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Journey East web site
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CHINA WEATHER
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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.
We wish to thank Holden Waterman, Director of the Asian Studies Outreach Program University of Vermont, and Dr. Juefei Wang, (former Director of the ASOP).
The Leland and Gray Journey East program is deeply indebted, and extends its heartfelt thanks, to Dr. Juefei Wang and Tom Connor, without whose efforts and support this program would not be possible!
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Leland & Gray
Journey East 2010
Tom Connor
Program Director
Jenny Connor
Ron Kelley
Co-Directors
Mary Martin
Diane Newton
Bahman Mahdavi
Chaperones
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Free Hit Counter
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Let me tell you how it will be . . .
Hey everyone!
T-minus 6
Well, we are in the final stretch of the Journey East 2010 travels through China and Inner Mongolia. The group remains in Hohhot through Saturday. And then they make their way back to Beijing for a couple of fun days and then home!
We had quite a day yesterday. Lots of everything. Hope we can keep that up!
We are going to start our day with photos of the visit to the Mengniu Dairy and then move on to performance photos.
Good Morning Mrs. Sunshine!
Bright-eyed and ready to go? Uh, I don’t think so. This journey is almost non-stop with travel, visits, collaboration with Mongolian students, more travel, sight-seeing, studying, rehearsals, performing, more rehearsals, more studies, travel . . . and a little sleep thrown in for good measure. Just as these guys use whatever space they have at the moment for classes and rehearsals, they also use every opportunity to catch some Zs!
Let’s start the day with a visit to the Mengui Dairy and the Zhaojun Cashmere Factory:
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Everybody needs to have a wedge in the budget pie for “Want want.”
The kids then performed at the new campus of the Arts College later in the day. Check out the performance area. Each journey east group has learned to adapt to the varied spaces provided for the performances. They go from performing in the biggest and most elaborate theaters to cramped little corners of a high school classroom. Anticipating this challenge, Jenny and Ron created a performance that could be performed in a closet, reducing stress and problems, and allowing the kids to feel comfortable in their parts regardless of the situation. Here are photos from today’s performance:
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Really looking forward to seeing these guys perform in a couple more weeks!
Hohhot is such a special place. It is here that the journey reaches its destination, with everything else leading up to this week.
Each one of these journeys, standing alone, is without a doubt, a fascinating and inspirational experience. But, the entire program as a whole, with each journey put into context (relative to the previous ones), is going, as Captain Kirk once said, where no journey has gone before.
When the two dozen kids are selected to participate in this semester-long Asian Studies program, there is no guarantee of success. There are so many factors to consider, it makes my head spin thinking about it. Tom (and Jenny and Ron) carefully puts together this puzzle, so-to-speak, with the big picture in mind. The picture becomes a little clearer each time out, but one thing for sure, all the the pieces MUST fit.
There is no room for failure here. The pressure to succeed is immense. This is not a joy ride or a pleasure tour, but rather a mission of international consequence. Mistakes can be costly. Every move these JEers make is being watched and analyzed by a huge international audience -- from Beijing, to Chongqing to Jinan to Qufu to Hohhot and every place in between. This program is now the model by which other programs throughout the country have been, and are being, considered and developed. I know this might sound a little heavy, but for those of you new to this program, that’s because it IS!
Leland & Gray’s Journey East stands alone in what is has accomplished over the past ten years.
Here’s a tribute to all of our Journeys East. Not included in this collection below is the 2000 pilot group that made a two week trip to China to serve as the model for the full semester-long Asian Studies program.
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Okay, so enough with the serious talk. That’s all for today. The next few days promise to be big (for us and for them). Hard to believe the final performance is coming up already, and the farewell banquet on Sunday. Monday they head back to Beijing. Yikes, it’s all happening so fast!
You’ve all been great passengers on this journey. This is the 23rd day! For some of you it seems like only yesterday the group said goodbye in Hartford. For others, it seems like months. Either way, we are just a week away from having them all back home!
See you again real soon!
‘Cause I’m the Taxman . . .
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