Beijing 2001
This summer I went on a trip with 30 other students to Beijing. The reason we went was to learn Chinese. (Well that’s what the program is for) In reality we learnt a lot more. We saw many wonderful places, met many wonderful people, and learnt a lot about china and the people there.
There are so many places that we went to see. I guess being in Beijing for 6 weeks allows you to do that. We went to the Imperial palace (aka. The forbidden city), the summer palace, THE GREAT WALL (it’s really as amazing as they say), Xi’an (terracotta warriors), Beijing opera and many many more. There were a lot of places that we say that weren’t on the scheduled trip. Since we had the afternoons pretty much free we were allowed to discover Beijing on our own. That had to be the best part of this trip for me. I really don’t enjoy organized site seeing. I prefer to see things at my own speed and on my own time schedule. Even the trips we did as a group, for example the summer palace, we were allowed to discover on our own. We were let loose so to speak to see everything we wanted to, not just what some tour guide wanted us to see.
Because of being able to see this, we discovered the most wonderful area of the summer palace where not many tourists go, as it was off the main ‘tourist trail’. It had neat rock caves/formations, which were formed kind of like walkways that we could go through. There were also wonderful views, which were not disrupted by loads of other people, which was often the case in many other places.
I’m looking at my photo album as I write this, and I don’t know what to tell anyone. I could write a book length of information I felt I’ve seen and learnt on this trip.
One of my favorite palces was the Great Wall. I honestly didn’t think it would be as magnificent as it was. I figured well ya I know it’s one of the greatest wonders of the world, but it’s just a wall. Well if you ever get a chance to see it. I’d suggest you go. It’s just so amazing. Although do take your hiking shoes, and bring lots of water. It’s very very long.
Not only were the sites interesting, I found just taking a taxi ride quite a
thrill. Sometimes it’s like going on a roller coaster. Not to scare you or
anything, but I think I actually preferred the subway. Unless I got a cart that
wasn’t air conditioned (they usually were). Also walking in beijing can be a
quite terrifying experience. The cars just don’t stop. I can remember crossing
a road and having cars zipping by me on both sides. They were really close to.
Oh and the bikes! If you’ve ever been to Beijing you’ll understand that statement.
We experienced the bicycle rush hour. Wow, I’ve never seen anything quite like
that in my life. I wish I had taken a picture. To give you a visual, think of
the traffic on a busy day and try to imagine trying to cross the street, pretty
difficult huh. Well imagine that but bicycles being in the way. Sometimes in
the morning on the walk to school, it was very difficult to cross the street
because everywhere you looked there was a bicycle coming at you. Oh and they
don’t stop for you either. Just watch your legs. J
The people that went on this trip with me were great. I miss you all!!! I haven’t seen many people since I’ve been back. Some I see on a regular bases and our trip always comes up in a conversation. I don’t think I will forget anyone or the fun we had on this trip. When you spend almost all your time with the same people for 6 weeks you get very comfortable around everyone. I admit, we did form clicks, so to speak in the beginning, but that soon faded as everyone began to enjoy everything. I’m glad everyone got along. That was one of the best part of the trips.
I guess I should mention something about our school and classes. I mean we did spend every Monday-Friday there from 8 in the morning till lunch. The classes were small which benefited everyone trying to learn. The teachers were wonderful, even if we had trouble understanding everything. One of the best parts of the classes was that in the afternoon, one hour was devoted to learning something about the places we were going to see during our trip. The reason this was so good was that we learnt everything about it in Chinese. Therefore, when we went to the places we could understand some of the names and history that was written in Chinese (everywhere). The classes were the main reason for this trip, but one of the most insignificant parts. This trip was about so much more than school. It was an experience to learn about another culture. (or at least it was to me)
For anyone who has not been to anywhere outside of Canada this trip would be a wonderful experience. You do have to keep in mind, that this isn’t Canada. Beijing in comparison to Vancouver is a little on the dirty side, and generally just quite different. If you go you’ll experience what I mean. The bathrooms do take some time getting used to. And speaking of taking, don’t forget your toilet paper. The little tissue packs that you can by at the markets are the best.J
This trip was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far in my life. One of my first experiences away from home (alone) as well. If anyone had the chance to go on this trip, and they chose not to go, I think they’d be regretting it for the rest of their lives. How could you turn down an experience that would not only teach you a language, but introduce you to a culture very different from here in Vancouver and at the same time learning a little about the history of China. Every where you went people were mainly friendly and always wanted to help you with your Chinese.
As I said before, I’m so glad I went and
wouldn’t have never turned this opportunity and don’t suggest anyone else doing
that as well.
Jennifer Csabak