The following article appeared in the October 2004 edition of the Landon News. It was written by Graham Walling of the Class of 2007, a member of the Chinese Club who has participated in the Landon-in-China trip twice already.
My Experience in China
For the first two weeks of my trip in China, I traveled through various tourists spots. In this small amount of time our travel group, consisting of me, Mrs. Tan, Chris Jackson, Mary Lane, Mr. Lamson and Dolton Lamson were able to visit such sites as the Great Wall, Stone Forest, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and the famous Terra Cotta Warriors. These sites were the most popular tourists areas; however we also visited Xian, Dali, the Beijing Silk and Antique Market and many more culturally thrilling areas.
Once the first two weeks has passed me, Mary, and Chris joined the other students in the immersion program in Beijing where we each met our own house families. I spent the next two weeks studying Chinese at a public school in the capital of China. Every morning at 7:15 my host brother and I would either walk to or ride to school. From 8:00-12:00, my fellow peers and I would study in our own separate Chinese level classes. After classes I would walk to the cafeteria with my host brother if he was around. Then I would join my peers and go on a cultural excursion led by Mrs. Tan to various places such as Buddhists Temples, Mt. Uma, the Giant Buddha, etc. However if my group was not having a cultural excursion that afternoon, my host brother and I would go to computer cafes, meet some friends of his, watch a movie, or perhaps just work on homework. Apart from my normal classes at school, my host family would eagerly help me pronounce Chinese as well as help with the writing of my characters. I would spend dinnertime practicing my Chinese with my family as we would talk of politics, Chinese culture and worldly affairs.
After those two weeks, I said farewell to my gracious host brother Qi Tian and flew to Chengdu where I met my second host brother. The schedule remained the same; however there were distinct differences in how the two host families went about their day. My host family in Beijing had been lower-middle class while my family in Chengdu was upper-middle class. Because I was able to live with both of them, I witnessed Chinese life from two very different aspects, which h elped me understand and appreciate their culture. My group also went on cultural excursions in Chendu where I remember, one afternoon, we visited a panda research center which was most enjoyable. Time passed quickly and soon I had finished my final test for my Chinese language class. Sadly, after those last two weeks ended I had to say goodbye to the beautiful land of China. I will never forget the lessons I learned there and how I became much more appreciative and respectful of another’s culture. I still remember that as I boarded the plane to Washington D.C. I could only think about when I would be able to visit this great country again.
Graham can be contacted at graham_walling@landon.net.