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| I've been to Chinatown in San Francisco - does that count? |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
你好 - China Bound
Hey Everyone. My name is Zaynee and I always have the amazing opportunity to travel over the summer. I have been fortunate enough to go places such as England, France, Spain, Italy, Dubai, Canada, and Mexico. I usually travel with my parents and my sisters to these foreign countries, but for the first time ever, I will be traveling across the globe without them...to CHINA!
It's a little scary to go all that way by myself. Not to mention the fact that I will have a 14-hour flight to deal with. Talk about getting a stiff neck. And even scarier than the traveling is the fact that I don't speak a word of Chinese. Fortunately, I'm going to be traveling with an American group, so only English is required. I do want to learn to say some Chinese phrases though!
The reason I chose to travel to China, other than the fact that I have never even been to Asia before, is that I personally believe that Americans do not completely understand Chinese culture. There is such a cultural difference that Americans label and stereotype Chinese people and vice versa - I'm sure! At my school, there are quite a few exchange students from China and they are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. They came all the way to America to understand our culture - now it is my time to understand theirs.
Over the next few months, I'll be doing some research (when I'm not freaking out over SATs, studying frantically for APs, or stage managing a theater production...) about the world's oldest great civilization. Hopefully, equipped with my newly purchased Treasures of China book, I will be able to gain a basic understanding of the incredible country that I will soon have the opportunity to visit. I can't wait!!! More later :)
It's a little scary to go all that way by myself. Not to mention the fact that I will have a 14-hour flight to deal with. Talk about getting a stiff neck. And even scarier than the traveling is the fact that I don't speak a word of Chinese. Fortunately, I'm going to be traveling with an American group, so only English is required. I do want to learn to say some Chinese phrases though!
The reason I chose to travel to China, other than the fact that I have never even been to Asia before, is that I personally believe that Americans do not completely understand Chinese culture. There is such a cultural difference that Americans label and stereotype Chinese people and vice versa - I'm sure! At my school, there are quite a few exchange students from China and they are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. They came all the way to America to understand our culture - now it is my time to understand theirs.
Over the next few months, I'll be doing some research (when I'm not freaking out over SATs, studying frantically for APs, or stage managing a theater production...) about the world's oldest great civilization. Hopefully, equipped with my newly purchased Treasures of China book, I will be able to gain a basic understanding of the incredible country that I will soon have the opportunity to visit. I can't wait!!! More later :)
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