Home away from home . . .

Another gorgeous day in Vermont! Let’s check in and see what the weather is in Hohhot today: 50 degreees, partly cloudy. Should be clear for their final two days in Inner Mongolia. Excellent!

From the sounds of things the kids have really settled in and are feeling “at home” in Hohhot. The people there have been terrific hosts and many have become good friends. I am sure it will be difficult for them to say goodbye. Their collaborative work with the Mongolian students has made them aware of their strengths and weaknesses that will prove to be valuable in their artistic development.

Ron Kelley (Music Director), always in a creative mode, brings us his report in the form of a beautiful poem (Haiku). You can read it here to the right of this column. It is amazing how so many pictures can be painted with so few words. Just terrific . . .

Well, the spring break is over and it’s back to school tomorrow. For parents of these kids, this is the week we have been waiting for. To help pass the time, here’s a neat little Chinese new year jigsaw puzzle. Check it out. How fast can you put this puzzle together?
 

First morning sunshine
Laced with shouts of martial arts
Comes through my window.

Is that some blue sky?
We’re in the season of dust
Mixed with pollution.

When I get back home
I will wait for weeks before
Eating hard-boiled eggs.

We arrive at the
Reception room rehearsal
Ready for some fun.

A room full of smiles,
American and Chinese,
Doing a square dance.

Why don’t my two feet
Keep in time with my two hands
As I swing two scarves?

And one, two, three, four
Let me show you how it goes.
Students are teachers.

High, bright, beautiful
The girl teaches us to sing
About the grasslands.

The CD player
That we asked for is not here
Swing dance anyway.

Balancing six bowls
On your head. “I can do it!”
“But can you spin?”

Mongolian boys
Leaping, flipping and spinning,
Breakdance sensation.

The big dirty bus
Gives more room to sit than the
Small new-smelling bus.

Traffic in China
Determining right-of-way
“I’m bigger than you.”

Make sure that you don’t
Sit at the wrong table at lunch.
Decorum pervades.

We visit a class.
“Do you sing Celine Dion
Or Pavarotti?”

By the Waters of
Babylon, Where we sat down.
Our new hit single.

Translation is like
Navigating by the light
Of flashing fireflies.

Park bench, freeze, machine
What is Chinese for improv?
Manikin hijinks.

The CD player
That we asked for is now here
Swing dance, Hooray!

More China traffic
Constantly honk on your horn.
“Watch where I’m going!”

The wind is blowing.
People ride their bikes wearing
Dust masks on their faces.

Jenny left for home.
She is in the air right now.
We will miss her.

Kids light up the halls
In dim hotels. Saving
Electricity.

Ron Kelley (Music Director)
April 16, 2002

1. A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and  five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons.

2. A poem written in this form.

---[Japanese: hai, amusement (from Middle Chinese beij, pha·j) + ku, sentence (from Middle  Chinese kuh).]

Source: The American  Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All  rights reserved.

REPORT 21 -- Kim, April 20

HOHHOT   We got back in the ol’ routine today, after two days of sight seeing. Yesterday was a tough day to beat but our creative juices are flowing yet again. Our day began with the usual rehearsal with the Chinese-Mongolian kids at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Performing Arts. Our scarf dances with the host kids have definitely improved since the first day. I know I understand it but I don’t know about Marcus:  He’s a little bit “tooziebots.” The dancers at the school seem to have caught on to the square dance better than we have: It’s kind of embarrassing but dance is what they do. The singing is starting to sound pretty darn good if you ask me . . . Broadway here we come!

We had a performance today, the stage was different than what we are used to but we worked around any little problem we might have had. This performance didn’t really feel up to Broadway material, but I suppose we can say we did all right. When we first arrived at the school there was an aisle of high school kids in uniforms awaiting our arrival. The introduction conference when we first arrived was short and sweet. We received a little statue of a horse from the school;  it’s rather pretty.

The dinner at the host school after the performance was so full of energy. Everyone there—including kids from that school-- was laughing and singing and scarfing down their food. They had ice cream cakes at each table, oh so heavenly. Also they had macaroni salad stuff that wasn’t that bad and it was so nice to see. They had sandwiches and a few other things that reminded at least me of home. We sang a bunch of songs informally around a table. Then our grand finale was Kestrel and Ashley with their “Great Big Beautiful Doll” routine. Everyone laughed and had a great time.

After lunch a small group of us walked to a marketplace, on a street with about 25 little shops and venders on it. It was so nice to go into a grocery store and see Oreos, Herbal Essences, Dove chocolate, Ritz crackers, Lays potato chips, there were some more familiar things but you’ll get bored if I list them. We all stocked up on our “can’t live without” foods.

One more thing that doesn’t really go with my report is that for the most part the drivers here would be considered crazy back home. The style works here but it seems that a lot of times you’ll find cars on the wrong side of the road.
 

And here’s a note from Ann. She is referring to one of the many performances the kids have staged while in Hohhot. Notice the contrast between Ann’s description of one show and the photos (see April 21 photos page) of their performance the other night. Here’s what Ann says about our kids . . .

The kids’ adaptability and flexibility was put to the test at today’s show. We were in a “canteen” a.k.a. multi-purpose room with a 9” high stage, virtually no backstage, minimal lighting and jobbed-in mikes.  The difference was that this multi-purpose room was the size of an small airplane hanger, unlike the cozy little spaces in Windham Central schools. They did beautifully against the odds and the kids at the Honder School loved them. Our show was followed by a collection of music and poetry performed—all in basic English—by the Honder students. 

I believe that after this experience, your kids will be able to tackle just about anything they set their minds to, they will be FAR more globally knowledgeable and aware, they will be better performers, they will be more attuned and effective communicators.

Like we have said so many times before, these will not be the same kids we last saw nearly a month ago! From the looks of the photos, they all look like shining stars! I can hear their beautiful voices now . . . I want to hear their beautiful voices now . . .

We’d like to remind all parents and students considering participation in Journey East 2004, to read through the entire Journey East site and check the program timeline. We’re sure that after having had a chance to speak to the students currently enrolled in the program, learning more about their unbelievable adventures in China, see their creative and entertaining performances, many of you will be anxious to be a part of the next chapter in the continuing development of the Asian Studies program.  

That’s it for today folks. We have more stuff arriving tonight and I guarantee tomorrow we’ll have a ton of new photos, reports, and updates of some recent “off stage” acitivites. Lots of pictures of the kids and I understand we’ll have photos of the Gobi desert!

See you all tomorrow!

• Chinese new year jigsaw puzzle