And now we are home...

We've returned to Bullis School, with pictures and stories to share with the community.
For the participants, this was truly a "trip of a lifetime."
We have come away with a better understanding of our International Students, having visited their parents and their home cities.  We now appreciate the sacrifices the families make to send their children 10,000 miles away and we better understand the Chinese educational system.

Appreciation is due to:

• Ms. Xiumin Overall, for planning all aspects of the trip, coordinating with the local guides and families and keeping us on time and on schedule.
• Dr. Gerald Boarman, for connecting Bullis School with so many Chinese families and the local school in Lijiang, and providing the opportunity for the teachers to explore China.
• The Chinese host families, who introduced us to incredible cuisine, The Great Wall, giant pandas and so many unique aspects of Chinese history and culture.

Monday, March 30: Hong Kong

Written by Nate Gordon

Of all the cities on this trip, Hong Kong was the one I was most eager to visit. I’ve read several historical novels set in Hong Kong, particularly the James Clavell books (Tai-pan and Noble House). 

The weather was clear as we flew at Hong Kong, with great views of the island and the harbor. After dinner we went to an open street market filled with all sorts of goods, mostly aimed at the tourist crowd. As a necktie aficionado I was looking for souvenirs to wear to school and chose two representative of our trip - one with dragons and one with pandas. Down another street we ran into a small protest against the government - featuring pictures with the heads of the HK government photoshopped onto dogs led by policemen. Since turnover from Britain to China in the late 90’s, Hong Kong has been a “Special Administrative Region” that is autonomously run in all areas except foreign affairs and defense. China agreed to this so as not to scare investment or cause a population flight away from the city. However, Beijing is able to impose controls over China that many people in Hong Kong are protesting. While all residents can vote in the elections, for instance, the slate of candidates are handpicked by the Chinese government. The protestors told us that the official slogan of “One China, Two Systems” was a joke. 

In the morning we took a tram to Victoria's Peak, the highest point in the main island. It's very steep, and there are high rise apartment buildings (many over 50 stories) with stunning views built at different points on the hillside. These are the luxury dwellings in Hong Kong (one penthouse rents for 250K a month) ... And also where the only private houses on the main island can be found - which make the apartments seem reasonably priced. We passed by Jackie Chan's house as well as the estate of the richest real estate developer in HK. The view from atop was incredible, although limited by the fog. 

Afterwards we made our way down to the sea where we walked the beach for a bit, and then took a sampan ride in Aberdeen Harbor. The water was surprisingly clean - they've made a major effort to clean it up. We passed by fishermen, tugs, luxury yachts, traveling lunch craft, and the boat people before getting to the restaurant for lunch. It was hard to believe that people could live in those boats, but Hong King is a city where most people (even the middle class) live in a condition we would consider to be on the edge of poverty. Real estate is so expensive here, the average person has 100 square feet of residential space. 

In the afternoon many of us went to the Hong King history museum, while others went shopping or to Disneyland. As a city with strong public transportation (one that DC could learn from) and many English speakers, Hong Know was the easiest city for us to explore on our own. Likewise we spread out for dinner and for exploring afterwards. I spent a lot of time exploring the second floor of the history museum (which covered the periods in the Clavell books), hiked back to the hotel, and joined a large group on the Peak for dinner (stunning view of the city at night, even in the fog). Afterwards some of us took the ferry back so we could take photos from the other side of Kowloon Bay and then rode the train back to the hotel for our last night in China. 

Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29: Kunming and Travel to Hong Kong

Written by Natasha Nazareth-Phelps

Our last stop on the Mainland was Kunming, the “City of Eternal Spring” and capital of the Yunnan Province.  

By 8:30 a.m. we left to tour the temple complex adorning the Western Hill. Visitors climb steep hand-hewn stone steps to view and pray at eleven temples carved by monks in the Taoist and Buddist traditions. The view over the 24 mile long, freshwater Lake Dianchi was breathtaking.

Our lunch was served in a rare setting of a restaurant serving dishes based on Chinese herbal medicine. Meet up again with Bullis alum Jia Jia Ruan, her father and mother. Jia Jia is now taking her master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Mr. Ruan toasted all the Bullis teachers with deep gratitude for having taken such good care of Jia Jia at Bullis.

The afternoon (and next morning) brought free time to mingle with the locals in a town that seemed to have very few tourists or foreigners. At the center of this “small” city of  6.5 million people is a beautiful lake ringed by weeping willows, flowering trees, and strolling families. From early in the mornings to late in the evenings, people were practicing tai chi, jogging, line dancing and getting chair massages in the mild spring weather. One section of the park hosted a dating wall –apparently the local custom is for grandparents to post and peruse personal adds for their grandchildren here.   The people enjoying the central park were extremely colorful and diverse representing more than two dozen ethnic minorities which call Kunming home. Across the street, several of us browsed the flair of the Spring Clothing festival.

In the evening, we hosted the third and final Open House, which was well-attended by a range of families. Since Kunming is the childhood home of our own Director of International Family Services Xiumin Overall, she interpreted in the local dialect rather than Mandarin. We interviewed a number of prospective students for lower, middle and upper school, had the pleasure of meeting former Bullis student Emily Zheng and the mother of another Bullis alum, Dixi Wu. Afterwards, we walked to a cozy local restaurant for “cross the bridge” noodles, which is a large bowl of broth with noodles, shaved meats and vegetables, a pigeon egg, and a choice of hot sauces for the adventurous.

