Where Are They?

LGUHS

ASOP

FREEMAN

Next Stop, Qufu!

Well, the gang is now at their third destination on this incredible journey through China’s past, present, and future.

Before we talk about what the group will be doing in Qufu (and seeing the first photos there), we have one last round of photos of the Dazu Rock Carvings, and a student report on the last events in Chongqing.

Let’s start today with a report from JD Dolan:
 

April 1, 2007 -- Michael “JD” Dolan, Junior

In Chongqing we have had the opportunity to visit with students at three schools. These students are amazing. They take their work extremely seriously. They all strive to achieve top marks to make it into the best schools so they can attend the best universities. They work so hard: It’s incredible. All the students I have met speak English, though the level of comprehension varies. I was speaking with students from the Chongqing Foreign Language School and they told me that every student there learns English. Many want to attend American universities such as Harvard, Yale and MIT. Every student knows these universities because of their international prestige.

Students my age start classes at 7:30 AM. Including homework time their school day goes until 10 PM. School is their life and they have very little free time. They are amazed at how little time we spend on homework and how much free time we have. Today we visited Ba Chu Middle School. This is the biggest middle school [6000 pupils] in a city near Chongqing and it is certainly well equipped. All the students were eager to meet us American students and their teachers were proud to introduce them. I went through the campus with four boys, a group of friends who were the top students in their English class. The teacher was always nearby, listening to what we were talking about and encouraging them to speak more. These students have made a deep impression on me. I will remember them forever. Even though I may forget their names, I will always remember their faces.

Middle school and high school students back home should follow their example not just in Vermont, but all over the US --in California, Florida, Ohio, Maryland. These hardworking Chinese students will be tough competition. I feel that they know more than I do and have their minds set on world renowned colleges. Many will achieve that goal.

--JD

While it may appear that our students are just touring sights each day, they are, in fact continuing their studies each day. Classes are held with lessons and discussions of relative subjects. They are also spending part of their days rehearsing their program they will be performing for nearly 10,000 Chinese during the course of their journey.

Okay, so let’s check out the photos of the Dazu Rock Carvings:
 

Chongqing

Goodbye Chonqqing . . .

And now we turn our attention to Qufu. Qufu is pronounced “choo-foo.” And the answer to yesterdya’s question is, Qufu is known as “the sacred city.”

Qufu during the Zhou Dynasty (1200-221 BC) was the most cultural city in China. Qufu was the home of Confucius, a famous philosopher (551-479 B.C.), and is well-known for its Confucian Temple, Confucian Forest and Confucian Mansion.

Let’s get up to date with a report from Tom:

We flew from Chongqing to Jinan and then had about a two-and-a-half hour bus ride to the campus. The kids and adults had the chance to relax a bit this afternoon and evening as we had no activities planned. [The] photos [below] give folks a sense of the different geographical area that we are in and there are shots of teacher housing here on the campus as well as one of the main drag here on the campus; tree-lined street with many pedestrians. Old folks here have plenty of opportunity to exercise and I took one of a very elderly gentleman [right] on one of the many exercise machines on campus. There is also one of the international student center that we are housed in. [Tom]

Let’s check out the photos:
 

QUFU - Day 1

Looks like everyone is enjoying another interesting (and probably quite yummy!) meal. To the right is the tree-lined streets with many pedestrians.

Here is a general schedule of events and activities for the next few days:

Tuesday: (Today for us) Rehearsal from 8:00 AM until 12:00 Lecture on Chinese Traditional Music Instruments in the afternoon and a welcome banquet in the evening

Wednesday: Visit to the Affiliated Middle School of Qufu Teacher's University and a visit to the Confucius Temple and Confucius Residence

Thursday: Visit to the far East Vocational College at Shimen Hill outside of Qufu. Afternoon rehearsal and joint performance with college students in the evening

Friday: Lecture and workshop on Chinese painting and calligraphy and a visit to Confucius Forest (cemetery) in the afternoon

Saturday: Lecture on Chinese Folk Songs; Rehearsal and joint performance with high school students from Affiliated Middle School

Sunday: Visit Ni Hill -- the birthplace of Confucius; free time in the afternoon and Farewell Banquet in the evening

Monday: Visit Mt. Tai and the Yellow River Bridge in Jinan

Tuesday: Fly to Beijing and then on to Hohhot.

Wow. This is an exciting itinerary. The welcome banquet will be a thrilling evening for the group. A formal exchange of gifts, introductions, and a great meal.

The next week will focus less on touring and more on learning and working with fellow Chinese students. We’ll talk about specifically about each of the days’ events as they happen.

Here’s an wild piece of info: For those of you who are Kung-Fu and Bruce Lee fans, a Bruce Lee theme park is being built in Shunde, China. This park is scheduled to open in 2009. Hee-yaw!

Okay everybody. Looking forward to that first performance on Thursday. That’s it for now!