. Next time if I go to China, I will be more aggressive or consider a different route when going to an overnight destination.

-Thomas

During this trip I learned that the Terra-Cotta Warriors weren’t actually real people covered with stone. Before I came to China, I thought that the dead bodies of soldiers were preserved being covered with cement. But now I know I learned that they are just big statues representing each warrior. I felt good about the trip, but I became nervous every time we did something that involved being alert at all times. I enjoyed the trip a lot because I accomplished what I wanted to do. I don’t like looking at pictures, knowing I have no chance at all to go there. When I saw Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Olympic stadiums, my mind would say,” Yes! Finally we are here!”

-Alberto

Last night was the most terrifying but fun and hilarious night ever. It started with us eating dinner in a restaurant called ‘The Pork Distribution Center.” The name itself made us all laugh, but what really made it fun were all of the jokes that were cracked out at the table. When we finished dinner, we hopped on the bus thinking that when we got off, we would have a nice experience walking to the train station and into the train. We were gravely mistaken. As we neared the train station, the noise and the number of people grew louder and larger. Soon it turned into a free-for-all. People yelling and shoving, bodies one inch away from each other, creating a friction so great I thought my jacket was going to ignite. You could cut the heat between the bodies in half with a knife. As I was nearly separated from the group about three times, I started to get a little bit nervous. Right when another person blocked my path, I was really scared. Thoughts of hatred filled my mind. Why were these people so mean? Why are they so pushy? I thought I was separated for good.

When Miles put a reassuring hand on me, I was so relieved. Relieved of the thoughts, of being nervous. I knew that I really shouldn’t have been so judgmental about the people. They all have the same goal of getting to the train. I thought of what it would be like to go through that line with my family and a chill went through my body. If I were with my family, my experience would be ten times more stressful as would anyone else’s.

In the end, I took away that I shouldn’t be so judgmental and stressed. Instead I should have been enjoying the experience and having the same mindset that I had afterwards of being relaxed and reflecting on how fun the experience was during the actual thing.

-Tut

On the trip, I had a special moment on the Great Wall. When I saw the wall, I was amazed how long it was. It stretched from one mountain to another. We also learned that the mortar on top were made from porridge and that each brick was laid by hand. I was amazed by how dedicated the people were about building it. Thousands of people died but that didn’t stop the wall from being completed. Dedication; that’s what I’m going to get from this experience or what I hope to bring back to America.

-Spencer

I have to say that of all the great experiences we’ve had in China, my favorite and the one that really changed the way I feel about things was the tea tasting ceremony on the say we went to Tienanmen Square. In the past, I’ve been very close-minded about things and tea was always one of those things I refused to change my mind about. But when we tried the first cup of tea, I completely changed my mind about tae, and that will help me change about other things in the future. After my first sip of the tea, I understood why people, and some traditional Chinese people specifically; find tea such a big deal. I understood how it makes people feel peaceful and happy. I used to think of it lightly, as a joke. I thought that just a drink couldn’t make someone find peace or happiness. But after experiencing that tea tasting, I vowed to myself to try before judging and to give everything a chance. Having a more open minded approach to life will help me appreciate things and discover things that I may end up loving, like, as I discovered this week, tea.

The first cup of tea was called Ginseng Oolong tea. I thought it was really good in comparison to what I expected. Then we tried Jasmine tea. The Jasmine tea was bitter and I didn’t like it as much. The next tea was called Pu-er, which was somewhat like the green Oolong tea. The next two were my favorites that we tried-black lychee tea then fruit tea. They were very sweet and unique. After this day, I promise myself to take a more open mind to life.

-Timmy

Friday, February 17

Bird's Nest, Olympic Village, Beijing

Outside my Beijing Hotel Room

Two Chinese Teachers

Choosing Breakfast (with help)

Beijing Middle School Meet and Greet

Isaac and a loom at the silk factory in Beijing.

CSB and Beijing June First Middle School Group

Kung Fu practice room

Bullet train-nose to nose

Who isn't fascinated by the life cycle of a silk worm?

Who knew silk could be so stretchy?

