Dear friends and family of the Term in Asia,
Greetings from Shanghai, China!
This year, the Term in Asia group will be spending roughly three weeks here at East China Normal University. We are staying in a brand-new dorm designated for international students, and the main lobby is often full of students practicing their Chinese-speaking skills. We are not those students. Most mornings, we can be found taking in lectures in Chinese environmental history and ethics, a fascinating if grave subject with enormous import on the global scale. After class, it's off to explore Shanghai. Just beyond the back gate of the university are street vendors and restaurants galore, where many of us have sampled anything from pork and leek dumplings to chicken heart. The cuisine is an adventure unto itself. As the days go on, we plan to venture into the downtown area to experience the museums, art exhibits, People's Square, and the nightlife. More on China later.
First, a word or two about Japan, where we thirteen students along with College Pastor Bruce Benson and his wife, Carol, spent 10 amazing days. We began our time in Japan in Tokyo, where we stayed in the Asakusa neighborhood at the Sakura Youth Hostel. One of our first days was spent in the home of a wonderfully gracious Japanese family as well as the neighbors. With them, we wore kimonos, tried calligraphy, visited a Buddhist temple, did a traditional tea ceremony, and even rolled our own sushi, which was one of many delicious dishes in our evening feast!
Then, after checking out several museums and art galleries (one of which included an exhibit using live fish in aquariums as a medium!) , it was time to board the overnight train to Osaka. Many of us got a much better night's rest once we arrived in our hotel there. We spent the next day and night in Hiroshima where, in the morning, we visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and Memorial Park, which was incredibly sobering. All of us appreciated the incredible spirit of the city and were especially impressed by how fervently the city has worked for peace throughout the world since World War II.
We spent one night atop Mt. Koya in one of the Buddhist monasteries there. After taking part in an evening mediation and some early-morning chanting, we were off to Kyoto, where we spent our final days in Japan. Kyoto is an exciting and cosmopolitan place, and many of us enjoyed exploring the local markets, shops, and the now-infamous sushi-boat restaurant just a few minutes' walk from our hotel. As we left Japan, all of us were sad to say goodbye to our fun-loving Japanese guide, Shinji, who was an incredible help to all of us to navigate subway, train, and bus routes and decipher Japanese-language menus without pictures!
We send our warmest wishes to each of you reading this letter. May it find you in good health and spirits, as it does each of us.
All the best,
Term in Asia 2009-10
Greetings from Shanghai, China!
This year, the Term in Asia group will be spending roughly three weeks here at East China Normal University. We are staying in a brand-new dorm designated for international students, and the main lobby is often full of students practicing their Chinese-speaking skills. We are not those students. Most mornings, we can be found taking in lectures in Chinese environmental history and ethics, a fascinating if grave subject with enormous import on the global scale. After class, it's off to explore Shanghai. Just beyond the back gate of the university are street vendors and restaurants galore, where many of us have sampled anything from pork and leek dumplings to chicken heart. The cuisine is an adventure unto itself. As the days go on, we plan to venture into the downtown area to experience the museums, art exhibits, People's Square, and the nightlife. More on China later.
First, a word or two about Japan, where we thirteen students along with College Pastor Bruce Benson and his wife, Carol, spent 10 amazing days. We began our time in Japan in Tokyo, where we stayed in the Asakusa neighborhood at the Sakura Youth Hostel. One of our first days was spent in the home of a wonderfully gracious Japanese family as well as the neighbors. With them, we wore kimonos, tried calligraphy, visited a Buddhist temple, did a traditional tea ceremony, and even rolled our own sushi, which was one of many delicious dishes in our evening feast!
Then, after checking out several museums and art galleries (one of which included an exhibit using live fish in aquariums as a medium!) , it was time to board the overnight train to Osaka. Many of us got a much better night's rest once we arrived in our hotel there. We spent the next day and night in Hiroshima where, in the morning, we visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and Memorial Park, which was incredibly sobering. All of us appreciated the incredible spirit of the city and were especially impressed by how fervently the city has worked for peace throughout the world since World War II.
We spent one night atop Mt. Koya in one of the Buddhist monasteries there. After taking part in an evening mediation and some early-morning chanting, we were off to Kyoto, where we spent our final days in Japan. Kyoto is an exciting and cosmopolitan place, and many of us enjoyed exploring the local markets, shops, and the now-infamous sushi-boat restaurant just a few minutes' walk from our hotel. As we left Japan, all of us were sad to say goodbye to our fun-loving Japanese guide, Shinji, who was an incredible help to all of us to navigate subway, train, and bus routes and decipher Japanese-language menus without pictures!
We send our warmest wishes to each of you reading this letter. May it find you in good health and spirits, as it does each of us.
All the best,
Term in Asia 2009-10