Day 14 Photos

Day 13 Photos

Day 11 Photos

Photos Down

China has figured us out...My ability to upload photos to my website ended last night.  Will try again from our next hotel.  Sorry we do not have this access right now.
Andrew

Schools and Farms

After an exhausting two days of home stay our students did a remarkable job of remaining engaged for a morning of classes at our host school here in China.  The calligraphy teacher showed us a series of characters including Crystal Springs High School.  We then sat through a 45 minute math class that only Ava could understand.  The morning wrapped up with a far more engaging English class.

After lunch and a two hour rest at the hotel we headed off to see an organic farm in the country side nearby.  The matriarch of the farm fed us fresh tomatoes and then showed us through her vineyards.  The day ended with a farm cooked dinner and planning for tomorrows teaching at a local elementary school.

Andrew

Home Stays Complete!

All the students are safely back in the group after two nights of living with their Chinese host family. There are many great tales of eating strange foods and seeing real Chinese life.  I will to collect a few highlights and post in the coming days.  Photos from the rest of the day to come later tonight.
-Andrew

Acrobats

Last night, we saw an amazing display of muscular strength, agility, and flexibility- an acrobatic show. The various performances that we saw ranged from hula hoop twirling to hat juggling to flipping cups onto ones head using a seesaw. This show was one of those shows where you can't describe it because it was so awesome. The wide array of performances kept us sitting on the edge of our seats for the entire show. For instance, at one point, we looked over and saw Ms. Sortino gaping in awe during one of the acts. Some more examples of the performances were: acrobats on roller skates, an acrobat doing some magic tricks, one acrobat balancing on a stack of chairs and bricks, another acrobat balancing a "birthday cake" on her head, acrobats jumping through high hoops, acrobats jumping on a seesaw and making another acrobat land on top of a stack of 5 people, and acrobats balancing on each other. We recommend this show to anyone who may have the opportunity to see it.

-Robert and Sam

Day 10 Photos

Umbrellas

Some things are already old hat after nine days in China.  All thirty of us deftly navigate narrow streets with vendors on either side.  We stretch out and become a thin line and quickly reform our glob of teenage interaction; why be by yourself when you can talk to someone else? 

Today the old hat became new.  Rain yields umbrellas that crowd the narrow streets.  Where once six or seven could walk abreast, three or four  becomes the max.  Umbrella wielders and rain jacket clad travelers have to enter an intricate negotiation of whose umbrella will go up and whose will go down in order to pass.  Those only in jackets try to avoid getting poked by the spokes of each passing umbrella.

We have learned to know each others backs.  All trip we have followed the group by finding a distinct backpack or hair style.  Rain and the opening of umbrellas changes that as well.  A five foot tall member of the group can appear six foot seven holding their umbrellas high.  Hair and backpack color we know.  Umbrella color, however, we do not know with the same sub-conscience confidence that has guided us all trip.  Five of us, including three adults, were briefly dislodged from the group having followed the wrong set of umbrellas.

Rain and umbrellas, though, have several distinct advantages.  Cool temperatures is the most obvious; we have rarely raced back to the air conditioned bus seeking reprieve from the heat.  As a photographer the rain has been a blessing.  The gray skies act as a giant soft box providing soft light without harsh shadows.  While umbrellas confuse navigation, they provide a great graphical element to photographs.  The narrow street shot, interesting only in the top half when dry, engages the eye from top to bottom.

The rain did not hold us back from enjoying the Yu Gardens and surrounding gardens today.  We also escaped the wet in the Shanghai Museum and the Jade Buddha Temple.  Hopefully the photos will be proof of the positives of rain.

Andrew

Alums around the World

Last night we were treated to an amazing dinner by CSUS alum Stanley Chou along the Bunn in Shanghai.  He recounted many memories of great teachers and times at Crystal.  One highlight was seeing Chloee W's reaction when Stanley recounted the story of the "one time" he got in detention at Cyrystal; Maggie Fongheiser caught him playing tennis instead of being in her study hall.  Chloee and Becky could not believe that Maggie could get anyone in trouble like that.

While the company and the food was a highlight for the adults, there is not doubt that an up close and personal changing faces performance was the highlight for the students.   not only performed for us but answered questions and took photographs with the group.  A real treat!

After dinner we walked along the Bunn in light mist and saw the past of Shanghai on one side of the river with the future on the other. 

Thank you, Stanley!

Expo!

