Our final day in Beijing was a beautiful one! We were thankful for the great weather and everyone’s good humor as we strolled through the grounds of the Summer Palace in the morning and then the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon.
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Benjamin
As a short-term volunteer, my experience at the Dandelion School was a fleeting event, but I have many positive lasting impressions about my time spent performing useful service. I am glad to have participated in a school that has an abundance of committed teachers and students. The teachers and students were willing to invite us into their community, to learn from us, and to tolerate our mishaps. From teaching children English and playing ping-pong with kids, who despite their ages and heights were adept at wielding ping-pong paddles, the experience was lighthearted and genuine. Hopefully, the students enjoyed my contributions to their learning as much as I enjoyed their additions to my understanding of the vast world, which is full of individuals who all have their own story to tell.
Genevieve
Helping at the Dandelion School taught me how to relate better to kids. They taught me how to teach them, which I think is the most valuable kind of experience. Dandelion School is a special place, and I am glad to have played even a small part in its development. The kids are really special and bright, and it’s really wonderful that the Dandelion School is giving them a place to learn and grow.
Ada
Teaching at the Dandelion School has been an amazing experience. I always hear about underprivileged kids, but teaching at the School brought home the reality of the kids’ lives. The kids are so willing to listen and learn, and the Dandelion School gives them an opportunity, which is what makes it so special. I believe that the kids learned from us, and we also learned from them. I often feel as if I am in a sheltered bubble that is my life in New York, and I am so grateful that the kids and the teachers from the Dandelion School were able to bring me out of that semi-sheltered life.
Celena
Teaching at The Dandelion School has been one of the scariest and most amazing experiences of my life. The first day, I was absolutely terrified because I am scared of speaking in front of large groups of people and I was worried that the students wouldn’t like me. However, I was pleased to discover that not only were they attentive, but they were also patient and seemed content to sit quietly while I struggled to find the right words. Each successive day at The Dandelion School I was impressed by how much the students knew and how hard they tried to learn, which, I admit, was not something I had initially expected. As a beginner Mandarin student—studying for 8 days—I understand how difficult it can be to learn a new language, especially when a lot of the time you are not even sure what the teacher is saying, and I know from experience that it can be hard to pay attention when you don’t know what is going on. But, I am proud to say that the students I taught were brave and willing to try even when they were unsure of what I was asking them. Despite my initial fears, it has been an absolute pleasure to teach at The Dandelion School and given the opportunity I would love to come back to teach again.
Jack
Though I was disappointed that I was not going to be working with the same class as last year, I enjoyed every minute of my time spent at The Dandelion School during the last two weeks. Teaching the kids was and is an incredibly rewarding experience not only because of the joy our presence seems to but also because we are enabling these students to communicate their stories and experiences to a much larger audience than just China. The Dandelion School symbolizes a chance for equal opportunities for underprivileged kids and an iconic institution for both education and family. I hope that this educational institution remains a strong and vibrant place in the future despite any possible hardships because this place has the potential to affect change in this country. 多谢你们！
Alex
It was fun to teach the kids, but most fulfilling for me was seeing them enjoy our lessons. I wanted to have a positive effect on the kids, and fun lessons are great ways of increasing interest in the language. I think I helped my group do that successfully.
In fact, some students said, “Bye, Alex!” to me after a lesson. I felt great, because I was no longer just you average volunteer, I was a teacher to them. Genuine interest in learning a subject is fairly rare, and I hope that I have increased interest in learning English at The Dandelion School.
Emma
The most wonderful moments from my time at the Dandelion School occurred when I had the chance to chat with students during their free time. Standing by the basketball courts, I would wave to students and they would enthusiastically greet me. I used this time to get to know the students, as well as help them practice English. It was incredibly rewarding to watch them recognize vocabulary and phrases that we had gone over in class. Their eager attitude towards learning is inspiring, and I am excited to be a part of their education.
Lily
I have greatly enjoyed my time spent at the Dandelion School. Although I was supposed to me teaching, I found myself learning a lot too. It was far more terrifying to stand up in front of forty children than I had initially expected, but I also feel that I have gained a lot of perspective from the teaching experience. The Dandelion School is a very special and unique institution with many lovely and eager students, and I will always remember the two weeks I spent there.
