It’s been eighteen days since I returned to the United States from China. And not a day has gone by that I don’t think about the good times I had there, the friends I met and the things I saw. Now, I always think about what time and day it is in China before I … Continue reading
Summer Service Learning Program in rural China 2013
I spent much of my summer of 2013 participating in the Summer Service Learning Program (SSLP) in Minquan County, Henan Province, China. Hosted by Tsinghua University, the SSLP is a volunteer teaching program for students from the USA, Tsinghua University and Hong Kong. The students split into 30 groups to teach English in 30 underdeveloped … Continue reading
Farewell from China
The past four days have been incredible. Possibly the best four days of the trip. Tuesday, we had a much-needed free day, so I was able to sleep in and relax a little. Then we set out for the White Cloud Zen Temple here in Minquan County, about an hour from the hotel. It’s about … Continue reading
Time flies in the PRC
Wow. It’s already July 31. That means just three more days in Minquan, and five more days until my 21st birthday, which will be uneventfully spent on an airplane over Russia, Canada and the Arctic Ocean. You win some, you lose some.
So much Chinese hospitality
The past two days have been filled with heat, lessons and hospitality. So much hospitality from the Chinese, and SO much heat.
Life in Minquan, China
My journey to rural China began Monday night with a nine-hour train ride from the metropolis of Beijing to “The Great Unknown” of rural China. When I arrived Tuesday morning, I was greeted in my sleepy stupor by a dirty sign that hung over the train platform; “MIN QUAN,” it read, beneath the Chinese characters.
Time to experience the real China
Unfortunately, my time here at Tsinghua has come to an end. At 6 p.m. today, I will go to the train station with my team members and we will catch a train to Minquan County, Henan Province, a rural area in central China. There, we will spend two weeks teaching English to vocational school students.
I climbed the Great Wall of China
The title says it all. I climbed the Great Wall of China. We arrived back here in Beijing Thursday afternoon after a grueling 17-hour train ride from Xi’an. We had some free time Thursday, so I had my laundry washed and rented a bike here at Tsinghua, as the campus is huge and it would … Continue reading
I climbed to the top of China
Every once in a while, we have one of those moments that stands out from the rest. A moment in time which you photographically remember every little detail. A moment that unfolded so perfectly, you ask yourself if you are having an out-of-body experience or if you are experiencing an overwhelming rush of life. Yestereday was … Continue reading
Travel-weariness sets in
It looks like blogs once every two days may become the norm. While I’d love to post some updates and photos every day, our hectic schedule doesn’t really allow for that. We toured the Longmen Grottoes in Zhengzhou yesterday (Saturday, July 13), and there I got some of the most beautiful photos I have gotten … Continue reading
Behind the Camera 