Natalie Brock, Parent
When we were on the plane to China at the beginning of our trip, Steve Zoni told all of us that he wanted us to feel the happiness he felt on his first trip to Nanjing.  He compared it to what an astronaut must feel when he goes to the moon.

I have been to the moon.

The people in Nanjing are beautiful.  The children were loving and attentive.  The food was fabulous.  We laughed together and had adventures that seem surreal as I sit here at home now.  I have shared experiences with my son and the Pasco Middle School teachers that I will never forget.

Our trip to the Buddhist temple made us think about our Christian faith and all of the symbols and rituals that are sacred to us.  Seeing the living conditions of many people in the cities made us appreciate all that we have.  Getting to know the students made us see that kids are kids, no matter where they live. Learning about the Chinese education system made us question and compare our curriculum and expectations in America.  We have so much to be thankful for, yet so much that we can improve.

Meals were a daily adventure.  Who tries eel and duck wing and fish head soup?  We did.  Who gets caught in a flash flood and has to negotiate with taxi drivers through a form of charades in order to get home?  We did.  Who reaches across cultural barriers and preconceived notions to form a bond that will hopefully last forever?  We did, but so did the teachers and students at Shu Ren.  I hope that our school and community can do whatever it takes to keep this relationship strong.

So, I have been to the moon, and I must say that I enjoyed every minute of the ride. 

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Carson Brock, Student

It was all wonderful. Everything. The food, the people and the sights. I had an incredible time hanging out with the kids, and I learned so much on the tours of Nanjing and the surrounding areas.  It made me realize that China is a beautiful country despite the overpopulation and the pollution. Nanjing is not easy to describe, but in a one sentence summary I would say Nanjing is a beautiful, busy, bright and wonderful city.  I really hope that our connection with Shu Ren stays open because I had an unforgettable time getting to know those kids. I can’t wait for the GLC to start up again when school starts back.

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B.J. McCabe, Teacher
Just finished one week teaching the advanced ninth grade English speakers at the high school. Debbie Alexander and I taught alternate days to 56 very bright kids.  I was helping them to improve their writing skills, and they were receptive to every activity I presented. 

One thing we did was compare Pasco Middle students and ShuRen students. We found many things that were similar and an equal number of things that were different.  I showed them a DVD that our school had made entitled “A Day at Pasco Middle.” The Chinese students noted our diverse student population. We also noted that our students have six classes a day and the Chinese have eight.  One thing that really surprised me was the lack of supervision. The Chinese students are in the classroom before school and during their one hour lunch break without an adult.  There never seems to be a problem. I told them I would be fired if I left a class unsupervised. 

I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to spend this time in China, and I expect many e-mails next year from these special kids.

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Holly Mickler, Teacher

Is a trip to Wal-Mart ever uneventful? Well, you’ll be thrilled to know that even in Nanjing, China, it’s never easy! Don’t get me wrong, Wal-Mart itself is a joy a minute; but last night, God decided to let the bottom out of the sky at the exact time we were ready to depart!

I heard that it was rainy season in China, but I took that to be the equivalent of the afternoon thunderstorms in Florida. Oh, no. Not even close. I’m talking monsoon! Picture the petite little mayor’s wife, two crazy teachers and two teenagers wading through FEET of water. And let’s not forget that we were the only ones doing such a thing. I’d like to know how “stupid American” is translated because I’m sure it was said by the dry Chinese people laughing and taking pictures.

There came a breaking point where we just stopped running and began to walk and kick water on each other, pushing to the back of our minds that the water in China could very likely contain any number of “things” that could keep us in a not-so-healthy state. In our very naive minds, we assumed flagging a taxi would be easy because everyone else was waiting out the storm. Usher in our next stupid mistake! We had to run through even deeper brown water to finally stand on the “side of the street” (or we assumed it was since we couldn’t see it) and wait as bus after bus thought it would be fun to speed by and splash us.

Always the problem solver, Natalie Brock convinced a taxi driver to take all five of us (the legal limit is four), soaking wet, back home. I’m sure “Ralph,” our taxi driver, is telling all his friends today of the idiots he escorted through the flood!

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Dede Kassabaum, Parent

The wait staffs in our dining room are wonderful young ladies. They smile, laugh and try their best to understand us. Today, I was trying to tell them how happy I was with the choices of food and realized how much we all use our hands to talk with each other. Playing charades growing up has helped tremendously with communicating with our new friends. The greatest part is at the end of the day we all sit and laugh over our silliness.

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Lori Robinson, Teacher

I learned that the cool white vegetable we ate the other day was a sliced root of a water lily! The
thin slices look somewhat like a snowflake. Today, they were served much like fried green tomatoes.  Yummy!