On Friday, our last day at The Dandelion School, seventh grade students and parents gathered for student performances and faculty speeches. The Dalton School delegation scored students, one pair from each of the six 7th grade classes, on their public speaking skills. For each pair, one student recited their essay in English, and the other spoke in Mandarin. As honorary judges, Dalton students sat at the front of a very crowded auditorium.
After the assembly, Dalton students literally jumped into the fun and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with their Dandelion friends:
Thanks to our handy Flip cameras, we filmed the students in action during their second week at The Dandelion School.
The following video includes clips from two different days but provides a sense of how Emma, Ben, Alex and Ada structured their classes:
Here is a quick sketch from Jack, Celena, Genevieve, and Lily on their last day of teaching class. In their final session, they decided to review all of their previous lessons with their students:
In addition, a fellow Dalton student, in town for spring break, joined us this week. We’re so glad you could join us, Stephanie!
In a complete break from dLab Beijing tradition, the students cooked their own meal instead of dining out on Thursday evening. Our amazing coordinator at The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, Cheng Laoshi, opened up her home to us this afternoon where her parents–in town on vacation–taught the students how to make dumplings and noodles from scratch.
First, the students found the ingredients at two different markets:
Then, everyone lent a hand in the kitchen to prepare dinner. It took about two and half hours to prepare the dumplings, but here is a five minute recap:
Finally, we were ready to eat! Yum!
Students also learned how to make noodles for a second dish on Thursday. Not as easy as it looks, but they were tasty!
Thank you so much Cheng Laoshi for this very rare opportunity!
Jack and a special guest answer Isabel and Logan’s questions about Language:
Video Part 1:
Video Part 2:
Video Part 3:
1. Is it hard to learn Chinese?
Yes, Chinese is a difficult language to learn because Chinese people do not use the alphabet when writing. Chinese people instead use characters when they are writing; though there are common parts of characters that appear quite frequently, this type of writing is very difficult because there are thousands of characters (a fluent Chinese speaker usually knows more than 4,000 characters). Though I think that Chinese is a hard language to learn, if you want to learn the language and work hard then it is certainly possible to learn the language. For example, I was not able to take Mandarin at Dalton last year so instead I studied outside of school with a tutor. Because I was determined to learn the language and worked hard in my studies, I was able to learn two year’s worth of the language in one year.
2. Is there a dialect in China?
Yes, there are actually MANY dialects in China; the dialects are all a result of the Chinese provinces / geographical regions, which are divided almost like the different states in the USA. Though the dialect usually varies between the different provinces, some provinces have very similar dialects and sound almost the same if they are in close proximity to each other. Though the dialects of Chinese are different in each province, many provinces’ dialects are very similar to standard Mandarin in terms of grammar.
3. Is their alphabet long?
The Chinese do not use an alphabet; instead they use a system of characters that consists of many thousands of these small pictographs or sound particles. For example of couple of characters look like this:
我喜欢学汉语
wǒ xǐhuɑn xué hànyǔ.
I like to study Chinese.
4. Do they have more than one language?
Chinese is a general term for all languages / dialects in China, but there are actually seven major types of Chinese: Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Min, Xiang, Hakka, and Gan. The pronunciation of these dialects/languages are so different that the speakers cannot understand each other. It is similar to someone speaking French to a German speaker. Though considered different languages, all dialects/languages use the same system of characters. Mandarin is the standard language (ie. official language) in China and is the form of Chinese that I am learning.
5. What is the most common word?
Like English, no word is used in every sentence in the Chinese language; however, certain characters are extremely important for a variety of structures and consequently are very common words. An example of words like this is 的 (de) which means ‘of’’ and 很 (hěn) which means ‘very.’
Ravi and Jeremy, Lily has the answers to your questions about Beijing’s Landmarks here:
During our visit to The Forbidden City last Saturday, students were asked explore the main halls of this historic site and to interview tourists from around the world. Here videos from Alex, Celena, Genevieve and Lily, which were also filmed during that epic morning dust storm:
Gate of Supreme Harmony & Interview 1:
Hall of Supreme Harmony & Interview 2:
Hall of Central Harmony & Interview 3 (some audio lost in wind):
Hall of Preserved Harmony & Interview 4:
Gate of Heavenly Purity & Interview 5:
Palace of Heavenly Purity & Interview 6:
Palace Garden & Interviews 7 & 8:
Lindsay, Sophia and Lizzy had a lot of questions for Genevieve about art in China!
