They are happy depsite having nothing!

Today is my third day of the Qinghai English Summer Camp!!! We are so lucky to be blessed with beautiful sunshine everyday! I have 2 classes - my main class B2 and a secondary teaching class B1.

My B2 class has 15 students between the ages of 13-15. They are all from Huangyuang and live within 15 meters of the No.3 Huangyuang Middle School where our team is teaching! My team was organized through the Beijing International Christian Fellowship (www.bicf.org).

To break the ice on the first day I decided to introduce myself in Chinese! Are you curious as to what I said?? Here goes:

"Da jia hao! Wo jiao Jennifer! Wo lai zi Jia na da. Wo de fu mu shi Xiang Gang ren. WO zai Jia na da chu sheng. Wo de fu mu jiao wo shuo yueyu danshi wo feichang xiang xue pu tung hua. Nimen de yingwen xhuiping yiding bi wo de zhongwen hao. Suoyi zai jiexialai de jitien zhong nimen kuyi jiao wo pu tung hua!"

On the first day I asked them to introduce themselves and they told me their Chinese names, their age, and their favorite food, animals, and color. They said that they did not have English names but would love to have one! So I worked with my AMAZING counsellor/translator, Jolly, to come up with English names for them. While I would love to see little Beyonce's and Mariah's running around Qinghai, I decided to stick with more traditional and easier names such as Lisa, Matthew, Mark, Julia, etc. They were very excited to receive their English names and have learned to spell them. My students are very bright, creative, and happy! They understand English quite well and are able to communicate with me, with some help from Jolly.

The students are very beautiful - they have big eyes, darker skin, and the most wonderful rosy cheeks! I recently learned that these students walk 2 hours to school one way and only eat breakfast and dinner. I was really sad to learn this as the children are outdoors for 2.5 hours during lunch period but they are actually not eating anything but playing in the hot sun. There are also no water fountains but just a tap in the middle of the trees which pumps spring water from the mountains. This is really the only tap that the students have access to drink water, wash their hands, play, etc.

The amazing thing is how happy they are depsite having nothing! Many of their families work hard as farmers or workers. I realize that many of them have never seen an airplane or train, they have little clothing and toys, and they have never seen a hamburger or hot dog but know how to say them from their English books.

Every afternoon I get a short one-on-one time with them to give them the chance to speak English with a native speaker. I decided to ask them about their families and what makes them happy and sad. Their responses were so innocent and touching! What makes them happy are their parents, sisters and brothers. What makes them sad are things like not doing well at school, one girl lost her grandfather, and another girl lost her yellow cat. While these things may seem small to us, having a cat is the world to them and I could see in their eyes how sad these things made them feel. I almost wanted to cry when I listened to them. They are also so grateful that our team has come to provide them with a free summer camp! One girl, who I named Stephanie, told me that she likes to sing and wants to become an actress. After our one-on-one she came up to me and whispered in my ear "I love you very much teacher!" It was so incredibly sweet and it appears that I am actually the one getting more out of this camp! I realize that although these children have nothing they are happy and I need to use this opportunity to learn about their town's development and politics so I can bring this back with me to UNICEF/Columbia/LSE and understand how to better assist people like them in rural western China.

I've only been here for a few days but I already don't want to leave. I came to China to have my heart broken, in order to realize what area of international development I want to serve. Well... my heart has already been broken and I don't think I can leave Qinghai without promising to myself that I will do whatever I can to help them! The issues in western rural China and of migrant workers are sad and a reality for many Chinese people. I hope that everyone reading this will want to learn more about these issues with me!

