Over spring break, a group of Chinese language students from both West Morris Mendham and West Morris Central took a trip to China. This trip was not school-sponsored, meaning it was organized through an educational travel company. This was available to all students regardless of whether or not they were enrolled in a Chinese language class. The Chinese trip was a week-long exhibition where the group visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi An and toured many locations in each.
This trip was meant to pack as much sightseeing as possible into just ten days, which allowed the students to see all the beautiful architecture in these specific cities of China. Lucy Dittmar stated that what she liked most about the trip was the building designs. “The architecture was certainly the most interesting. Beijing has this really interesting blend of modern cityscape and those classic Chinese slacked sloping roofs. In Xi’an I saw high-rise buildings with those ancient roofs so that was unique.” These designs certainly contrast with those in the United States. However, when it comes to design, there are also plenty of similarities. Lucy remarked, “Shanghai was very similar to several major U.S. cities; it has tall, modern skyscrapers very similar to those in New York.” This does not come as a surprise, considering that China is known for its advanced infrastructure. In addition to this, Shanghai is home to one of the tallest buildings in the world, the Shanghai Tower, which is 2,073 ft tall. During the trip, the students were able to view this popular attraction whilst on a ferry ride down the Huangpu River. These unique experiences allowed all the students to better understand the culture and customs of China in a fun and educational way.
Ms. Huang, the new Chinese teacher at West Morris Mendham and a chaperone for the trip, discussed some of the activities that the students engaged in, including the opportunity to visit a local school in Shanghai for the day. “They had a school day visit, so they had a class with the students from Shanghai. They had math class, and they […] played ping pong together, they also had a chance to play the traditional musical instruments.” She explained that this allowed the students to practice their Chinese and better immerse themselves in the Chinese culture. “The students really enjoy [speaking] Chinese, asking the price [of things], and also talking to me [..] asking me, ‘how can I use the words properly in this context?” Ms. Huang also mentioned that there was a clear improvement in speaking skills for students who went on the trip. ” When they came back, the students created longer sentences, and the students also wrote down […] personal connections with the field trip.” Among these improvements, she explained how much pride she had in her students’ willingness to learn and expressed hopes for the program to expand in the coming years. “I hope our program will be bigger, [I hope that] it’ll have […] more students to [experience] the […] culture and the language. [hopefully in] the future.”
With all of the benefits and wonderful experiences that the Chinese trip offers, the expansion of the program would be a dream come true. The field trip leaves students with a better appreciation of China and with amazing memories that will last them a lifetime.