1. What materials do they use? Which do they use most often?
In traditional art, there are many kinds of material. Old Chinese paintings are painted on rice paper or sometimes thin silk with brushes and painting dye. Sometimes the paintings are of nature, and sometimes they are expressionistic.
Paper cutting is a very old art form and is well loved by Chinese people. We took a short class on paper cutting last week:
Here’s another example from a professional:
2. What does modern art look like? Traditional?
Modern art in China is very similar to modern art in America. Many artists show their work in an area called District 798. We took a trip there, here are some pictures!
Traditional art is usually of nature scenes, like of a mountain or of birds. Here is an example:
3. How do they make lanterns? How do they design them?
Lanterns are made out of paper and are supported with thin metal rods.
4. What fabrics do they make their clothes out of?
Now Chinese people wear clothes made out of cotton and synthetic materials like we do. But in ancient times, wealthy people wore clothes made of silk and poor people wore clothes made of hemp.
5. How do they make the dragons and lions?
The lions in China usually stand guard outside doors and they are made of bronze. The dragons can be made of anything from stone to metal and they sometimes decorate the roofs of houses.
6. What do they paint on?
Traditional paintings are done on rice paper.
7. What types of paint do they use?
In traditional painting, the artists use painting dye, which is watery like ink.
8. What are the most common things that they paint?
Traditional Chinese paintings are generally of landscapes, animals and flowers.
9. How do they make their jewelry?
No one really knows how the ancient Chinese made a lot of things, including jewelry!
10. What color do they use most often?
In traditional Chinese paintings, the most common color is black, and sometimes brown, though there are many shades of grey in between. In modern paintings, artists use every color!
Emma is here to answer questions related to the theme of movement from Jack, Jacob, and Matthew.
1. What kind of sports do they play?
I have seen many people running, playing basketball, and playing ping-pong. It seems that those are the most popular sports. They also play many of the same sports that we play in America. One sport that was new to us was the ‘morning exercises’ that students do every day at school. The entire school goes outside and participates in an exercise routine that is led by teachers. We got to join in one morning!
Here is a video of morning exercises that Ms. Nickles took from the front. Can you find the Dalton students?
This is how morning exercises looked from my position in the crowd of students:
2. What is their most common sport?
The kids at the schools that we have visited love basketball and ping-pong. They have basketball courts at school, and many people play during their free time. We also had the chance to play ping-pong with a couple of kids from the Dandelion School, and they were really good, even though they were much younger than us! Students in China also seem to do a lot of running and bicycling. They run laps everyday in school, and many people bike to school.
3. What is their most common dance?
Today, we saw a bunch of people doing a traditional dance with scarves on the street. Dancing is often used as a way to exercise here. We also just began to take martial arts lessons, which reminded me of dance. I am not sure what the most common dance is, but I do know that they have not heard of the ‘funky chicken dance’. We tried to show it to some students at the Dandelion School, and they were a bit frightened.
4. Do they have gym in school?
Yes, they do. We went to a gym class at the high school we are visiting. They seem to mainly play basketball or run laps during their gym classes. Check out this quick video from a P.E. class that we attended at The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University:
5. Do they have gymnastics at their school?
I don’t think that they practice gymnastics at the schools that we visited. But I do know that China has an amazing national gymnastics team!
6. How many Chinese people do Kung Fu?
Martial arts is very popular here. I don’t know exactly how many people do martial arts, but it is very well respected.
We recently began to learn martial arts in school:
Ben and Alex are enjoying their martial arts practice:
7. Are there more boys that play sports or girls?
I think that, just like in America, both the girls and the boys love to play sports. There are many girls and boys here that are very good at sports.
8. What is their best sport?
The students at the schools that we have visited are very good at basketball and ping-pong. They practice both of those sports a lot, and they beat us at ping-pong!
Here is Celena playing ping-pong at The Dandelion School:
Izzy and Jasmine asked Celena about religions in China. She has your answers below!
