On (Window) Display in Pingyao

(Lizzy)

We woke up on the train this morning, groggy and confused about when our stop would come. Unable to find anyone who could clear up our confusion in English, and no less puzzled by the train conductors hand gestures in response to our questions, we decided to wait it out. Ryan suddenly realized; however, that the captain was using Chinese finger counting, and the sign he made with his pinky and thumb meant we would arrive at 6:00 AM.

After finally making it off the train all together and with all of our things, we were greeted by our new guide, who talkatively led us to a large golf cart. We loaded our luggage and piled in, cold and tired. We checked into our very authentic hotel, complete with rock-hard beds, no heat, and a shower head in the middle of the bathroom. Though it is very cold here, people make no effort to avoid it or use heat. In everything from houses to restaurants to hotel rooms, it is very difficult to escape the cold. Doors are often left wide open, only sometimes shielded by a thick quilt hanging from the threshold ...

Gypsies!

(Colin)

On the morning of February 15^th, 2011 AD,  in the Julian Calendar of the west, the Sarcastic Four arose from a decent slumber.  I myself did not enjoy the softness of the mattresses, as I am more of a firm mattress person, but I’m not one to complain about mattresses, so I shall continue.  We ate at the hotel’s breakfast buffet for the third and final time, and enjoyed the music that they played, which was the exact same as they had played the two days before.  Though consuming bad noodles to bad new age jazz is not something that one would consider ideal breakfast, we got more than a kick out of the massive contemporary wingbacks that we sat in, and the plethora of watermelon.  Aching to get out of new age jazzland, we quickly went back to our rooms, and packed.

During packing, I had the interesting predicament of a gourd flute that I purchased in Lijiang, which I had dismantled the evening before in a fruitless attempt to repair it.  My bags were full, by back was already straining under the thought of my backpack, and I hated this flute with the force of a thousand suns ...

Space Invaders

(Ryan)

Today was the day we visited Pangliu village. We started out early in the morning by piling into the van and heading towards the outskirts of the city. We picked up Richard on the way. For those of you who don't know, Richard is the amazing person who has coordinated most of our fantastic trip so far. Because of him, we have been able to pack so much into the past few days. On the way to Pangliu, he told us about his life growing up in the village and how hard school was for him and his classmates. Of all the students in his class, only two, including him, went on to University. The testing process had been extremely difficult when he was in school. On the journey into the village Richard explained how the city of Xi'an was expanding and soon even Pangliu would be absorbed by the condo complexes and parks.

When we arrived in Pangliu, it reminded me of the Bai villages we had seen ...

K(C)ool and The Gang

(Chris)

Before I explain the title of this blog entry, I'd like to first just re-visit what Lizzy probably talked about in her post.  We had the opportunity to visit two small villages outside of the city of Dali a few days ago and these visits were very memorable for me.  The people of these villages are of mostly Bai descent (one of the 56 minority groups within China).  They were probably the nicest people I've ever met in my life!!  The women of the village invited us to a wedding reception and to their temple while a group prayer was in session.  In the pictures, these women are easily identifiable by their beautiful, ornate headdresses.  Our tour guide, Nancy, was also of Bai descent and is the most pleasant person you will ever meet!  (She's the one force-feeding Ryan at the temple.)  She was so happy and proud to share her culture with us and it was an honor to be invited to such special events within this community.  Please look through our pictures to get a glimpse of a culture that truly exemplifies what it means to be a good human being!!

Now, let me explain the title of this blog entry ...

“No!”

(Lizzy)

The past two days have been very busy, and, I think we would all agree, yesterday was one of our best yet. We were picked up by Nancy, a woman of Bai nationality and our enthusiastic guide, and taken to see a market in a beautiful nearby village where the local people sell their fresh produce. Nancy explained to us that the Bai minority is a matriarchal society in which the women do most of the physical labor and the men do crafts, especially carving. The Bai men are called “carving men” because throughout history they have been carvers of everything from jade to silver to wood. The Bai people were given their name, which means “white,” because of their white buildings and the women’s white costumes, which many, including our guide, choose to still wear today.

Nancy explained to us that the Bai people are all very kind. We soon experienced their generosity ourselves when we were led into a stranger’s home unannounced. The family living in the beautiful, ancient courtyard-style home was happy to have us look around ...

Can you please pass the Toilet Paper?

(Colin)

This morning, we started at a comfortable 9:00 for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which is not adjacent to the hotel, interestingly.  After consuming ungodly amounts of food, we meandered through the streets of Lijiang.  As we were wandering, Chris saw an old woman peeling potatoes on the street, and went to take a picture.  At the activation sound of his camera, the old woman screamed at him in some native dialect.  Needless to say, we continued walking.

