A shout out to all our mothers and fathers at home from the Hong Kong International Airport, Gate 70! It's currently Wednesday morning here, while for you back home it's still likely Tuesday and we're waiting to hop on to our connection to Kunming. In a few short hours we'll be sitting in our hostel enjoying the city where it's always spring. Although we're pretty exhausted, group energy is high. We've had a lot of fun exploring the massive Hong Kong airport and observing (ok, maybe stalking) the many different people that are in it. Now we get back on the plane to add two more hours to our trip, making it a total of 23 hours spent traveling together.
The 6 Week Language Dragons,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
A shout out to all our mothers and fathers at home from the Hong Kong International Airport, Gate 70! It’s currently Wednesday morning here, while for you back home it’s still likely Tuesday and we’re waiting to hop on to our connection to Kunming. In a few short hours we’ll be sitting in our hostel […]
All the students have arrived safely and we are hours away from boarding the flight to China. Its so exciting to have us all together for the start of this great adventure.
I-Team,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hi everyone! All the students have arrived safely and we are hours away from boarding the flight to China. Its so exciting to have us all together for the start of this great adventure. Stay tuned for our safe arrival in China yak.
Hi all! Greetings from the I-Team here in Los Angeles!
There's just a few days to go before we meet up in LA, so I hope you all are getting extra excited and pulling together any loose ends before we head off to China. I know we are.
We wanted to post a quick note regarding cell phones and iPods (or any other music devices). In order to make sure that this summer as wholesomely involved and awesome as possible, we are asking that you do NOT bring your cell phones (international, iPhone, etc.). In country communications among us and the group will be made possible through home stays, the program house and internet access, so there's no need to worry about losing touch. I know it might be tough for some of us to detach from our beloved electronics, but trust us, it's a liberating feeling to be cell-phone-less. In terms of music, iPods and such are nice on long train/bus rides, so bring those along if you'd like, but don't expect to have your ear buds in at all hours of the day. We hope packing is going great!
The I-Team,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hi all! Greetings from the I-Team here in Los Angeles! There’s just a few days to go before we meet up in LA, so I hope you all are getting extra excited and pulling together any loose ends before we head off to China. I know we are. We wanted to post a quick note […]
It’s been great to talk to you all on the phone. Our group sounds really stellar…so we have high hopes for you all! We're really excited about everybody’s desire to really learn the language, and everybody's energy and excitement.
We would like you to complete a few tasks before we meet you all in LA.
Pre-course reading:
We have selected a few articles that we thought you might like to read before we meet you in LA. This should start to give you some idea about the country that you will spend the next 6 weeks exploring. We also hope these articles will begin to unlock (or add to) the mysteries surrounding Chinese life and culture. Try to read them all, but if you don’t have time, print them out for the plane-ride.
(This is an article published in the New Yorker a few years ago - Peter Hessler has also written an excellent book by the same title.)
Read this article only if you have time and/or find it interesting - it touches on a few interesting issues (especially about the Chinese language, fitting for our course's emphasis on language).
Course preparation (before you leave the USA):
As a very short experiment we would like each of you to “google” the following words and make a note of the articles that appear and that can be accessed through the link provided on Google. The words are: The Dalai Lama, Tiananmen Square, Falun Gong.
I-team,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hello friends! It’s been great to talk to you all on the phone. Our group sounds really stellar…so we have high hopes for you all! We’re really excited about everybody’s desire to really learn the language, and everybody’s energy and excitement. We would like you to complete a few tasks before we meet you all […]
Greetings from your I-Team! We hope you all have wound down with school and are gearing up for departure just a week away. The time for loading up your rucksacks is nigh, and we'd like to add two items to your packing lists which hopefully aren't spilling over the brim quite yet.
We're going to go on a few bike rides and perhaps an overnight hike, potentially camping out for an evening in cozy tents. We may even ride some horses which will require a helmet. To stay warm, bring a decent sleeping bag (you will NOT need a sleeping pad however), and to stay safe on a bicycle or horse you'll also need to bring a bike helmet. So, just to be sure, load up a sleeping bag and a bike helmet and we'll be good to go!
