内蒙古 (Inner Mongolia)

As part of HBA (Harvard Beijing Academy), every student got to go on a social studies trip to a different part of China for a week over the 4th of July.  I went to Inner Mongolia with a bunch of other students and a few of our teachers.  Besides the fun stuff we also interviewed locals to write a long report in Chinese at the end (mine was on the linguistic situation.)

Link to an awesome video made by a couple of friends, does the trip better justice than my photos below can: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwZCrXOb2GL4TjdxZ3V0X3dFWXM/view?usp=sharing

Bullet train to from Beijing to Inner Mongolia for a weeklong trip

Triple bunks

One week in Inner Mongolia, one backpack, no problem

Hohhot, the provincial capital, a thriving city
You can see the Mongolian and Mandarin on all signs (as mandated by gov policy)

The first round of yurts where we spent the night
(latrines were a hole in the ground behind that brick wall in the distance)

We even got to enjoy fireworks on the plains outside of our yurts on the 4th of July.

Intestines from the lamb we just saw killed (by method of a herdsman slicing its chest and reaching in to grab its heart)

Watching a wrestling competition

Interviewing locals as research for a report we had to write on any aspect of Inner Mongolia society

The second camp of yurts where we stayed

Witnessing the advent of a  storm that only happens once or twice a year on the plains

We went horse riding later that day in a way only possible in a country with so few safety regulations

Traditional Mongolian dancing performance

Mausoleum of Genghis Khan

His burial place is actually a secret, but here his personal artifacts are worshipped

Riding a gondola through the desert

Riding camels in the desert

My bactrian was a little tired

Four-wheeling in the desert

Zip-lining in the desert

Sand sliding in the desert

Riding a chairlift in the desert

Off-roading in the desert

Da Zhao Lamasery

               

Visiting a local school

                 

Dragon dance performance put on by students

When ball is lyfe, but you gotta tour a milk factory

Meng Niu milk factory

Enjoying alfresco Mongolia barbecue of lamb (what else?)
Mongolian cuisine consists of everything non-vegan,
so mainly lamb and dairy products (milk candy!)

向北京告别 (Farewell to Beijing)

Our third year Chinese teachers

On Friday, we had a graduation ceremony (where I got to give a speech!) as it was our last day of the Harvard Beijing Academy.  The teachers were really amazing, and I could not have imagined a program that enabled me to learn Chinese any better in two months.  

Third year friends and teachers

After the closing ceremony

Now, I am headed to the relatively small city of Lishui in Zhejiang province to teach school kids English for two weeks with the program Building Bridges or 在蓝天下, a coalition of students from Yale and the top Chinese universities.

张天骄~Lily (together again after three years!)

Learning to play mahjong

Visit to National Museum of China

Beijing opera mask, as painted by my friends

At a traditional tea house for a farewell dinner with my host family
(While I lived in a dorm during the HBA program, I visited with them on weekends and for the Dragon Boat Festival to eat the best meal in China I've ever had.)

Live shows during the meal displaying traditional Chinese culture, such as dancing, instruments, kung fu, opera, magicians, and tea pouring

While in Beijing I was able to meet up with Lily (张天骄), my Chinese host sister from three years ago in Chengdu.  She now goes to college at MSU in Michigan, which she says is incredibly different and more intense than what college would've been like in China.  Even going to school in the States she still almost exclusively spends her time with other Chinese nationals, so her spoken English is still far out shadowed by her written academic English (a common phenomenon with students from China).  I also learned that only about one or two applicants from the entire city of Beijing are admitted to Yale every year.

2012

2012

2015 - Lily and I today

有空气污染吗？

U.S. embassy's ranking of the daily air quality!

China's ranking of the daily air quality! As you can see, they actually rank the pollution worse than the U.S.  China has been pretty honest and proactive with dealing with its air quality issues.  Supposedly they're cleaning the air so it's constantly getting better and within a matter of years will be entirely safe again.

A typical day with not so good air quality.  The 'fog' outside is actually the haze/smog from air pollution.  Sometimes the air feels slightly thick and has a bit of a scent.  Doesn't bother me but some of my classmates wear masks.

At least on campus there is a big antismoking campaign.  This poster says "Smoking is very ugly" and "Love me? Then don't hurt me!"  In China, girls almost never smoke, but Chinese men, particularly in the past, have been under a lot of societal pressure to conform to the norm of smoking.

Gray Beijing sky at nighttime over the track.   I try to only run outside on the slightly better days or at night.  Some of my friends say they feel congested after they exercise outside. 

The third year teachers playing tug-o-war on the track after class to defend our honor.

Raining inside our dorm during a storm.