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Deb Alexander, Teacher

I had a wonderful time with the students in the junior high.

One of the activities I did with the students was to read a fairy tale to them and ask them if they had a similar story. I chose “Cinderella.”

The children were truly captivated with the story and pictures.  After we discussed the story, I asked them if they had a similar story.  They told me they did and, yes, it was very similar.

I then introduced the story for our reader’s theater. It was titled “Cinderella Big Foot.” When I told them the name of the story, they all laughed, and then I pulled out my size 9 1/2 sneaker. A little boy in the back made the comment: “like a boat.” The whole class laughed at this, which I had to laugh at, too. I then assigned parts, and we practiced. I explained to them that they needed to really pay attention to the lines and how they would present.  Reader’s theater teaches the students to use inflection, expression, and it builds fluency. They were all so excited and loved doing the readers theater.  It was a great activity.

During break, one young boy, John, came up to me in the hall. He asked me if I would accept his gift. I said I would be honored, and he held out a beautiful stone on a red silk-like cord. He slipped it over my head as I bent down. I told him, “xie, xie,” which means “thank you” in Chinese. I’ve worn his gift every day since it was given to me. When I showed our interpreter the necklace, she explained to me that it was very rare for a student to give a gift to a teacher. For a Chinese student to give a gift means that he truly loves me.

Sincerely,

Cinderella Big Foot
a.k.a., Deb Alexander

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Jen O’Connor, Teacher

“Oh no, my goose is cooked!”

Today, I taught my students this American expression by way of the game Duck, Duck, Goose. We took the children outside onto the basketball court and attempted to keep as many as possible in the shaded part of the court. Most girls wear dresses, and so sitting on the grounds was not appealing. First, I had them hold hands and make a circle. This sounds like a relatively easy task, until you add in the cultural differences. I discovered that boys and girls are not supposed to touch and hold hands. They do not even stand in the same lines. Boys stand in one and girls in another.

After some creative thinking, the students were in a circle and seated. Then came the task of explaining the game. I told them that the game that we were going to play was called Duck, Duck, Goose. I started the game by touching each child’s head and calling, “Duck, duck, duck …”

You get the picture. I had the assistance of Laurie Harris. She sat, and when I got to her, I said, “Goose!” and began to run. The students really liked this part and were cheering. I ran all around the circle and sat in the spot that she was sitting, and she began to call, “Duck, duck, duck...”

I told her to pick someone that would catch her, so that they could see what would happen if the goose catches the duck. When the student caught her, she went to the “pot” in the middle of the circle, and I said, “Her goose is cooked.” Before the next student continued, I explain that, in America the expression, “My goose is cooked.” means that you are in trouble and were caught doing something that you should not have been doing. An example is if you were eating a snack before dinner and your parents caught you, you could say, ”
As the game continued and as the students (geese) were caught, I said, “Your goose is cooked.” It didn’t take long before all the students were saying the expression with me. They understood that the geese in the middle were being cooked because they were caught. Although the heat of the day did get the better of us and we had to get back inside into the classrooms, it was a great way for them to learn the American expression and have some fun at the same time. After all, this is summer camp.

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Natalie Brock, Parent

The taxis here crack me up. Lines on the road seem to be just a suggestion. Picture a small green taxi crossing four lanes of traffic, going into oncoming traffic, which includes a two-story bus, dodging motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians, and me in the front seat with my eyes partially covered. This happened tonight and as we turned into the hotel. When I opened my eyes, I looked into the eyes of a chuckling taxi driver. I had to laugh, too; it was just too funny. I think that I was supposed to experience driving here. Teaching a teenager how to drive next year won’t seem quite so bad. 

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Jane Tynes, Teacher

Today, we planned an outside field day for the students—a “sports day,” as they called it. On paper, our plan was a good one, though, in reality, we didn’t account for some cultural differences! The girls and boys lined up separately and didn’t seem to want to participate together in the relays and games. With our limited language and using many hand gestures to explain, we did spend the morning playing soccer, running relays, playing “Duck, Duck, Goose” (a favorite) and playing basketball. One thing is certain: Kids everywhere love to play; they all get hot and tired and are happy to be outside!

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Carson Brock, Student

Another great day. I started with a short speech at the high school opening ceremony. I was so nervous about it, but I ended up doing well. At the regular camp, we started with a field day in the morning.  I was given a group of about 25 kids and was asked to play soccer at my station. It was so much fun.  The kids had the greatest time playing and learning the game that I love. It was cool to watch them pick up the fundamentals so quickly. Later that afternoon, we were back in the classroom teaching idioms and sentence combination.