CSB and Beijing June First Middle School Group 2

Watching the Kung Fu Demo

Friday, February 17
Reflections from the Boys-Part 1
Boys gathered in the lobby. Simona, our tour director, asked them to think about what they learned from this trip. How might their experiences in China change them, if at all? Following are the first part of the entries boys submitted in response.

Over this trip there have been many interesting and different things to see, do and experience. One of those things I loved was the food. Something I learned about here was about all of the culture history and many times love goes into the food here. From the savory soup to the sweet and sour meats, I used my previous “foodie” knowledge to help me understand food, but to be honest, it would take generations to fully understand something we take for granted like food or drink.

I am writing about this food because it honestly stood out to me and complimented this trip in a positive way. I experienced hundreds, probably, of new tastes through this week. Each city had its own unique tastes and special dishes. This made me want to appreciate the food to its fullest extent. This made me realize that these people don’t just cook for us because they are forced. For example, in the Hutong area, the families that welcomed us and cooked for us made food as they have done for generations for complete strangers to give us this unique and wonderful experience. Another example of this was the restaurants we went to, especially the one last night (2/16) in Xi’an.

Although I loved all the food with their rich, savory, exotic flavors, I also experienced the downside of our enjoyment as well. I understand that large dishes are common and traditional in China, but I also see the waste that is produced while we gorge ourselves. This also made me think for long periods of time. After truly realizing this, it made me think back seeing the millions of hungry people.

After all this, I want to change truly and use this experience to never take seemingly simple things for granted. This does not mean I disliked any of the trip, food, or anything of that sort, but the small things lime the food put things into more perspective. It made me see each impoverished person more clearly making my thoughts of appreciation more justified in my head.

Lastly, my appreciation also should go out to all those who helped us through the trip like our guides Aaron and Howard and our activities director, Simona. Without them, almost none of our trip could have happened successfully from PEK to PEK.

Overall, food started all my thoughts on this trip and taught me not to take little things for granted, especially when those things are staring straight in the face.

-Chris

I experienced a new type of food. Not by eating but by walking through one of Beijing’s Night Markets. Although I already knew other countries had foods that were very odd or even gross to us, but to them its absolutely normal. In the market, I got to see different foods. I saw cat, dog, beetles, scorpions, larva, grasshoppers, worms, seahorse, animal genitalia and more. These were all interesting to the class and me because none of us had seen anything like it. I felt that these foods were things people would never eat. After seeing these foods and the many people eating them, I found how this would affect me in the future. Even though I have been told this saying before, I feel in the future when I see something odd to me or what may be useless is another man’s treasure (or in this case food.)

-Ethan

This China trip had many interesting parts to it. To me, the most important part was seeing the Great Wall of China. At the top of it, I could see it dip down into the valley, come up the mountain and then dip back down. This ongoing pattern lasted as far as the eye could see and much farther. It made me feel relaxed and at peace. I thought about how long it had lasted and why. It had lasted so long because people had taken care f it for so long. If I take care of myself and other things and people, I will last for a lot loner and be stronger rather than letting myself crumble to pieces.

-Leo A.

I learned a lot this trip. The most important thing I probably learned was to deal with adversity and adapt quickly to change. On this trip, we had many different things that don’t meet standards at home. There were gross squatters (toilets), to unclean water, from bad air quality to communication problems etc. We faced a lot of adversity this trip, and I feel it has taught us how to adapt to change, and how to, as Mr. Tacke would say, “Suck it up.” I think this will help me be responsive to change in the future and really deal with it because nothing is exactly the same.

-Isaac

When I look back on this trip, I will remember the three Fs. Fact, Feeling, Effect. We have learned many facts on this trip. Facts about Beijing, Dengfeng, Xi’an, and Zhengzhou. Also facts about Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Shaolin Temple, the Temple of Heaven and the Terra-Cotta Warriors. When we were at the Shaolin Temple, we learned some facts about Kung Fu and Kung Fu within China. I learned that less than 50% of China learns Kung Fu. I feel from a certain point to view that this trip was more of a culture trip. The Costa Rica trip seems like more of a vacation. I think that the effect of this trip will teach me not to judge things. For example, when I first came to China, I saw tons of pollution, but once we were out of the city, I noticed that the country was a whole lot clearer, and not as polluted. I just based the whole country’s appearance off one city. That is when I learned I shouldn’t judge things based off appearance.

