Xian Field Trip

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NOTE: This is an 'Ana only' blog.
I've been teaching at a local school in Hong Kong for the past year. My kids are all from Hong Kong. For our end of school field trip, we took 85 students to Xian. It was a cultural, historical, and community service oriented field trip. My school has developed a partnership with a local school in Xian. Our students were each assigned a 'buddy' at the Jiaotong University in Xian, which is actually a primary school, but they call it a University. It was an eye-opening trip for both the Hong Kong students and the Xian students. My students come from very wealthy families in Hong Kong, so to see the classroom conditions and teaching methods at Jiaotong University humbled them...FINALLY they got a sense of how good they have it in Hong Kong! The Xian students came from poor families. Their school was typical of mainland China schools (at least that was what I was told)... crowded classes, strict teachers, and rote learning. The Xian kids were all smiles and energy as they anxiously waited to try out thier limited English on their new Hong Kong friends. The Xian students were especially intrigued with the Western teachers (there were 6 of us). They gave us gifts, shook our hands, and followed us around like we were celebrities. Each of the teachers had to teach a 20 minute class. I taught a mini-lesson on air and flight. I was pretty nervous as there were 60 students in the class, and I'm used to a max of 15 students. I had visions of mass choas which were quickly quelled with extremely attentive and curious children. I walked in, and the teacher summonded the students to stand, and they gave me a round of applause (I hadn't even said a word yet!). I started with asking them what things fly. Students raised and waved their hand with tightly closed mouths (they've been trained NOT to blurt out if they want to be called on). The standard procedure to answer a teachers question is to stand up straight and tall, look the teacher in the eye, and yell the answer. It was so hilarious to call on the students, have them stand and blurt out in thick Chinese accent, "Butterfly!", "Airplane!", and "Bird!". I then had them make paper helicopters, which they loved. I was overwhelmed with the level of interest and engagement. It was truly one of the best teaching experiences I have yet to have.
We also went to the main attractions in Xian, the terracotta warriors. I didn't know much about Chinese history before my trip, so I found the story behind the warriors and the eccentric Emperior Qin Shi Huang fasinating. He was obsessed with longevity and protecting his empire...as any 'first emperor of China' would be. He took mercury pills and other strange elixers he thought would help him live longer, which eventually killed him. The warriors were constructed near his mausoleum and were supposed to protect him and defend his empire in the afterlife...strange man. The soldiers were only discovered in the 1970's. It's so strange that something so huge and ancient was only unearthed a few decades ago. Makes you wonder what else is out there that we haven't found! We also visited the city wall, which is the most complete ancient city wall that has survived in China, and the Steele Forest, a collection of more than 2,300 steele handed down from the Han, Wei, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. I ate 8 consecutive family style Chinese meals, which made me queasy...I won't be eating Chinese food for a while! Overall, it was a short, yet good trip. I finally bonded with my mostly reserved Hong Kong students...better late than never.

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Comments

[Librada]

great!!
I totally enjoyed this entry as I know nothing of Xian or China for that matter. I am now excited about doing a little research on my own. Thanks.