Today, we had an amazing time touring Shanghai! Today’s trip has been incredibly thematic, and it was so enlightening to get to know so many different aspects of the city. We’ve only been here a day, but I feel like I already know so much more about Shanghai. Perhaps the word that best defines our travels today is “dichotomy.” There have been so many “dichotomies” or “pair-wise differences” that we’ve witnessed first-hand: The difference between Western-influenced China (through our visits to the French Concession) and Eastern Influenced China (Through our visits to Yu Yuan), the difference between Shanghai-style cuisine (through our visit to XiaoLongBao) and that of other parts of China (our Hotpot Dinner), or even more frequently, the differences between China and America.

We first got up and had an amazing buffet breakfast at the hotel. I personally loved the steamed vegetables, corn, pumpkin, watermelon, and yogurt! There was even a chef who made on-the-spot noodles for us in whatever style we wanted. We then left to visit the French Concession, an area where the Western influences on Shanghai are most evident. It’s a really pretty place, lined with trees along the roads and western-style buildings. We walked along the French Concession, learning about the history of the place, and why China has a French Concession in the first place. After that, we went to the subway, using it to go to XinTianDi, the place where the first Chinese party meeting happened. The subway was very clean, fast, and efficient. The signs are in English in addition to Chinese. XinTianDi museum was very large and informative. After that, we also went to the mall near XinTianDi and walked around the scenic area.

We then went to Nanjing Road to have lunch at XiaoLongBao. The staff were so nice and we even ordered an extra plate of vegetable XiaoLongBao (which was on the house!). The XiaoLongBao was extremely soft, and the filling inside was green. (Basically, it’s a special soft bread with filling on the inside, which could be vegetable filling or meat). Usually it’s hard to get the green color inside of the XiaoLongBao, because the color fades during the steaming process, but they had it a very bright green inside! Maybe they added salt to preserve the freshness before mixed with other ingredients. We had a lot of fun eating there, and talking about our experiences from the past few hours.

After that, we were starting to feel the jet-lag kick in, but we then went to Yu Yuan. Yu Yuan is an extremely beautiful classic Chinese-style architecture area, with a scholar garden inside. We went to the scholar garden and looked at rock formations, water inside, and the architecture. It definitely had a lot of instagram-worthy pictures! Outside of the scholar garden, the architecture still remains, but the real historic part is in the scholar garden which was built by an officer hundreds of years ago. Outside is like a huge shopping mall, but what’s really special is that it’s all integrated with the architecture. We could walk along the roads and shop, and imagine that maybe hundreds of years ago, this was what it was like for people shopping in China (or maybe I’ve been watching too many ancient China C-Dramas?). We got boba on the way back from one of the most famous boba places in China (really tasty), but the line was so long that we thought we might miss our next event… the cruise!

We sprinted to the cruise, trying not to miss our ticket, and thanks to our tour guide Ms. Linda, we arrived on time! We went to the third floor of a boat, and saw really beautiful views of Shanghai along the river. On one side, you could see the “new Shanghai,” featuring the Bund (big spiral TV-station building) as well as one of China’s tallest buildings. On the other side, you could see the buildings of old Shanghai (like the customs house) which were all Western-style. By the way, can I mention that the weather was so good the whole time? We did not even need to wear any jackets/sweaters until the cruise (since there’s a breeze on the boat and it’s near sunset time). We then went for Hotpot, and a nice surprise was getting to meet local native Chinese speakers! We had dinner with people from Shanghai, and asked them questions about their life. We also watched an amazing demonstration of a man spinning noodles (it’s hard to explain: you’ll have to see the video). We had lotus flower root, tofu, vegetables, and asparagus, among other things. We also went to a local park and talked to locals; we met a man who randomly had the ability to sing amazing opera-style international songs, as well as a man who could balance a stick on his head! In Chinese culture, retired people spend their time in parks to learn skills and maintain their fitness. Anyways, quick summary; great city, great food, great people!--Vinav