I-Team,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hey Everybody! Greetings from your I-Team! We hope you all have wound down with school and are gearing up for departure just a week away. The time for loading up your rucksacks is nigh, and we’d like to add two items to your packing lists which hopefully aren’t spilling over the brim quite yet. We’re […]
my name is emma, and i just finished junior year at gunn high school in palo alto california. i enjoy running, biking, drawing, and cooking. like pretty much everyone on this trip, i've only taken chinese for a few years and hope to improve my speaking (especially the four tones part). I also look forward to becoming more literate in chinese, so that when i go shopping in chinese markets at home i actually know what i'm buying instead of just guessing based on the packaging. what are you guys thinking of doing for the independent study project? i'm not quite sure yet, but i would definitely like to learn more about chinese calligraphy/brushpainting and chinses cooking.
Emma Dohner,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hi everyone! my name is emma, and i just finished junior year at gunn high school in palo alto california. i enjoy running, biking, drawing, and cooking. like pretty much everyone on this trip, i’ve only taken chinese for a few years and hope to improve my speaking (especially the four tones part). I also […]
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[post_content] => Hey Guys! My name is Noah Lerner. I live in Newton, Massachusetts. I am 17 years old and I go to Newton South High School. I enjoy running, biking, playing ultimate frisbee and canoeing. I like to listen to all sorts of music. I also love the outdoors. I have taken chinese for three years, but I am still not very good. That aside, I am psyched to go on this trip. I hope to learn a lot and eat alot. See you guys in a week.
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China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
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Hello
Noah Lerner,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hey Guys! My name is Noah Lerner. I live in Newton, Massachusetts. I am 17 years old and I go to Newton South High School. I enjoy running, biking, playing ultimate frisbee and canoeing. I like to listen to all sorts of music. I also love the outdoors. I have taken chinese for three years, […]
Hey everybody. My name's Michelle Hare. I am 16 and go to St. George's in Middletwon, Rhode Island. I love tennis, sailing, soccer, and dogs. I love the outdoors. I've been learning Chinese for a couple of years, but I'm not very good at it. I hope to become almost fluent during the trip. I've also been to China a couple of times, but only Hong Kong because I was born there. I like all kinds of music and I sleep, a lot.
Michelle Hare,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
Hey everybody. My name’s Michelle Hare. I am 16 and go to St. George’s in Middletwon, Rhode Island. I love tennis, sailing, soccer, and dogs. I love the outdoors. I’ve been learning Chinese for a couple of years, but I’m not very good at it. I hope to become almost fluent during the trip. I’ve […]
From June 16th until June 26th your instructors will be attending an orientation session in the Sierra Nevada with Where There Be Dragons. We will be camping and will have limited access to email or phones. We will be making periodic trips to a nearby town to check the Yak Yak board and emails, so please post any questions that you have to this board. We will endeavour to answer them as soon as possible.
The Instructor Team,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
From June 16th until June 26th your instructors will be attending an orientation session in the Sierra Nevada with Where There Be Dragons. We will be camping and will have limited access to email or phones. We will be making periodic trips to a nearby town to check the Yak Yak board and emails, so […]
I read this quote the other day and it struck a cord with me so I wanted to share it with you all. I don't know about you, but I spend way too much time living in both the past and future. My goal this summer is to stay present and I hope that you will choose to do the same. Prepare to throw yourself in deep and cherish every beautiful and unique moment that you have in China; 6 weeks will pass quicker than you know!
"I believe that only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present. Most us spend fifty-nine minutes of an hour living in the past, with regrets for lost joys, or shame for things badly done (both utterly useless and weakening) – or in a future which we either long for or dread. Yet the past is gone, beyond prayer, and every minute you spend in vain effort to anticipate the future is a moment lost. There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute. There is only one minute in which you are alive, THIS MINUTE – here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is – a miracle and unrepeatable!"
Rachael,China: Language Intensive (6-week), Summer 2010
Description
I read this quote the other day and it struck a cord with me so I wanted to share it with you all. I don’t know about you, but I spend way too much time living in both the past and future. My goal this summer is to stay present and I hope that you […]