The World Expo 2010 is a bustling metropolis that we will never forget. There are pavilions from about 120 countries situated in downtown Shanghai, all presenting the visitors with a little piece of the world. The pavilions are organized into "squares" based on continent.

The pavilions design are impressive examples of architecture, often reflecting cultural and geographical features of the countries therein. The Africa pavilion featured swathes of savannah and african foliage on its walls. The Brazilian pavilion featured green bars tangled in a manner evocative of the Amazon. Despite having such unique and interesting outsides, the insides of these pavilions were equally amazing. From masks and dress in the Africa pavilion, to Paraguay's jesuit ruins, the Expo shows each culture in a new and interesting way, and creates a memory that will last forever.
-Jack

The feeling of the whole exposition was grand, exciting, lively, and colorful, just to say the least. When we were let free to explore, I ran into the crowds. Sasha and I went into the Canada pavilion, and it was what we deemed our must-see at the World Expo 2010. There were lights everywhere, up-beat music, and much wonderful decor and displays; the Canada pavilion seemed to be the most enjoyable of the pavilions (we barely had time to go into 2 pavilions, we judged from what we heard and saw from the outside). Next, we went to the long line entering the USA pavilion. We only had a total of 2 hours to see the whole expo, so we thought we had to see our country and how the USA was represented. We had to skip the couple of 30-minute shows due to lack of time and just went into the little souvenir shop at the end. It was such a rushed experience, but totally worth it in the end. We had so much fun learning about little pieces of our world.
-Kristen

Sichuan Variety Show

Hiyooo. My name's VJ and I'm going to be telling y'alls 'bout the funky fresh Variety Opera Show we saw last night by the Shu Feng Ya Yun (Sichuan Opera and Folk Arts Performance). It was super rad. We got the best seats in the house: First two rows right in the center. Before the show started (and all throughout the show, too) we were served tea from these tea kettles with like crazy long spouts. Also, the tea was good, also. There were peanuts next to the tea, but I, along with the people who I was sharing the table with, didn't eat any. I don't really know why we didn't eat any; I like peanuts but just didn't feel like 'em just then I guess. Anyway, onto the acts! The introduction, or prelude, if you will, was a really sick Chinese band consisting of a lot of percussion instruments along with a violin-like instrument (but with only one string) and a trumpet-like instrument (it was at a much higher pitch. Gun to my head, I'd say it was considerably longer and the bell was smaller, but don't quote me on that.). The band played for a while, and then a chinese lady in a big old red dress-thing came out and thanked us for coming and talked about the show a little bit. First she did it in Mandarin, and then in English. The next act was a really dramatic opera piece. It was quite beautiful; the lead-singer-lady had a very piercing voice. The lead-singer-lady's voice kinda sorta reminded me of Ronnie James Dio (RIP) of the metal band Dio. The shoes were really striking. They were kinda like four-inch lifts, except they were rounded around the toe and the heel. After the opera, a man played two pieces on that violin-like instrument with the bow attached to it. Golly, I sure wish I could remember the name. You guys can probably wikipedia what it's called, though. The cooler piece was the second one, which was called something like "Galloping Horse." It was rad because the dude imitated the sound of a horse with his instrument by using heavy vibrato and dramatic volume swells at very high pitches. NEEEIGH! The next act was my personal favorite. This guy did a shadow puppet act, entirely with his hands. It was so realistic it was scary. First he made a couple of birds which he interacted with, and then he went on to make a dog, a couple of bunnies, a horse, a cat, and finally a dog which chased after a rabbit and ate it. His attention to detail was so brilliant; he even realistically depicted the swallowing of the prey. Awesome. After the shadow puppet guy was a guy playing that trumpet-like instrument I mentioned earlier. Some people thought the sound was too nasally, but I dug it. What was trippy was sometimes he'd get rid of the rest of the trumpet and just play the mouthpiece, and in parts of the song he got rid of everything and just made rad squeaking sounds with his mouth. Blew. My. Mind. Man it was crazy noises, man. The next act was pretty long. It was a scene, basically. It was all in Mandarin/a local dialect, but what I understood was a woman made a funny bald man hold a flaming dish on his head and do tricks like crawl under a bench and stuff. Apparently it was hilarious. The final act, the grand finale, if you will, was the infamous changers. It was SO COOL SO COOL AAAH they changed faces right in front of you; sometimes they didn't cover up at all. They just disappeared. There was also a guy blowing fire as part of the act. The theatricality was brilliantly executed and words can barely do the face-changers justice. As a perfect end to a perfect night, Oliver gifted all of us with makeup packages from the Sichuan Opera. Pretty chill, man. Hope you guys enjoyed my recount of the opera. I think there should be pictures up, too. Enjoy those, too. VJ out.

