Getting out of here
I'm gonna be honest, I can't wait till we take off. Today I stayed home from school because of a sprained ankle in conjunction with flu like symptoms that left me with four prescriptions from my doctor along with two Ace bandages. The fact is though, I really stayed home because I needed a day to put my head back on and start concentrating on passing my Finals. Going to China is taking over my thoughts and my priorities so that school has been nothing more than a hinderance that has been eating away at me. I'm out. - dAVID
Parents - david
Tonight we had a meeting with all the families involved in sending their kids away. There were a lot of people there and it got pretty hot. It seemed like everybody had questions, but even more people had stories to tell. I guess the point of the meeting was to discuss possible gifts to bring, what to pack, and discourage us from drinking, but for every question there were a bunch of little stories in lieu of an answer.
I was talking to celine about why the parents insisted on asking and answering the same questions over and over, and we agreed that they're all just worried about sending the little babies off with just one english speaking mom looking after them. I mean for our parents, especially the ones about to send their kid away to college, they will be missing an entire part of their life. Granted i don't spend a lot of time with my parents these days, but i'm sure they'll at least miss me walking the dog every morning and night. ;)
You know, sitting around in the living room filled with our parents fussing over every detail I began to wonder why they were letting us go. I suppose its because there must be value in experiencing other cultures first hand. I mean, the living room was filled with asian pictures, japanese or chinese, but they were nothing more than little intrigues. The pictures alone could not tell you what it IS to live in china.
For some reason that alone doesn't seem right. I mean for the six seniors you'd think that our parents would rather we stay home for our last year not take off prematurely, and even for the sophomore's you'd think that perhaps high school is not the time to experience other cultures. perhaps getting good grades would be better. why not let us go to china when we're in college, not high school?
I'm pretty sure all of us students applied to go to China on our own initiative, and I know the reasons I want to go, one of which is definately the opportunity to grow up. Do our parents feel proud that we asked to go to China, to grow up? Is that why they said yes? Is it a bitter sweetness to see us leaving on our own accord? Is that why we're allowed to go?
On the ride home my mom told me that I really needed to talk when I got to China. I've never been much of a talker even in english; I think she thinks that I'm not gonna get the most when I'm in China if I don't talk. Then again i've improved a lot since sixth grade when I probably had one comment the entire year. So maybe they're letting me go develop skills that I haven't got here or from them. We all have weaknesses and apparently "everything is the opposite in China" according to Ms. Mcginnis. Maybe in China the shy will be garrulous, the cool uncool, the tall short? If anyone has any answers you can post them by clicking "comments" -dAVID
1/12/05- david
Today we met with the group that went to china last year. They told us all kinds of stories about how they bonded and had some of the best experiences of their lives in china. they explained how it's like they have two lives, an american one and a chinese one. I wonder if that'll happen with me too?
I noticed none of them really mentioned the things they learned about the culture they tended to describe the relationships they built there. Maybe that is the best way to truly "learn about a culture." I guess americans hold a kind of celebrity status in Xi'an and the group last year was treated with awe. That's the total opposite of what the chinese kids who come here get. They simply dissappear among the many groups of people that exist at Brookline High.
What kind of exchange is this where the Americans become celebrities and the Chinese students aren't even seen? yet another example of the advantages of being american?
1/11/05 - david
Today we had to turn in a short paragraph describing ourselves to our future host families. The trick was it had to be in Chinese characters. I think that might be the most difficult foreseen part of trip, reading and writing. I mean Chinese has no common roots or even letters with any Romance or Germanic langauge. Basically, we're starting from kindergarten learning one character at a time.
Things are starting to heat up in terms of the trip. It seems like we have something planned for every day leading up to it. Tomorrow we're supposed to meet with the group that went last year. I don't think any of them were seniors last year. That'll probably be a big dif. I mean i'm hoping we get more opportunity to explore "non-academic pursuits".
time for bed, dAVID
Leaving Brookline
Thinking about it now, deciding to go to China for four months was a much bigger decision than I thought it was when I actually made it. Don't get me wrong; I definitely want to go to China if only to get out of the monotony of school and away from the anxiety of applying to college. Yet, the fact remains that I'm going to be missing the entire second half of my senior year of high school. Supposedly, this is the time when our grade will realize this is one of the last chances to gel your friends and become friends with the people you haven't yet. Not to mention, its the only semester where a blind eye is turned to slacking off by the school. Despite the constant stream of complaints we make about Brookline High, I've got to admit I've developed quite a fondness for BHS.
And I'm trading in my last few months at this school for something that I'm not even sure I'll like. I have very little idea of what I'm actually getting myself into. Four months is a long time. For me, it's less about the threat of being homesick than it is the threat of losing that exhiliration of being in an entirely new place. Just like any new experience, I'm excited about that rush I'll get the second I snap on my seat belt and feel the plane rising. It's that rush that usually lasts the entire trip making even the most dismal days and situations interesting and exciting. I compare the rush to the first day of school; everybody is excited and jubliant, but as the weeks progress school quickly turns from a novelty to a grueling marathon.
My enthusiasm for the trip hasn't even begun to dwindle, and I'm hoping to prevent that through a variety of interests of created. This website, that nobody's visited yet, is evidence of one of the many endeavors that keep my mind occupied. Another would be filming the trip which I discovered last summer is something I enjoy doing a lot. But more than those things, I'm looking forward to what I'll be able to do in Xi'an.
Observing the students from Xi'an this year, one of whom lives in my house, I'm getting a little scared that I'll fall into a kind of trap in Xi'an. There are two things that scare me about the value of our upcoming trip based on what I've seen from the Chinese students here:
The first would be the way they've found their niche here in the United States that really does not force them to explore. My exchange student has made friends with another Chinese student at BHS who speaks Mandarin, and they hang out all the time at my house. Also, the only thing he seems to want to do is go on the computer and talk to his friends back in China or play video games. The thing is, he can do all of these things back at his house in Xi'an. At our last weekly meeting between the American and Chinese students, the Chinese students were asked what they had learned from their stay in the US, and the question was followed by a stumped silence. Granted it's not the kind of question that is quickly answered and they all eventually answered, but their answers were more tactful than thoughtful in my opinion. "I would tell my friends in China that if you want to be free go to America." Perhaps it was the langauge barrier but I feel that this answer was truly learned. I'm scared that in China maybe I/we will not really branch out enough to discover what it is like to be living like the Chinese.
The second concern must be my ability in Chinese. I am no where near fluency nor is anyone else in our group. The exchange group from China was exceptionally fluent in English and I think this has helped them a lot. I think that their ability in English has helped them to see and feel what American daily life is like. We, on the other hand, are much farther behind. I'm worried that by the end of the trip, I'm not gonna have the fluency to pick up slang or determine what kind of tone the teacher is taking. That is something that I feel is crucial in being part and understanding of a culture.
Anyways the day approaches and I feel like I wrote too mucH
-dAVID
Pictures
I guess it's good to know that we can post pictures on here, too. For now I'm the only member of this blog site, but I think it'd be better if we got some group pictures rather than ones that have nothing to do with this trip. Anyways, just consider the last two pictures tests.
dAVID
Me in France last summer. (I'm just testing out how to use pictures.) 
Me in France last summer.
