Half way home!

Well, for those of us anxious for our kids’ return this marks a very special point in the trip - half way! Now we have a reference of time and space. We can now know how long it will be before the group returns.

For those on the trip, they will be challenged by this “middle space” where the novelty of the beginning is over and the anxiety of the return is still in the distance -- 15 days down, 15 days to go.

But . . . because of the careful planning and exciting itinerary, there may not be time to experience this middle ”zone.” The group  will have another magnificent day in Xi’an, and then tomorrow they depart for their final destination, Hohhot, before returning to Beijing.

Due to some technical problems in China, some of the reports and photos have not arrived. We are hoping that they will come in sometime today,in which case, we’ll put together one big page for tomorrow. This will work out great as tomorrow is a travel day for the kids.

We did, however, manage to get one of the reports through the 7,000 miles of phone lines. This one is from Julia, and she says:

Report 9 - Julia

Today we went to Confucius’ birthplace. It was a little cave surrounded by farms and mountains. It was pretty interesting to see. While I enjoyed seeing the cave, the best part of the day came later when we visited a small village near the cave site.

It was so amazing to walk through this village interacting with people. It’s incredible how easy it was to connect with the people without even speaking the same language or living similar lifestyles. Villagers were crowding around us, eager to take pictures and interact. Children stopped and stared or ran to us and waved. Mothers laughed and agreed to let us take pictures of their toddlers. It was such an amazing place to walk around. I felt intrusive coming in a big group in two vans, climbing out and gawking at a small village in China, but people seemed to enjoy seeing us. One particular thing they loved was seeing the pictures I took on the digital camera.  We would take a picture and be able to show it to them.   It was especially great to be able to share something with them since they let us walk around their village. You have to visit the Wall, the Summer palace, the Forbidden City and other tourist attractions, but what changes a tourist trip into a more meaningful and educational experience is seeing a place like this village. It is real and while you can learn facts about which emperors built and lived in the Forbidden City in the past, there is an important value in learning how people are living now…in the present.

Julia touched on a key point here. These kids are experiencing the “real” China. They have spent time in schools, working side-by-side with Chinese students; two days experience living with Chinese families; have performed for and with Chinese students; and are going to many small villages, sharing the most valuable thing they have -- themselves.

These kids are indeed getting an education learning about the history, culture, and life in China. But, more importantly, The Journey East II program is giving these students something so much more -- they are getting the chance to “be” Chinese. These kids are experiencing China on the inside.

There are many sights and sounds to experience in Xi’an. The links provided on yesterday’s page will certainly give you everything you need to known about this fascinating city. But there are two more sights we believe the group will see, and there links are below.

So, we’lll ook forward to some more reports and photos tomorrow and then it will be on the road again.

• Great Mosque
• Bell Tower