--
Andrew P. Davis
Director of Admission
Crystal Springs Uplands School
400 Uplands Drive
Hillsborough, CA 94010
650-342-4175 x1517

Not Tofu...Tu Fu

    Before the Variety Show, we got to visit this super cool park for the poet Tu Fu, and we got to see his own personal cottage. All around it were awesome forests of bamboo and these really pretty streams that were everywhere. We took some cool pictures and Mr. Davis took some great shots while hiding in the bamboo. The scenery was sooooo pretty and the house was totally preserved from when it was rebuilt. We didn't really do much there besides take pictures and walk, but it was still amazingly awesome.
-Grace

Day 9 Photos

Day 8 Photos

Teaching 7th Grade....in China

We woke at eight in the morning, an hour later than usual, and made our way downstairs to the breakfast hall. A long line at the grill formed quickly as the news of bacon spread throughout the group. After our meal, we met in our lesson groups: English, outdoor games, indoor games and dance to prepare for a day of teaching at the school. We completed the finishing touches on our lesson planes and stepped outside to practice Journey's Don't Stop Believing--as we would be performing it later for the school.

We walked though the drizzle of rain to the school. As we made our way up the stairs and past the classrooms the children screamed in excitement while clapping their hands. To begin our day, we helped the Chinese students make name tags. I enjoyed seeing the decoration used to decorate the name tags.

After our first lesson, we were beckoned into the courtyard and informed that there would be a school inspection and the students would have to clean. We joined the students, mopping and sweeping classroom floors, bathroom trenches, and stairwells. After a thorough cleaning, we made our way back to the hotel for lunch.

At the end of the day, we were surprised by the Chinese students. They performed for use. I enjoyed seeing the dance and listening to the song. Their singing was by far way more amazing than ours! Closing the ending ceremony, we were thanked by the head of the school. Leaving the school was sad, because I feel as if this is a once in a life time experience. However, I look forward to doing more volunteering!

Though we did not have an American dinner, it was GREAT!!! My favorite part was the candle from the birthday cake. The candle is too cool for words. As the fire touched the candle, the flower in which the candles were placed into, began to sing and spread its petals. Cool right? Also, the cake was yummy! Too much fun for one day.

When we returned to the hotel, there we chad a party with a lot of yummy snacks. At the party, we played a variety of card games. Though I did not win any of the card games, I enjoyed playing with others and seeing them win.

Becky T.

Day 7 Photos

Higher Res Photos to Come

To speed the upload of photos I have been downsizing the images substantially.  I am thrilled to see that a few of you are already ordering photos from the trip.  The photos that I upload after the trip will be much higher quality.  If you can, hold off until then and I will replace the current photos with high resolution ones and add new images.  Let me know, though, if they come out well.  SmugMug (my website) uses a great lab.  I highly recommend the lustre finish.
Enjoy photos from our school visit in the morning--my wife links them to the blog when she wakes up!
Andrew

Panda Day

What's black and white and cute all over. PANDAS! Today we went to the panda facility. First we changed into our 'monkey suits', aka our brown sanitary suits so as not to get dirty because we would be cleaning. We cleaned the habitats the and wrapped the bamboo. In my group, the girls had the hard job of scooping the poop, whereas the guys were picking up the old bamboo and wrapping them into bushels. Once the entire outer area was clean, we brought in new bamboo. Then we let the pandas into that area where they immediately started eating again. While they were relaxing and eating outdoors we cleaned there inside area. Once again we scooped the poop and pressure washed the ground. Last but not least of the morning we were allowed to feed them (carrots and bamboo)! The pandas were greedy animals. Finally it was time for lunch.

After lunch today, we returned to the panda cages for a second round of panda poop scooping (as we all know, the pandas eat a TON of bamboo, hence a TON of poop). We also were able to feed the pandas more food including panda bread, which apparently is also edible - our good friends Jack and Joel were brave enough to try it. For those of us who purchased tickets to take a picture with the pandas. Whether or not it was worth it to take pictures with the pandas, you cannot deny how adorable they all are.

I am going to end this blog of our amazing day with the pandas with a nice joke courtesy of Ava.