Today, we went to Zhouzhuang, a beautiful water village in Jiangsu province. Shanghai is not in a province, so this was our first time visiting a Chinese province! Going to Shanghai, and then Zhouzhuang, we’ve really started to get a feel for what Southern China is like. While many of China’s first-tier cities have many similarities, the cultural diversity in China really becomes apparent when you go to the more rural areas. Zhouzhuang especially has the architecture, lifestyle, and regional characteristics of the Souther regions of China. Zhouzhuang is known for being a “water village,” where a river runs through the entire area. It is the most famous water town in China, in part popularized because a famous artist from Zhouzhuang created a painting about the town, and a large American corporation bought that painting. A few decades ago, the CEO of that American corporation returned the painting of Zhouzhuang to Zhou Enlai (former leader of China), making the area’s popularity skyrocket. China’s attractions are rated with the letter ‘A’. Zhouzhuang has the highest tourism rating possible, ‘AAAAA.’ Anyways, enough of background! I’ve talked a bit about what Zhouzhuang is, just for background, but it would be amiss not to talk about our experience of going to Zhouzhuang! We started the day with another great buffet-breakfast at the hotel. Then, we first had a 90-120 minute train-ride to the city, passing many agricultural-style lands and seeing to the outskirts of the city. It was great looking at the “China 360,” albeit if it was out of a window. Going in, we went to the Zhouzhuang, where we saw a lot of restaurants on the street advertising “my family restaurant,” “food from farmer’s harvest,” or “special local cuisine.” We also saw some boba, which immediately caught our eye, but alas, we had to wait before getting the much-coveted boba. We went to the entrance of the area, which was so stunning. We saw beautiful China-style buildings, a Chinese-style tower, and a lot of classical-style buildings. Even outside the main area, we saw buildings which really seems like the architecture in the small-fishing villages of China which one might see online. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the place would be overly-commercialized, and the water-town area be used just to attract tourists and sell things. Actually, I had the opposite experience! When we went to the water village, even though it was a bit tourist-oriented, we felt like it was very authentic.--Vinav

Today, we embarked on our trip to Quzhou! After breakfast, we went to the Shanghai Nan Railway Station and said goodbye to our tour guides from Shanghai. There, we also learned about the train system in China, and many of us got to experience riding high speed bullet trains for the first time. We were able to take in a lot of China's scenery as the train rocketed up to speeds of 300 kmh. Once we arrived in the Quzhou train station, we were welcomed by Mr. Nan and Ms. Zhu, English teachers at Quzhou Second High School, and surprisingly, we were also greeted by cameras recording for local Quzhou news stations. These cameras followed us until the end of our welcome ceremony later in the day, so, we had a taste of being small celebrities. Some of us even got interviewed by journalists!

Mr. Nan and Ms. Zhu then took us to lunch, where we tried authentic Quzhou food. After eating, we went to the Memorial Hall of the Doolittle raid. Notably, one of Pingry's graduates, William Halsey Jr., was included in the museum and it felt incredible to be able to recognize him. Despite a small bit of rain, we continued to tour the Confucius temple. We saw the places where ancestors would commemorate Confucius, the family's living quarters, and their breathtaking garden. I personally will always remember what seemed to be a floating-teapot-fountain in the garden, but, in reality, just had a pole that was holding the pot up in the middle of the waterfall.

Afterward, we were able to commence to the highlight, at least for me, of the day: arriving at Quzhou Second High School. There, we were greeted by the principal and escorted into a meeting room, where a welcome ceremony commenced. Many speeches and welcome remarks were given, along with a notably heartfelt speech by Ms. Yu. All eight of us students also were able to give a quick introduction. Pingry and Quzhou Second High School exchanged gifts, we met our host families for the first time, took a quick group photo, then were able to go home!