Friday, March 27: Lijiang and Shigu

Written by Rita Gerharz

We packed up our things and left our lovely hotel in Lijiang. We got on the bus and headed for Shigu to see the Yangtze River known as the “River at the Center of the World”. This is where the Yangtze River has a sharp bend caused by resistive limestone formation. The drive there was very scenic with lots of views of farms and the river along the way. We walked around the town a bit and went to the monument for the Long March in Shigu. There was a street market going on along the main street. People were mostly selling food items and fruits. We had lunch at a restaurant just off the main street and then we went down to the river to see the views. At the river, you can see the water, sand, mountains, and farms. The river valley is wide and surrounded by steep mountains. In the river basin there are large sand banks. One had a herd of black goats on it.

We went back to Lijiang where we had a choice to shop or take a hike up to a view of the town. Having spent a few hours shopping in the old town the night before, I opted for the walk to the top to see the view of all the rooftops in town. The old town is like a labyrinth of narrow, cobbled streets with shop after shop. There are few canals that run through. It is easy to get lost in the labyrinth, but if you follow a canal, you might find your way back. On the way back down from above the old town, Barbara and I stopped to buy some silk scarves at a little shop. Back at the meeting place we got some $1.00 ice cream cones. Mmmm!

Thursday, March 26: Lijiang

Written by Molly Chehak

In a country that has exploded with growth and new development since the 1990s, Lijiang was memorable for its well-preserved age.   We walked to our hotel along pedestrian side streets, a kind of boutique setting of old Chinese architecture, layout, and furniture. (We can all spot the difference between Ming chairs and Qing chairs now!) We then visited a nearby school, a true highlight of the trip.  The school is large (200 faculty, and 2300 students) and boasts a beautiful campus with a pond, copious sports facilities, a spacious dining room, many buildings of classrooms, in addition to dorms.  As Xiumin said to the Chinese staff, we were like fish put back into a pond once we saw the students.  We all happily dispersed among our student guides, most of whom were in the 11th grade.  They gave us all kinds of information about the school and their lives.  Some travel from cities that are up to 4 hours away by car to attend the school.  Most go home on the weekends, but not all are able to do so.  The school is subsidized by the government, so boarding costs the equivalent of $12 per month. Many teachers also live on campus. During our tour, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to watch the calligraphy teacher make the beautiful banner you see pictured for Jerry.  We also got to try it ourselves!  It's A LOT harder than it looks. 

The banner for Jerry features four characters that distill the essence of what it means to be an educator.  The first illustrates the idea of a "clear mind."  That one's mind has to be like a pool of water and you must be able to see to the bottom so you can see the truth of what is inside a student.  Do not muddy one's own water so as to muddy one's vision of students.  The second character indicates the moral character that we are entrusted to convey to our students. And the last two are about making a pathway for students for follow. 

After the school, we had dinner and wandered the old city, which is sort of like a labyrinth or median of artisan stalls. The stone roads and bridges are 800 years old.  It was a beautiful place that we didn't want to leave!

Wednesday, March 25: Chengdu

Written by Alana Hill

Monkeys and pandas and birds, Oh My!  Although I knew we would visit a panda reserve, I had no idea that would happen after visiting the office of Xun Jie head (and parent of Bullis alumni, Ace Huang) which could best be described as a baby zoo.  Yes, there were monkeys, birds, and fish, and probably one of the most elaborate offices I've ever seen.  Very Cool! On the morning of our trip to the Chengdu Panda Reserve, my daughter instructed me to not get too close to the pandas.  Her reasoning was while they may be adorable they can also be aggressive.  So when I sent her a picture of me petting one a couple of hours later, she was astonished.  I, on the other hand, was so full of excitement.  After petting Wen, an adorable one and a half year old ball of fur, we explored the rest of the reserve.  We kept finding four lead clovers, which further solidifies what I've felt since stepping off the plane in Beijing...we are all so lucky to have this experience. For lunch, we had hot pot cuisine at a nice local restaurant.  The lunch was sponsored by the family of current 9th grader Steven Lyu, who also arranged the special visit to the Panda Research Center. The owner, a very jovial woman who radiated with love made us all feel extremely welcome.  We were greeted with smiles and shipped off with many hugs.  Although I couldn't eat the food, I enjoyed the company of my very personable coworkers.  After lunch we spent the afternoon in a tourist location called "Wide Road, Narrow Road", which perfectly describes what it is.  However when you throw an enormous amount of people on those two streets, it becomes a little overwhelming.  We got our usual stares and points, which I still haven't quite gotten used to, and navigating that amount of people was challenging to say the least.  However, there was ice cream sold there, so for me it was worth the trip.The evening consisted of dinner compliments of families of two accepted Bullis students, Tomas and Jerry.  This was one of my favorite meals as there were enough dishes to suit my particular diet and the amount of food was not gluttonous.  We all ended our meal content but not stuffed.  Spending time with Thomas and Jerry however was the icing on the cake.  Every year, our immersion program gets stronger and meeting some of the newly accepted students, it's clear next year will be no exception. So after experiencing pandas and monkeys, finding several four leaf clovers, enjoying ice cream and a great dinner, and bonding with new students, there is no surprise that Chengdu has been my favorite city on the trip.