Created at Leland & Gray High School in Townshend, Vermont, supported by the Asian Studies Outreach Program (ASOP) at the University of Vermont (UVM), and funded primarily through a grant from the Freeman Foundation,

Journey East, as a whole, consists of the Asian Studies Academy and Sino-American Performing Arts Exchange at Leland and Gray Union High School; the integration of an Asian Studies curriculum throughout the Windham Central Supervisory Union, and the introduction of Chinese language programs into the district.

Dr. Juefei Wang, Director of the Asian Studies Outreach Program University of Vermont, is a recipient of the prestigious Goldman Sachs Award for Excellence in International education, on behalf of the UVM, Asian Studies Outreach Program.

The Leland and Gray Journey East program is deeply indebted, and extends its heartfelt thanks, to Dr. Juefei Wang, without whose effort and support this program would not even be possible!

Thank you Juefei!

Hi everybody,

Well, we are into our second weekend of the trip. Two more weekends and they’re home!

A flurry of activity defines the group’s activities this weekend. They gave an an emotional goodbye to Qufu and were off to Jinan Saturday morning. They were to visit Mount Tai Shan yesterday, but the high winds proved too dangerous for the cable cars. Instead, the group went on to the Yellow River and, when all else fails, go shopping! They were in Jinan overnight and are now on their way to Xi’an today. By the time you read this, they should be there!

The group will be in Xian for four days before heading off to the most powerful destination of the journey -- Hohhot (pronounced “Hoe-hought”). We’ll talk more about the activities in Xian tomorrow.

We have a lot of photos, some updates/explanations from Tom, and Ann, and we have Katy Harlow’s daily report. So let’s get going . . .

We have photos from Qufu where they visited the cave where Confucius was born and the temple, which was also a school for teaching Confucian scholars. And then the farewell banquet in the evening.
 

If you saw yesterday’s page, you’ll remember I said the gang was treated to a special event where they were the guests of honor. Well . . . I’ll let Tom explain:

We attended the opening ceremony of the Middle School Sports competition; guests of honor, no less. The photos don't come close to capturing the event. There were over 1,000 students competing. The stands were also filled with the 3,000 students who were there but not competing. What a beautiful event! —Tom
 

Middle School
Sports Competition
Opening Ceremonies

Let’s let Katy Harlow tell us all about the events of the past couple of days . . .

Katy Harlow, Junior
April 8, 2005

Wow!  I think this one word has become the theme of this trip thus far. There is just no way to describe what it's like here. And today was the bittersweet end to our stay here in Qufu. We started the day early after a crazy show last night.

We were honored guests at the opening ceremonies of the annual track and field "Olympics" at the middle/high school here on the campus of Qufu Normal University. [This was an impressive event with nearly 1000 student athletes in the opening parade, all of whom were slated to compete in two full days of events.]

The late morning and early afternoon were spent at a beautiful mountain hosting the tiny cave where scholar and teacher Confucius was born. It is just amazing to know that a man who has influenced the lives of millions all over the world was born in a wet cavern. Near that site was a compound of beautiful old buildings erected 1000 years ago as a place for scholars to gather for study of Confucius' teachings.] It was an awe-inspiring place-so peaceful and venerable.  I could have stayed up there all day.

On the way back down, we stopped in a little village which represents what Tom calls the "real China." I don't think I ever could have been prepared for the extreme poverty we saw there.  But, as has been true everywhere we've been so far, the people there were always smiling and happy to say 'hello.' Children and adults alike gathered around us to receive the small gifts we'd brought from home. I wanted to scoop up all the children I saw and bring them home with me!

We had a quiet afternoon of free time after a late lunch. Then tonight, we said goodbye  to our university  friends at the farewell banquet. Speeches and toasts were made, songs were sung and we all had a good time.

But now it is time for bed!  Tomorrow is an early morning with a long bus ride. What an incredible journey this has been.  Missing home, but loving every minute!

Here are photos of some of the reasons why the goodbyes were difficult . . .
 

Bye, bye,
so long . . .

Farewell.

And then it was time for that “long bus ride” after a long emotional evening. A much-needed chance to catch up on some sleep . . .
 

A chance to sleep . . .

So now the gang is back in Jinan for the day. As we mentioned, the trip to Mt. Tai Shan was canceled (due to inclement weather) and so they went on to the Yellow River . . .

We are in Jinan at a recently refurbished beautiful hotel next door to the airport. Mt. Tai was canceled because of high winds. The cable cars on both sides of the mountain were not running. Kind of a bummer but these kids are great. We just moved on to plan B. Took them over the Yellow River Bridge in Jinan and then to the city to the hotel where we picked up our plane tickets to Xi'an. The contrast between the village that we were in yesterday and the shopping mall in downtown Jinan is as dramatic as one might imagine. The mall here in Jinan would compare very favorably with any stores on Madison or 5th Avenue in New York City. —Tom
 

And now, if someone would kindly direct us to the nearest KFC . . .
 

The music is everywhere . . .

Thus ends another chapter in this fascinating story of twenty-five students and five adults from Vermont winding their way through the past, present, and future of China. We have not even reached the halfway point and already it seems they have done so much!

The group will get a chance to see some fabulous sites while in Xian. Here is a street map of Xian showing you where all the sites are that the group will visit.

We’ll begin talking about all these wonderful events while in Xian tomorrow. There is a lot planned for their short stay in Xian, so we’ll have plenty to share and learn.

And so, as we close this part of the trip and begin a short, and final, intermediate excursion through western China, before heading to Inner Mongolia, we leave you with one more reality check. The learning never stops, whether it is with the personal contact with China’s people, the performances the student give, the seeing and learning of the sites and culture, the students must still attend class. These students may be away from their Vermont classroom, but they are not away from their class. Let’s hear what went on in Ann’s class last night . . .

It's Satuday night at the airport hotel in Jinan. I just held a lit class, part of which was reading excerpts from journal entries. The observations and revelations therein are rich. A couple kids are working on articles to send to the Reformer. They all have so much to say, each seeing a moment through a different lens, each enjoying epiphanies and challenging stereotypes and preconceived notions.

It was hard to leave Qufu. Maybe it's the Confucian buzz, or the fact that spring is so generous there, or that the academic milieu fosters clear thinking: I'm not sure, but I always leave there feeling fulfilled. A big part of the gratification comes from seeing our students interact so easily and readily with the Chinese kids on the campus. Those moments can't be engineered. They just happen.

I think we're fortunate to have been able to see and learn so much about Confucius in Qufu. I don't love his take on women, but overall, his rule is pretty golden. I talked a little with the kids tonight about the amazing mind explosion that took place a couple thousand years ago (give or take a few hundred years) Christ in the Middle East; Socrates in Greece, Siddhartha in India, Confucius here. Each is chewing on basics of human behavior; each is spewing forth such pithy stuff, but none is writing it down; each is counting on his followers to carry it on. Whew...

OK... must to bed. Early morning flight to Xi'an. More from there.

Peace, Annie

Whew, indeed, Ann. Or, as Katy stated above, “Wow!”
 

Class dismissed . . .

moment of zen . . .