A panda walks into a bar. What does it do?
Eats, shoots, and leaves!!! :)

Day 6 Photos

Day 5 Photos

Panda Spotting

The 5:30 AM wake up call was a tough start to the day for all.  The day only improved, though, culminating in our first panda sitings.  We safely flew to Chengdu and then made our way up into the mountains passing tea fields and stepped rice patties along the way.  Once in Bifengxia we were able to see young pandas in "Panda Kindergarten" and then got our work suits for tomorrow's volunteer work back at the panda breeding facility.  After checking into our hotel and having dinner, half of the group went into downtown in this "small" town of 300,000.  We lit a lantern with our wishes and enjoyed walking the busy streets on such a warm evening.  Back to student bloggers tomorrow and far more panda photos.

Andrew

798 Modern Art

POSTED 1 DAY LATE

Today, well yesterday for everyone back home, us Crystal kids got a close up look on whats going on in the minds of China's youth. No, we did not invent something to read minds, we went to the 798 art district to see all the different ways the people of China were expressing themselves. There were galleries with artists whose goals were to be unique in a country of 1.26 billion people, and others whose goals were to just coexist with the world around them. Artists in this district strayed from words with little "about the artist"summaries and just had paintings lined up on blank walls for us to contemplate their meaning. Of course, it wasn't a deep mental thought process that everyone experienced but more a way to relax and feel more at home in a place where everyone just expressed themselves. (SF/bay area) There were giant dinosaurs and graffiti sprayed on most if not all the buildings, sculptures lining the streets, along with vendors selling handmade jewelry. A lot of the art seemed to return back to basics, solid colors, handmade stuffed animals, and carved whistles. We were even among the bustling streets able to find a wish tree, an old tradition,  covered in wishes in all different languages wanting anything from good health to a happy family.
-Sasha

--
Andrew P. Davis
Director of Admission
Crystal Springs Uplands School
400 Uplands Drive
Hillsborough, CA 94010
650-342-4175 x1517

Day 4 Photos

Great Wall, Great Times

Today Team China woke up early, grabbed some fried rice and Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, loaded up the bus, and braced ourselves for the two hour drive that would take us to the Great Wall. When we arrived there, we sleepily trudged out of the bus and began up a path flanked by aggressive vendors. We continued along the path until we arrived at a clearing where we received tickets and instructions for the journey that would follow.  Tickets in hand, we ventured up the first set of steps. On the steps, we learned that this was not actually the Great Wall, but the beginning of a long, tiresome hike that led to the steps of the wall itself. Mr. Kwong also informed us that there was in fact a cable car to the top of the wall, but we would not in fact be taking said cable car. We would instead be testing our will and building character…Thanks Mr. Kwong.

Thirty sweaty minutes later, although the time seemed like years to some, we saw the first glimpses of the wall. We thought the hardest part was over, but the worst was yet to come…

We trekked up the crooked, uneven, stone steps of the Great Wall with determination and water in hand. As we looked up the ominous thousands of remaining steps that loomed ahead of us, we saw our final destination floating amongst the clouds. The clouds themselves were a rare occurrence, as since being in China, we have grown accustomed to smoggy, gray skies. The patches of friendly blue sky almost provided enough motivation to get us through the rest of the hike. Almost. Between the humongous steps that took hands and feet to overcome and the heat, the satisfaction of reaching our destination made it worth it. After we waited for our whole group to make it to the top, we downed our water bottles and Mr. Davis snapped a few photos of us staring into the blindingly bright sun. Thanks Mr. Davis.

We took a few minutes to relax and enjoy our view from what seemed like the top of the world, and then it was time to go back down. But there was a twist. After hiking part of the way back down the looming cliff of stairs, we reached a blue tent. It was the moment we'd all been waiting for. That blue tent meant one thing: the slide down. Who knew there was a slide on the Great Wall of China? Some of us did, but some of us were blissfully surprised.

With adrenaline coursing through our veins and the elation of not having to climb down the rest of the stairs, we mounted our sleds and were down the long, curving slide that took us to where we began.

If you ever make it to the top of the Great Wall, the slide down is well worth the blood, sweat, and tears. 

Nate & Chloee

I Spy...

I am posting about 20-40 photos each day with a whole slew more to come when we return.  Make sure you take a look!  If you have not seen one of your child, let me know in a comment and I will make sure one gets up there.  I promise we have not lost any students yet!

Off to the Great Wall!

Andrew

Day 3 Photos

Day 3 Summer Palace, Bird's Nest & College Friends

The Summer Palace was built to allow the people in power to get away from the center of attention. This palace included places such as theaters, lake, mountains, etc.

