Where Are They?

LGUHS

ASOP

FREEMAN

Oh the Places They Go . . .

Good day everyone . . .

In many ways, for those of us back home, Journey East is our own personal reality show. The participants (students) go through a rigid screening process, each hoping to make their way to “Hollywood” (in this case China), and then each day is like the next show, where they perform and share their experiences. The good news is no one gets kicked off. Instead, they ALL become our American Idols.

Okay . . . that was a bit corny ( but I can get away with corny stuff because I am a colonel’s son). Ahem. We have a bunch of great stuff for you today. Let’s start the day with a trip to the Mengniu Dairy, followed and then a trip to a park where time was spent with other Mongolian students. Here’s Tom to set the stage for us . . .

We visited Mengniu Dairy today, an enormous, ultra modern, mechanized, spotless processing plant. It is the largest dairy in north China. Lots of foreign investment, machinery made in Sweden. Very, very impressive. From there we were off to a public park in Helin, which is where the outdoor photos were taken. Our students were accompanied by Chinese middle school students who were eager to practice their English. Lots of fun. Great lunch at a restaurant in Helin and then a performance for about 500 students and teachers at a large hall in the hotel. Students seem to be settling in and things are pretty much on an even keel here. The students and teachers are loving the food and the contact with Chinese and Mongolian students. We've had evening visits from Arts College students who just want to spend some time with our kids. It is really beautiful here; warm, sunny days and cool evenings. [Tom]

Fantastic. Each day’s event leaves us thinking, “how much better can it get?” And then the next day comes along and it gets better! Amazing!

Let’s check out the photos:
 

Okay, what’s missing from these photos? Come on, I know you know this. Hint: look out your window. That’s right! There is no snow there and many are wearing sweatshirts! Cool. No, hot. No . . . Hohhot!

Now let’s switch gears and read what Devan has to say about the time spent in Hohhot:
 

April 12, 2007-- Devan Piniewski, Freshman

We’ve only been in Hohhot for two days and already I can tell it’s going to be my favorite place in China. From visiting a Mongolian kindergarten this morning to seeing our much missed Mongolian friends this afternoon, it’s been a blast.

The kids at the kindergarten this morning were probably the cutest kids I will ever see. As soon as we stepped into their classroom and saw them in their tiny, traditional Mongolian outfits, I wanted to take one home. Each and every boy and girl was sitting in a little chair counting sheep bones [as part of a traditional Mongolian game]. After we took a peek around the classroom, they sang us a Mongolian song. Never in my life have I seen four- and five-year-olds able to sing and dance like these kids.

When we left the kindergarten to go to South Hulan Road Primary School, all the kids waved goodbye. While at the primary school, we split up into three different sections and went to classes: six to an art class, seven others and I to an English class, and the rest of our group to a PE class. I don’t know how the other classes were, but the English class was amazing. Well, not the class itself, but how well those third graders could speak English. I was really impressed. After many pictures and exchanging of gifts, we left the school and headed back to the hotel for lunch. We had a bit of free time before going to the arts college for “collaboration.”

At the arts college, we rehearsed the songs that we’ll sing with the students from the college [at the final performance on April 21]. Everyone went to dance rehearsal next to work on the piece we’ll perform with the students here. Since I’m not dancing, I had a chance to look at horse head fiddles. Wunur, a horse head fiddle student at the college, came with me, Matt, LuShuping and Chan Ying. The second we got into the store, he started trying out different fiddles for us. He’s so nice. Later on, after we finished looking at the fiddles, I went back with Wunur to the college to practice. We played in a small practice room and went over the song that will be played for the dance that the group is doing with other students of the college. Soon it was time to go back for dinner. A group of us checked out Karaoke rooms after dinner and then just hung out before bed.

-- Devan

And here’s Ann:

The kindergarteners -- ages 3 to 6 in Chinese kindergartens-- were charming and completely engaged as they performed a few sweet numbers for us. They were so beautiful that I found my eyes welling up. Visiting schools of various age groups here offers such profound lessons. Of course we leave with more questions than answers, but we’re always impressed by the rigor, the work ethic, the respect that’s operative in a classroom. It goes both ways, though. The principal of the middle school on the Qufu campus remarked -- as others have before -- that the Chinese admire our schools for the ways in which they encourage imagination and creativity. [Ann]

The Journey East program is dependent on many people for its success. We know that Tom Connor, Ann Landenberger, and Matt Martyn (Ron Kelley, 2002) are the major players and producers of the program. And without them, the program would not exist.

But the Journey East portion of the Asian Studies program could not succeed without the devotion and sacrifices of its chaperones. Each trip we are blessed with fantastic chaperones. This year is no exception. Our three wonderful chaperones for Journey East 2007 are: Andi Anderson, Susan Daigneault, and Louise McDevitt. The term “Chaperones” doesn’t begin to describe what these ladies do on this trip. Not only do they act as mothers, sisters, friends, guardians, maids, gophers, group leaders, guides, tutors, make-up artists, costume makers, prop holders, and anything else that needs to be done, they are also ambassadors of our program, state, and country as the group travels through China.

As if that isn’t enough, I know how much it means to the parents to know their children are being cared for at the highest level. Sending your child off to China for a month is one thing, but knowing your child is being looked after by these fantastic women is priceless. So push yourself away from your computer, stand up, and join me as we give these three incredible ladies a round of applause and a hearty “Thank You!”

Well done, everybody. That was nice.

Now, let’s check out a couple of performance photos. Can’t wait to see this performance live!
 

Close your eyes, and listen . . . can you hear them sing? Beautiful, just beautiful. Two weeks from tomorrow, we’ll all be sitting in the L&G gym watching the product of this journey perform for us. Two weeks? That means we are about to start (on Sunday) our T minus 10 countdown. Wow!

Okay, so maybe now is a good time to learn more about Inner Mongolia:

• · Inner Mongolian Provincial Museum (One could spend an entire day here!)
• · Inner Mongolia University (Chinese)
• · Inner Mongolia University (English)
• · Inner Mongolia

Remember the quiz I told you about at the beginning of this journey (oh, forgot already, did you? or maybe you were hoping I would forget. Yeah, I thought so!), well the following will not only make you smarter about Inner Mongolia, but it might help you get a passing grade on the test!

There are 56 ethic nationalities in China. Inner Mongolia claims to have 36. Here are percentages of the top five in Inner Mongolia:

Han - 79%
Mongol - 17%
Manchu - 2%
Hui - 0.9%
Daur - 0.3%

Click here for a more detailed look at these and other nationality breakdowns.

As you all are anxious for the return of your kids and spouses, their is great comfort knowing that they are totally immersed in their stay in Hohhot. They are among family and friends there and every hour is devoted to learning, experiencing, sharing, engaging, giving, and living out this adventure.

This group, as did the previous groups in ‘00, ‘02, and ‘04, and ‘05 have chosen to carry a very large and proud tradition of representing their families, communities, school, state, and country. What they do and how they act is the impression many Chinese and Mongolians will take as being representative of ALL Americans. This is no light responsibility.

From what we’ve seen and read so far, I think these guys are making us quite proud!

We leave you with a final group shot of our kids, group leaders, and three wonderful chaperones.

Thank you all!