Of course, all of us had different activities after going home, but I can talk a little bit about what I did. First, I ate dinner cooked by my buddy's grandmother while getting to know her whole family. We then drove over to a shopping mall and shopped at the supermarket, where we bought lots of fruits, water, and snacks. Interestingly, we found what was marked as "mini watermelons," which were as small as pennies, which none of us had every seen nor tried before. After coming home, we basically had a haul of all the snacks we bought. So, we took a taste at these mini watermelons, and found that they were soft cucumber-like fruits. Overall, nobody really liked them, haha. During that food haul, I felt that I was really able to connect with my host family. I then exchanged gifts with them, laughed a lot, and then it was time to get ready for bed.

It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to experiencing school in China tomorrow!---Jasmine

Hello everyone! This is Nataly. Today was a very fun day; we did a lot. Ruby (my host sister) and I went to school at 6:45 am, where I met a lot of her friends. I think they are all very funny haha! After that, we had the opportunity to teach two english classes, where we spoke about who we were and introduced Pingry to the Qu Zhou No.2 High School students. Everyone was very nice; they took a lot of pictures with us and gave us lots of gifts and snacks. After that, we toured the school with Mr.Nan (the global director at the Qu Zhou HS) where he showed us the school's history, prestigious alumni, and Pingry's relationship with Qu Zhou HS in previous years. Following our tour we had lunch at the school's cafeteria with our host siblings and new friends. They then surprised us with a talent show, where we saw many of our new classmates sing, dance, rap, and play instruments. We were all very impressed! Once the talent show finished, we took art/caligraphy/music classes, and then went home with our host families. Tomorrow, we will go to another Yu Yuan, so we are all very excited. See you tomorrow!-----Nataly

Today was a fun day!

The mountains in Wuyuan were covered in some fog, which made for some excellent scenery. As we walked through the city, we saw large fields of yellow flowers. These flowers bloom specifically during March and April.

At a nearby restaurant, we ate some authentic Chinese food. They had a large variety of spices.

The Wuyuan ticket center displayed the tourism rating, having the highest possible: AAAAA. We took a cable car up the mountain, and were able to see large flower patches on the mountain along with the traditional Chinese style architecture.

We went inside a museum that displayed the historical lifestyle of ancient Chiense farmers. They had farming tools, lanterns for the spring festival, and models that show the traditional culture such as methods for harvesting crops and marriage, among other things.

Continuing to walk through the city of Wuyuan, we went inside a tall building, clibing the stairs to the roof to be able to see the city from its center with a better view.

The last thing we did at Wuyuan before going on the cable car back to the bus was walk across a long bridge at a high altitude. It was nice to see the city from up high, especially the flower fields and the traditional style houses. The mountains were covered by clouds at their tops and by flowers by their base.---Daniel

Today, we said goodbye to our buddies and arrived in Beijing.

We started off the day by attending the school-wide assembly where they raised the flag and student leaders gave speeches. Excitingly, Vinav got called up for an impromptu speech, and it was amazing! After that, we went to two classes, one in 7th grade and one in 9th grade. I was able to answer questions and even helped them with their English homework!

Then, we walked to the Fenghua middle school, where we made dumplings with the middle schoolers and ate lunch. Some of us encountered raw dumpling filling for the first time! There was beef and celery, cabbage and mushroom, and cabbage and celery filling. Lunch was a wide selection of fruits and local dishes.

After a brief break of taking photos in the library, we headed upstairs, where we played a game of answering questions on paper. Excitingly, all 16 of us pulled a “Friendship tree” upright and laboriously covered the roots with dirt. Finally, we went back inside to watch the farewell show. Some talented students sang songs like “We don’t talk anymore” and “See you again,” while another played guitar.

Finally, we headed to the airport and said our goodbyes. There were a lot of hugs and even some teary eyes! We nearly missed the plane but just barely made it on before they closed the gates.