Alex Bro…

There are a lot of things I learned on this trip and one of them was to be flexible. When things don’t go your way, you can be fine with it. When we had to use squatters (toilets), we just had to be flexible. When the air quality was not the best, we dealt with it. When the tap water was not healthy to drink we sort of had limited water. YOU WILL BE OK! An experience I had on this trip about flexibility was when a classmate complained about the shower in one of the rooms and I was thinking we were lucky to have hot water or even water and to be thankful and deal with it. Also, if there is something you really want in a store, but you don’t have enough money, you have to be flexible and you have to by borrowing money or something like that. I also learned that not everything in life is just meant to come to you. Sometimes you have to work hard.

-Bradley

I learned that the four main pillars of the Temple of Heaven are made of redwoods from Oregon. . I felt there was much too much pollution in Zhengzhou. I was scared that I would get lung cancer (not really.) I think that now I will not form impressions of a place before I have been there. China really surprised me. I was expecting the monks to be more stiff and formal. I thought that the Great Wall would be filled with tourists and the Shaolin Temple less so. I also thought I would be sick of Chinese food by the end of the trip and I wasn’t. I also discovered that I want to make a Lazy Susan for a rectangular table. I would place two on the table, then I would put a rubber lining on both and put them together, so when one turned, the other would too.

-Liam

One thing I learned on this trip about China was that the customs, traditions, and general way of life in China are a lot different from home. I learned this before we even got to China. Once we were on the airplane to China, we were all zoned out listening to music, watching TV and such. At one point, I looked over my shoulder. I saw a Chinese man just staring at us as if we were his kids. Every once in a while he would try to talk to us, not quite realizing that we didn’t speak Chinese or that we were really creeped out. As our journey progressed, we all saw a lot of different things such as squatting toilets in pretty much every restroom to our horror. Despite the occasional “airball” on the squatter, we adjusted. The differences that we experienced went beyond the bathroom. As soon as we stepped out of the airport, we realized there was a reason our parents sent us with lots of warm jackets. It was pretty freezing, to say the least. The days when we were outside for extended periods of time got pretty chilly and we wore everything we got literally. If someone did forget something at the hotel or misplaced it, someone instantly offered something to make the day a little better. Overall, I saw that beyond our ever thoughtful and prepared chaperons and fellow students. As travelers we did a good job of adapting, helping each other and being selfless. I think this leads to what we all learned. We are often told that we will be pushed out of our comfort zones and we accept that although I think this was, for me, at least a large, inescapable trial at this. I think this trip did a good job if pushing our comfort zone but also let us have a lot of fun. So what I learned from this is that being pushed in a new place and being in a totally new and different environment is a challenge that we will most likely face in the future and this was a good example in showing us and proving that we can adjust and have fun.

-Alex Brah…

Before I came to China and saw the Great Wall, I did not really recognize where it went, how big it was or how much work went into building it. When I saw it in the distance, I began to realize, but it wasn’t until I stood on the wall itself that I truly saw its scope and size. The wall stretched off into the distance for miles upon miles, stretching over the tallest hills and mountains. I had completely prejudged and taken the Great Wall for granted. My former idea of the Great Wall made seeing it in person all the more exciting, but I was also disappointed that I had not seen this version of the Great Wall before and that I had forced my idea of the wall into an untrue shape in my head. I feel that after seeing the Great Wall, I will take things for granted less and try not to prejudge and predetermine things before I see them myself.

-Leo W.

My favorite part of the China trip was all the moments I had to myself. While I was thinking to myself, I looked around at the new, strange sights. I felt weird at these moments because I felt like I had no padding to fall on, no support.

I think that the thing that I noticed that would be most helpful in China would be to speak the language. From restaurants to the street, people would stop and talk to me. All I could do was single out words like “wu” and “ni.” IN the future, I am going to continue to learn Chinese so I can understand. I am also going to convince my parents to send me to China more often.