While at the Summer Palace we rode on beautiful dragon boats across a lake.  Everything was beautifully painted and colorful.  We watched and learned a cool form of exercise where you hold a racket and a ball, taking care not to drop the ball.  We took pictures of the marble boat that Empress Dowager Cixi built but we couldn't go on.  Afterwords, we paddled across the lake in groups of four and we really careful not to fall out.  It was so much fun! 

Then we walked up a long flight of stairs to reach a Buddhist temple where we saw a beautiful view of the Summer Palace and its lake.   The architecture and scenery were beautiful!!  The very top of the temple had been ruined and robbed of its riches as a result of the Cultural Revolution.

The Summer Palace was amazing and absolutely gorgeous.  It must have been amazing to live there in the past.  It was a great experience that helped us connect with Chinese culture.

-Gary

After yet another great meal we headed to the Bird's nest, the site of the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony.  We escaped from the heat and toured the inside of the facility.  Mr. Kwong worked his magic and we were able to get down onto the track.  Make sure to check out our group photos from there and the high jumping skills of some of our students!

Day 2 Photos

Tiananmen, Palace, Bikes...Day 2

This morning we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. At Tiananmen Square we first got to see Mao's body. It was so amazing because of everything we learned about Mao. Tiananmen Square was the first real taste we got of China. It was cool to see the massive portrait of Mao. At the Forbidden City, we were split into groups and then we had a scavenger hunt. We walked all throughout the area to find/take pictures of the area. Every part was so beautiful with gold inlays and delicate carvings. My group went off on a detour and we were able to see a hall of mental cultivation. The rooms were filled with jade sculptures and beautiful embroidery. It was so cool to see the place were the people we have been studying actually lived.

After touring were wee off to an authentic Chinese Restaurant, where we had lots of delicious food, including the well-known Peking Duck. After filling ourselves up with food, we went to a small neighborhood by rickshaw. It was really cool being on the rickshaws because our drivers would race each other and the feeling of wind on our faces was quite refreshing. We got off the rickshaws, and we toured the neighborhood, learning about the families.

Before dinner we took the bus to a micro-finance NGO, Wokai, which was led by a lady who grew up in Hong Kong and the US. We learned about the fundamentals of micro-finance and the financial situation in rural China.  We were also able to walk through a little neighborhood, checking out a chicken coop nearby.

Sarah W. & Shayaan H.


--
Andrew P. Davis
Director of Admission
Crystal Springs Uplands School
400 Uplands Drive
Hillsborough, CA 94010
650-342-4175 x1517

Day 1 Photos Beijing

Photos up!

Technical issues have kept me from embedding a slideshow of all the photos into the blog for now.  I was also facing problems with Flickr in China.  It looks like my SmugMug page is working, though.
Here are a few highlights from the day:

http://freeheelimages.smugmug.com/Travel/Crystal-China-Trip

Andrew

On the Ground

So, today we landed in Beijing!!!
the flight was actually, not that bad. most of us got lots of sleep (We combined got 18 hours) and the flight just flew by (pun definitely intended). Most of us ate, slept, read, ate, talked, and ate. We got to Hong Kong, exhausted but excited that we were in CHINA. After a delay on our flight, we finally made it to Beijing. Wow. It is hot. The sky is gray. And it smells…unique. We grabbed our suitcases after passing through Customs and headed to the bus. Where we are now. Typing this. We haven't moved, and therefore have not experienced a whole lot of China. But we are still super excited to be heading off to the rest of our two week stay.
- Kristen T., Grace, and Caroline

--
Andrew P. Davis
Director of Admission
Crystal Springs Uplands School
400 Uplands Drive
Hillsborough, CA 94010
650-342-4175 x1517

1 Long Flight Down...

After 14 hours we all made it to Hong Kong.  While waiting for the next flight students are reading, gaming, and lots of talking.  The big news of the trip.... It is HOT here!  Happy b-day also to Ava K.  We celebrated outside of Hong Kong security and she is now wearing a b-day hat.  Photo of that to come!

SFO @ 10:30 Tonight!

The trip starts tonight at 10:30 PM at SFO.  Mr. Davis, Ms. Tonn, and Ms. Sortino will be there to meet you in the international departures.  Get ready for the first group photo before we go through security!
Mr. Davis

Getting Ready Question 4

How will I deal with differences between my culture and the Chinese culture?  What about differences between my opinions and those of my travel companions?

Getting Ready Question 3

3. Other than the ones stated on the Behavioral Contract, what are the rules that should be established before the trip to promote both group rapport and efficiency?