Qinghai English Summer Camp

I have finally made it to Huangyuan, Qinghai - the northwestern region of China! I am here to be a teacher for the Qinghai English Summer Camp at a middle school for 200 students aged 10-15. They are from a poor and rural region of China where some travel as far as 15km to school - a 2 hour walk! I am here with 8 foreigner teachers and 8 local Beijing university students as translaters! I arrived from Beijing by train which should have taken 24 hours but due to a landslide took 33 hours. We rode in a hard sleeper, which means there are 6 bunk beds in one cluster with multiple clusters on a train carriage. Before this train ride the only exposure I had to trains was watching them on Harry Potter! Although the ride was long it was wonderful because I was with a great group of people and got to practice my Mandarin with the people around me! We played games, prepared for camp, chatted about our lives, ate TONS of snacks, read, wrote in our journals, and took lots of naps! Everyone is constantly eating on the train - now I know why everyone had a huge sack of snacks at the train station.

We arrived in Xining which is the capital of Qinghai. The town is beautiful and prosperous. The city has a Muslim influence so there are people wearing Muslim clothing. The Chinese people here are also more tanned, tall, and have these wonderful rosy cheeks! No need for blush here :) Everyone is also very friendly and there are children playing everywhere! Meals here include a lot of noodles, mutton (lamb!), fresh mountain vegetables, and grain which can only be grown about 2000 meters. I hear that we will get to try yak when we make our trip to Qinghai Lake next week!

Our school is about 2700 meters and although I was originally worried about altitude sickness it hasn't been a problem! The environment is beautiful here! We're surrounded by mountains, lush grasslands, wild flowers, and rich vegetation where muttons and cows roam the land. It's amazing to see how people live their lives here!!!

More about our school! We are staying in the school dormitories and the only source of water here is a tap in the middle of the grass areas which pumps spring water from the mountains. The washrooms are... well.. let's just say unless you've been to rural countrysides I'll save you from the visuals. There are no showering facilities so we have to travel into town to pay 7RMB to shower in a showering facility located in the back of a hair salon. My first and only shower so far has been glorious!!!

Our first day of camp is tomorrow and I can't wait to meet all of the kids! I've been preparing my introduction in Mandarin and really hope to bond with my students!!!

It had to happen sometime...

It had to happen sometime that these people from China would try to rip me off. Today for lunch my co-worker and I went to this Chinese foodcourt by our office which is located within a Chinese shopping center.. but the kind where it's a million little stalls and you bargain for fake LV and Hermes. Ok so that should have been a warning sign to stay away. Anyways, I went to a place where my co-worker had eaten before and was charged triple the amount! Even though we were in conflict over a lunch which costs USD$1.50, it's the principle right?! I refused to pay and called my co-worker who set off on a verbal dueling match with the owner. The owner ignorantly said that there are different prices for locals and foreigners. Not impressed. Needless to say we won the duel and it was ok in the end but here's what I learned:

1) "Jenn, turn the friendly down!" My friends have continually told me to 'turn the friendly down' and to not be so naive. Perhaps I do need to develop my 'street smarts' but it's in me to give others the benefit of the doubt. This won't stop me from engaging in the Beijing local community but I'll up my 'game' and return to this post later on in the summer for an update!

2) Never compromise your values for anything. Isn't that what our moms always taught us?

3) I'm Canadian. Although ethnically I am Chinese, my Western culture is shown through the way I speak, act, and think.

Done my rant.. wow, blogging really is therapeutic!

Where are my lions at?

Last night I attended a Columbia Beijing Alumni Event at Trends Lounge in Beijing! It was great evening to connecting with students past and present. To all the rising freshmen - congratulations!!


The photo here is of myself and two friends, Buyu and Xiaojing, from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. They are also interning in Beijing this summer. This photo was taken under a mall and entertainment complex called “The Place” which is home to the Asia’s largest outdoor television screen. It is used to play music videos, show graphics such as swimming fish, and also rotates to text messages sent from patrons below. I believe this screen uses the same technology as the screens inside the Birds Nest Olympic Building. I highly recommend that everyone visit during the evening, order a drink at one of the cafe's below the screen, enjoy the conversation of some good friends, and watch the magic of this screen descend upon the people and children playing below. It's magical!

Forbidden City!

Although it was my fourth time visiting the Forbidden City I must admit that it never gets old! It is so gigantic that there's always something new to discover and forgotten history to remember! On your next visit to The Forbidden City, make sure to wear comfy shoes as it’s a LONG walk and be sure to try the local Chinese popsicles that people will be walking around and selling out of cardboard boxes! They're so good - you will not be disappointed!