In the afternoon, we went shopping again and got some really beautiful things. I bought my mom a pearl necklace and gave it to her already. I couldn’t wait ‘til we got home. She loves it!  It was a great day.

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Jen O’Connor, Teacher

Click, Click, Click. Shopping in China is interesting, to say the least. Everything is a barter system, and you go back and forth with the shopkeep over a calculator (circa 1970), negotiating a price for the items. We went to the Confucius Temple Market on our first adventure in shopping. Many of us are getting used to the currency here, as well as guessing at what is a good price and what we are willing to part with for the item. The first item that I purchased was silk scarf for my mom. Now, before I left I did find out how to tell the difference between silk and rayon without the trusty label. We entered the shop, and the shopkeep immediately started to grab random items and show them to me for my approval for purchase. When I approached the silk she started to show me both on the rack and in little bags. I found a pattern (that I hope that my mom will love), and the bartering began. She showed me her first offer, which, after watching someone else, I learned quickly that I should never accept the first offer. I counter-offered at 10% of what they were asking. They said, “No, no, no!” and took the calculator and clicked out another number. Much lower from the first price offered but still higher than I wanted to pay. I once again countered a new number and as I showed her the calculator she again said, “No, no, no!”

I need not continue; we did meet somewhere in the middle and a compromise was made.  Saddled with gifts for friends and family we made our way to the street and began to wave for a taxi. I am enjoying the game of negotiations and the chase in the finding interesting items that (hopefully) my family will enjoy. Even though we speak different languages and are from different areas of the world, it is incredible how much we can communicate with each other.

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Steve Zoni, Teacher

Today was another wonderful day. We spent Sunday, July 15th traveling to Zhen Jiang, located on the Yangtze River, considered by many the most beautiful city in China. Zhen Jiang was where many of the emperors vacationed and has only been open to the public since 1991. We were treated to a boat tour of the grounds, a wonderful lunch, a leisurely stroll in the nearby gardens, and a tour of Mount Jinshan, a very sacred shrine of the Tang Buddhist friar Pei Dung.

Once again our Chinese friends took us by the hand to show us a wonderful time. Our hotel staff, Shu Ren friends and everyone we meet on the street and in the stores are so friendly and helpful. On three occasions during our Sunday outing, I was greeted by Chinese people (young and old) and asked to pose for pictures.

I continue to be very pleased to be part of this life-changing adventure.

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Natalie Brock, Parent

The people at Shu Ren treated us to a daylong tour of a city about an hour away from Nanjing. I am not sure of the Chinese spelling, but it is pronounced “young-Joe.” Imagine something out of a movie with beautiful traditional Chinese architecture, weeping willows, rivers, lotus plants and many stone bridges and paths, and you have a picture of where we were. As our guide told us, “The people here are very carefree. There has been no war to destroy the buildings or people.”

We ate lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant where, once again, more food was served than any of us could eat. I tried the eel but was drawn to the turnip greens wrapped in dough. I felt like I was tasting a little bit of home.

We were all in awe of the Buddhist temple and tried our best to follow our guides and do the right thing. We have learned that there are many subtle traditions and customs that the Chinese follow, and all of us wanted to show our respect for this sacred place.

On the ride home, we sang Beatles songs, Dixie Chicks and Billy Joel to the delight of our guide, Sissy. She is a vibrant, brilliant young woman who has a terrific sense of humor.

We start again bright and early tomorrow with a new group of students.  I look forward to teaching them but, more importantly, learning from them. I know that all of the teachers at Pasco will never look at the classroom in the same way again.

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Carson Brock, Student

We started the day bright and early, waking up at 6 a.m. We headed down for a quick breakfast at 6:30 before leaving for a full-day tour at 7:00. 

It was really great taking the boat ride down the river and seeing all of the real beauty that China contains. After the ride, we went to a park with every beautiful thing that you can think of.  Ponds, rock mazes, beautiful Chinese architecture, flowers, and courtyards were everywhere.  It was awesome to see so many beautiful things at once.  My favorite thing was the stone maze. It was bright, and then you took a quick turn and it was almost pitch black. 

After a filling lunch not far from the park, we headed to our last stop, a huge Buddhist temple with beautiful architecture and relics. The whole thing was the traditional Chinese building style. Mrs. Mickler was very happy to get a picture of a monk in his robes and all.  She had a list of things to get a picture of and a monk was on the list. 





When we were finished at the temple, the day was over, and we headed back to the hotel for another wonderful dinner. I have to admit this is the best Chinese food that I have ever had. I think I am spoiled forever now where Chinese food is concerned.

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