I also enjoyed seeing Chinese culture and learning their history. The many places we went were more fun than I expected and I enjoyed them.

The food and hotel rooms were also one of my favorites. Every morning, I would wake up in a nice, comfortable bed surrounded by a lot of nice furniture. The bathrooms were much better than the public squatters in the public bathrooms. The breakfasts we had went from hotel buffets to homemade food. I ate a lot of the lunches. We had dumpling buns, soup/congee and many other great items. The food I have had in China is very different from the Chinese food I have had in America. The food in China has many different shapes and tastes. For dinner, I have had many different meals in restaurants. The meals have been vegetarian, Chinese meals and American meals. I have enjoyed this diversity in food a lot. If you are reading this mom, please let me come back to China soon. I also want to teach Jack the “Ways of Bargaining.”

-Louis

On this trip we had to travel a lot, deal with change and keep ourselves composed and organized for the next situation. We rode trains. We were forced to take many showers and handle ourselves as individuals. There weren’t any moms, dads or older siblings to baby us or wash our clothes or tell us to brush our teeth. We were forced to become at least a it more self-sufficient.

I felt that at the end of this trip, I had become more organized and able to feel comfortable in any situation I was thrown into. (In a radical sense as I’m not saying I was prepared for a tornado or anything.) I always carried layers and I was constantly warm with my camera prepared. (Yes, the camera was a necessity because the last trip my mom was upset due to me not taking pictures.) Now though, I was organized and I did my duties without being told. I feel now I can handle myself as an individual without messing up or being yelled at. I can control my own universe. In the future, I’ll probably think, “Oh hey, that was my second trip to China. That was awesome, I suppose.” Then though, I’ll realize that I really became independent on that trip. I’ll think about how, if it wasn’t for that trip, I’d feel like a 24 year old man being fed from a bottle while wearing Depends (adult diapers.) That’s right, I’d feel like a 24 year old man wearing a diaper. This trip has provided me with the skills needed to control my life. I can pack my own suitcase, manage my spending and diet, not go into below-freeing weather wearing a t-shirt and short-shorts (not that I actually own a pair of shorty-shorts. This trip is something that I’ll hold onto in the future where I learned to manage myself. That was the trip where I learned to handle the life of Justin M…

-Justin

When I first came to China, I was not looking forward to seeing the Great Wall. It was not disappointing at all and I would even say it blew my already high expectations away. I always knew it was colossal, but I didn’t know quite how big it was until I first laid my eyes on it. The view was incredible and just looking at the rest of the wall along the top of the mountains was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen.

I have just been to one of the world’s most interesting countries and I feel sad that I will have to leave it so soon. I find it fascinating how Chinese culture and American culture are so different. I also noticed that almost everything in China is massive and I think this was reflected especially in the size of the buildings and the number of people. I am very glad that I have had this unique experience of coming here.

I think that one thing I can take away from this trip is all of the rich history that China has. I think that Chinese history has played a huge role in its culture today. An example of this would be the importance of Kung Fu in Chinese culture. I appreciate this, because in America, something like Kung Fu is non-existent in the culture. History plays a bugger role in Chinese culture than American culture and I believe we shall appreciate this a great deal.

-Miles

Great Wall Photos

I didn’t think I would have had the time but as Nicholas recovers, I am in the hotel watching the rose sun cast longer shadows over the buildings from my 11th floor vista. I’ve counted twice and hope I have everyone individually photographed by Ms.Thaler. Please note Ms. Huang was feeling ill and did not join us that day, but she has since recovered and is at the school with the children as I post this to you. It has been a wonderful trip and I’ve enjoyed almost every moment. The boys are delightful, interesting as individuals and in various groupings. When your boys return, please do email me/Jessie any favorite photos you would like included in the slide show Ms. Thaler and I are putting together. Can't wait to see you all, jet lagged as we may be. Remember also the closure of the Bay Bridge, westbound and that it will take us a while to clear customs. Expect very tired boys mostly craving pizza and cutlery. Enjoy the Great Wall pics.