Visiting the Forbidden is pretty much a necessity for any tourist visiting Beijing, however, it also serves as an important piece of Chinese history as it served as the home for emperors and their households, and a place for ceremonial and political affairs of the Chinese government for almost 500 years. The Chinese Imperial Palace covers 7.8 million square feet with 980 surviving buildings and 8,707 rooms.


Today the Forbidden City is filled with tourists from around the globe, Chinese military guards, and vendors selling all types of memorabilia. It’s interesting to see different groups of Chinese tourists from different parts of China in their tour groups! Adorned in neon-orange hats and led by their loud tour guide carrying a similar orange colored flag, I watched a group of 30 Chinese senior citizens follow their tour guide with excitement and big smiles on their face! Perhaps these senior citizens have waited all their life for their big trip to Beijing or perhaps they were just happy to recall a bit of history! Whatever it was, it was extremely cute and it’s joyful moments like this that make life special!

It's yummy tummy time!

Feast your eyes on some delectable treats which I came across in Wangfujing, one of Beijing’s most famous shopping streets! Yes, those are real bugs and no, I didn’t try any! Anyone who’s been around me will know that I can’t even handle being in the presence of a live bug! The result is usually whip lash from sudden body movements and a scream!


“Snack Street” offer visitors with a wide selection of exotic street food such as meat kebabs, candied fresh fruit sticks, dumplings, soup noodles, grilled corn, Chinese desserts, Japanese octopus balls, Taiwanese “smoking” bubble tea, and fresh pressed peanut snacks! Is your mouth watering yet? Mine was…… until I saw a few special food items which make Wangfujing so special! Deep fried insects, scorpions, beetles, and grasshoppers to name a few! A street vendor even introduced me to black spiders imported from South Africa! Oh joy! I usually try to be culturally sensitive but I couldn’t hold back the look of uneasiness on my face as I saw a street vendor skewer live bugs onto a stick, whose feet were still wriggling back and forth! While these peculiar friend insects may not be your ‘cup of tea,’ they help to uniquely define Wangfujing and provide its visitors with a memorable visit, or else it would just be another street of food vendors.

The name of Wangfujing back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) where 10 aristocratic and princess residences were built here, and where a well full of sweet water was discovered – “Wang Fu” (aristocratic residence) and “Jing” (well).

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint in China.. By Getting Your Elbows Ready!

What is up with people taking the Beijing Subway during rush hour?! My jaw literally dropped when I witnessed the subway doors open, which triggered swarms of people simultaneously shoving their way in and out of the subway. There were a few subway attendants, who looked like 18 year-old looking girls dressed nicely in their red uniform skirts, shouting things in Mandarin which I would guess to be requests for people to line up and let people out of the subway before others get in. However, their words were lost in the wrestling match of subway patrons. What shocked me even more was when the door closed on some guy’s back, this young subway attendant proceeded to use all of her force to SHOVE his back into the subway door! I was shocked... should I join the madness or cop out and take a taxi? No, I've made a commitment to reduce my carbon footprint so the subway it is! I stayed and was one of the last people to make it into the next train with the door closing almost on my face. When the subway pulled up to the next stop, no one got off, except 7 people on the platform proceeded to shove their way onto the train. Literally sandwiched between a business gentlemen and a teenage girl who kept coughing everywhere, I couldn’t wait to get off the train! I've only used the subway for 3 days but now have no problem using my elbows to aggressively navigate myself on or off the subway.

I think that Beijing definitely has the ability to fix this problem. First of all, get those 18 year-old female attendants off the subway tracks and roll in some of the military to control the madness. Create some barriers for people to line up and enforce these rules for a few months. Beijing's subway system is very modern and has the potential to be so much more than an elbow and pushing society! When I get back to Toronto/London, I'll have to remember to lose this bad trait for fear of getting slapped with a lawsuit! Until then... my elbows are ready!

Photo credit: abc.net.au