In Beijing, our new guide, Jessie (or Lele) introduced herself and brought us to a dinner place. Although everyone was tired, we had a good discussion on our experience in Quzhou. ---Maddie

My homestay mom was really gracious as a host, since she was always making sure that I had everything and told me to treat it as my own home. My budy was also so nice, and we were able to bond through our love of music and dancing. It was valuable to see how Chinese citizens lived, and I found their community very interesting. They had several neighbors and were in an almost rural area that still bordered the busier city. From my host, I learned that China is much safer than the US since she was completely comfortable walking to the mall and back with just me in the dark. I really appreciated the amount of effort they put into my room, since her mom literally had everything but clothes prepared for me. Overall, I’m very thankful for being able to live with them and experience their daily life.--M

My overall homestay was really fun. I loved the family that I was put with, and thought they were so kind and welcoming to me. I got to try so many new things while I was in Quzhou, and I think that this is something that I will never be able to experience again. My host mother was so thoughtful with buying me things and allowing me to try different foods while staying in her home. It felt like every day I was able to experience a new food, style, or cultural tradition in Quzhou with my family. I learned so many things about Chinese schools vs. American schools and how Chinese students go about their school day. If I had the opportunity to go back and do another homestay experience, I definitely would. During the daytime, I was able to talk to my buddy a lot more frequently and hung out with her and her friends. I loved going to class with her, and she was so nice to me. I am so appreciative that the Quzhou school allowed us to do this program, and I hope that they will one day come to America.--A

My homestay experience were some of the best times of my life. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed living in China and getting to go to school there.

Being able to get a really original and authentic experience like that opened my eyes up to things I take for granted. For example, my host family's house had no heating system. So, every night, I had to sleep with two layers on, plus another three layers of blankets. My host family also normally don't shower every day during the winter to conserve energy---they need to heat up their water to have hot water. However, they made sure to tell me that they know that I probably shower every day, and so they reassured me that I can shower however much I want, and always made sure to heat up the water everyday for me (which I really appreciated). Furthermore, my host family turned off their wifi, partially to limit electronic usage for their kids, but also to conserve energy as well. So, I was able to realize things that I took for granted while living in the US.

I also got a lot of "firsts" during my homestay as well. It was my first time in Quzhou, and I got to visit what my family said was old Quzhou. There, I got to try 水晶糕, a crystal-like jelly that tastes like mint, for the first time, which is a Quzhou specialty and apparently isn't available anywhere else. I also got to experience a wedding for the first time, which was really cool.

All the love and the warm welcomes I got at Quzhou Second High School were really memorable for me. I firstly got tons of gifts, from my family, the faculty, and the students. I also felt the students cared for me, and were genuinely intersted in me as a person and American culture when asking me questions/interacting with me. Being able to spend time with my buddy, and all my friends with their buddys was so so so much fun, and I'll never forget the crazy laughs we had together.

Ultimately, this experience is something I will never forget, and I'm so grateful that I was able to have it. ---J

I had a great experience in the homestay. The thing I liked the most about my particular family was that they gave me a much closer idea of what the typical Chinese household was like. We lived in XiaoQu with many different buildings that were similar. Even though the specific XiaoQu we lived in was pretty new, they told me that many Chinese families live in this type of household. This was especially important to me because I really care about knowing the typical/authentic Chinese family lifestyle to better understand Chinese culture, and if I lived in a different household I do not think I would have gotten that experience. Also, I feel like the family really went out of their way to accommodate me and my dietary restrictions. I really liked how they made sure to protect me and double check for all the food items. My buddy especially liked physics and was in an advanced physics class, and I was awestruck at the level of problems they do there. I spent a lot of time with buddy’s parents, especially my buddy’s Mom. They were nice enough to take me to the center of old QuZhou and go on a walk near the XiaoQu. Old quzhou is very bustling and busy and alive (ReNao) and also it’s a beautiful riverside view. I also thought it was interesting how when we came in we had to wear like slippers, and at that point I realize that there’s like a cleanliness hierarchy in China. From dirtiest to cleanest: outside floor > bottom of shoes > inside floor > bottom of inside shoes > used socks/underwear > used clothes > clean clothes/socks/underwear > your body. Basically you have to protect cleaner things from the dirtier ones. I really liked the experience overall since it was very authentic (ZhenZhong) and rewarding.---Vinav