After several minutes, we found ourselves on a market street, surrounded by various wares and curios.  Chris and Ryan bought ancient Chinese fake Ray Bans, Lizzy bought a nice pillowcase made in the Na Xi style, and I purchased a kind of flute thing.  We made our way up and down the street, and Lizzy realized that ...

Adventure Time

(Ryan Dougherty)

We woke up early yesterday morning vowing that we would have a Chinese breakfast.  No more sausage and egg for us!  We wanted fried noodles, hot soy milk, buns, and dumplings with mysterious black goo (which was delicious).  After breakfast, Julie met us in the lobby for our last day in Guilin.  We piled into the van for one last sight-seeing adventure.

Our first stop was Elephant Trunk Hill.  The reason for the hill's name is immediately apparent: the river nearby runs through the hill, carving out a large chunk that leaves a narrow strip to one side that looks like an elephant's trunk.  We walked around the nearby park, complete with a giant Chinese chess board, and piled back into the van for our next destination ...

The 1st rule of Chinese Driver's Education 101 - There are no rules ...

(Chris Estabrook, teacher)

Hello everybody. I'm sure that you've all been anxiously awaiting my first blog post. :) Our blog is blocked over here in China, so I haven't been able to read what Colin and Lizzy have posted. I'm sure their posts were very clever, witty and observant, so I'll do my best to match wits with those two -although I'm sure they'll have me beat. I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Lijiang. There are 4 people hovering over my shoulder staring at my screen. The idea of personal space doesn't really exist here.
 
First, I just have to say that I couldn't ask for 3 better travel companions.  Lizzy, Colin and Ryan have been wonderful.  They're funny, patient, adventurous...yet appropriately cautious, and downright cool!  This has been one of the most amazing and eye-opening experiences of my life so far and I'm glad I have three great people to share it with.  I'm starting to understand that Colin is going to be the prankster of the group ...

Li River to Yangshuo

(Lizzy Briskin)

Ni Hao!

It’s only our fourth day here in China, but we have already seen so much that it feels like we have been here for weeks. Yesterday we took the Li River Boat Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, a relatively small city.

The landscape in this part of China is amazing. The entire area was once an ocean, but what remains now is the thriving Li River surrounded by dramatic karst mountains that appear randomly, jutting straight out of the otherwise flat landscape. We had amazing views of the scenery on the four-hour boat cruise ...

Blogo Numero Uno

(Colin Braun)

Approximately 54 hours have elapsed since the Fantastic Four rose from their beds on Thursday, February 3^rd, 2011, at about 3:00 AM.  During this time, we have spent a good 22 hours on planes, and crossed twelve time zones.  Our initial flight departed Boston at 6:01 AM, and we arrived in Hong Kong 23 hours later, 17 years in the future.  There ARE flying cars.  Not much can be said about the flying, other than the crippling feeling of helplessness felt by at least myself, having for a majority of the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong been absolutely clueless as to the remaining time.  Also, the food was terrible ...

Arrived in Hong Kong, safe and sound

(Andy)

The group has arrived safe and sound, and Chris has posted the first pictures (upper right).  Because the flight arrived an hour early, they were able to enjoy the fabulous New Year fireworks over Hong Kong Harbor, from the convenience of their strategically chosen room at the Kowloon YWCA!  The Year of the Rabbit has officially begun!

(FIRST POST of 2011 Exchange)The Fantastic Four's Adventure Begins ... finally!

(posted by Andy Vizulis)

After anticipating the most exciting adventure of your high school career for almost a year, wouldn't it stand to reason that a snowstorm would throw plans into disarray in the final 24 hours? But of course! This is New England after all. Though originally scheduled to depart Wednesday morning at 6:01am, the flight was already cancelled on Tuesday because of this year's "if it's Wednesday, it's a giant snowstorm" weather pattern.

But by Thursday morning, everyone had dug out, de-iced and made it safely from Dover and Sherborn to Logan Airport. 6:01am is not a pleasant departure time, especially having to be there a couple of hours early. The only positive is that getting through check-in should be a breeze, right?  Wrong! Due to the cancelled flights the day before, lines were the longest seen since the Exchange began.

With only a half hour left before departure, we all said our hasty (and tearful) goodbyes to this year's group, consisting of Ryan Dougherty, Colin Braun, Elizabeth Briskin (Lizzy), and middle-school Spanish teacher Christopher Estabrook as chaperone. If previous years are any indication, the Fantastic Four (self-dubbed!) will have indescribable experiences they will never forget.  Check back regularly to follow their exploits!