Thursday was our arrival at 衢州! I was really excited to meet my host buddy this day. There was a press conference room where we entered, and my buddy was really kind since the beginning. When I got to her house, her family was really excited to meet me. Her younger brother wanted me to try all of the chocolates in his room, she gifted me a tea set, and we ate a classic dinner together which consisted of beef, fish, and 饺子. On Friday, we woke up a little early to get to class earlier. For breakfast, we ate 馒头, which was really good (especially because the one my host mom made me was made not spicy to save my taste buds). This was my first day really spending time at the school with my buddy, which was really exciting. I received many gifts this day. Friday afternoon, we saw a movie (哪吒儿2) and went shopping. On Saturday, we spent some time studying together in the morning and I got to wash my clothes. We spend this day and Sunday together with the rest of the group most of the time. I really got a lot closer with her Sunday night, where we hung out with my brother and other friends at a night market. Monday was the last day with my buddy. I felt really sad to see her go (I tried my best not to cry) and I left her a letter that day, for which she wrote me one in return on a postcard. I still text her everyday! -拉

Overall the Quzhou homestay was a really heartwarming and enlightening experience. At first, xinyu and I weren’t close, but even then she made effort to keep asking me questions and continue conversation. Over time (even if it was only a few days), we grew closer and now I care deeply for her and vice versa. We made many memories with each other that I will never forget. I was extremely sad to leave and still miss her very much. I hope that we can visit each other in the future. In addition to xinyu, her mom also made my experience wonderful. She was welcoming, kind, and generous, prepared to provide whatever I needed. In their house, I felt like I belonged. The two of them together made my homestay experience a joy, leaving an indelible impression on my life.-- Charlotte

Today was our first day in Beijing. We got up extra early this morning and hopped on a bus that took us to Hede international high school. After our arrival, we had a quick welcoming ceremony and then were taken by our buddies to our first couple of classes. We all had three academic classes this morning where we got to learn about the class style of private school vs. the class style of public school which we had already experienced. After 3 classes, we either had lunch or another class. Whoever didn't have lunch first, had lunch second (similar to the Pingry lunch waves). The lunch was really good and had many different options for different eating patterns. After lunch, we traveled to the elementary school--after all recieving a delicious iced coffee--and watched over some classes. After previewing the classes, we had a fun time making Bing Tang Hu Lu and playing on the jungle gym. We then traveled back to the high school, did an interview about our day, and then began the craft that we chose the day before. Half of our group strung a bracelet made out of volcanic rock, and the other half did a tea tasting. The bracelets were then coated in a selected scent that lets off a scented aroma when you wear the bracelet. We then played in the gym with our buddies and had dinner at the high school. After a couple games of Uno at the end of the night, we made it back to the hotel.--- Ava

For lunch, we had a home-cooked meal and tried local food and made 饺子 with the shop owner. The shop owner about what it’s like to live in a 胡同 and in 北京. After that, we learned about cricket fighting from Cricket Wu and saw all the tools they use.

Later, we went to a park and tried playing with a diabolo, which was really fun. Then, we walked through the night markets, which were crowded, and took a tour of the river in the center of Beijing. For dinner, we ate at Pizza Hut. On the long car ride back, Jessie 老师 told us more about the area while a lot of people fell asleep. The stars were really pretty.-Sophia

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Today was a very sad for us all. It was our final day in China, and we left with a bang. In the morning, we had the opportunity to go to the Great Wall of China, where we learned about its multipurpose, including its use for trade and protection. It expands for more than 20,000 kilometers, and it was rewarding to stand on the Wall with all of my friends. After walking around for a bit and taking pictures, we took the bus to go to the infamous Silk Market to bargain with the locals. My friends and I bargained for ramen, while some of my other friends bargained for tea sets and jewelry. Finally, after a long day, we headed to a restaurant where we ate pecking duck and other delicious side dishes, and celebrated both Ava's 16th and Vinav's 18th. Although we are sad that we are leaving, this trip was an unforgettable experience that I will never forget. --Charlotte