1. Does China have churches like in the U.S.?
Yes. We saw one church while we were at Wangfujing, one of the most famous shopping streets in Beijing. Dong Tang (East Church) is also known as St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We did not go inside but we were given a brief history that told us the church was built on ground donated in 1655 by the Shunzhi emperor. Later, in 1720, an earthquake toppled the church and then in 1807 it was gutted by fire. Then it was razed during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The church was renovated from 1999 to 2000 and it is now well known for its large forecourt and is a local hangout spot for Beijing’s skaters.
Also, while we were walking around the Hou Hai area, we saw a sign that indicated the presence of Catholicism in China.
2. What does China believe in?
Chinese people believe in different things depending on what religion they believe in. Today, as the Chinese government becomes more liberal, people are able to freely express these differing beliefs, which would not have been possible before. I was also told that the Chinese are a pragmatic people, that is, they are realistic and therefore they “believe in whatever works.” Although I haven’t talked to anyone else who shares this belief, it seems to indicate that although Buddhism is the main religion, some people choose to mix and match different aspects of the different belief systems.
3. Do they have temples?
Yes. We visited the Lama Temple and the Confucian Temple and saw images of other temples when we were at the Beijing Capital Museum.
The Lama Temple is a prominent Buddhist temple that contains the largest Buddha carved from a single piece of sandalwood. The Buddha is 55 ft. high and is elaborately decorated. Also, the signs outside each section of the temple are written in four languages: Sanskrit, Tibetan, Mandarin, and Manchu.
The Confucian Temple is not exactly a temple in the usual sense. Rather, it is the site of the former imperial school where students would study for the imperial examinations, which would determine if they were qualified to become a member of the government.
4. Do people believe in many religions?
Yes. From what I have learned so far there are three major religions in China: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Although there are three major religions, the majority of the population is Buddhist.
5. Do they believe in God?
Yes and no. Depending on which religion they believe in they do or do not believe in God. Since Buddhism is the major religion in China the Chinese do not believe in God, as in the Christian God, but they believe in Buddha and his teachings.
6. Are there any religious symbols?
I don’t know a lot about Buddhism yet, but I do know that the image of Buddha is a religious symbol and at the Lama Temple, people would reverence statues of Buddha with three (or more) sticks of incense by bowing three times while holding the incense above their heads. As for other religious symbols, I believe that there are some, but I don’t know what they are, yet.
7. Are there any different holidays other than Chinese New Year?
Yes. When we visited the Forbidden City one of the signs mentioned the Lantern Festival, but I did not learn anything about the festival itself. I also know that there are two other festivals: Dragon Boat Festival and Moon Festival.
8. How many Holidays do they celebrate?
Due to the large number of people and the various nationalities that they represent, there are many holidays. However, the most important holidays are Chinese New Year, which in China is the first day of the new year, Spring Festival, which is what we call Chinese New Year, Labor Day (May 1) and National Day (October 1).
After their Mandarin language class this morning, students spent the day learning about the contemporary art scene in Beijing. We traveled to the outskirts of the city to visit districts in which many artists work and also display their art. Many thanks to Simon Kirby, director of Beijing branch of the Chambers Fine Art gallery, for his wonderful introduction to the contemporary art in this area. Mr. Kirby’s engaging conversation prepared the students to explore the many galleries and artist studios in the nearby 798 Art Zone after lunch.
Of note for our friends in NYC: there is a Chambers Fine Art New York branch, also exhibiting the work of Chinese artists, on West 19th Street. The artists currently on view at the Beijing branch are producing works for an upcoming exhibition in New York.
Here’s the gang in the 798 Art District this afternoon:
Compared to Saturday’s weather, Sunday couldn’t have been better day to traverse The Great Wall. After an hour and a half drive to the north of Beijing, we spent the morning trekking between the towers. Some students climbed all the way to those letters that you see carved into the side of the mountain in the far distance.
After our excursion to The Great Wall, we drove back to the city for lunch and a visit to Yonghegong Lama Temple, Beijing’s largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
Our next stop, directly across the street, was the Temple of Confucius.
Finally, we relaxed and sipped some tea while learning more about the history Chinese tea culture:
Deen and Eeshan from House 24 would like to know more about Writing in China, and their questions are:
1. How many characters are there?
2. Do they have vowels and consonants?
3. If so, how many do they have?
4. How do you spell “Dalton” in Chinese?
Alex is here with the answers:
In addition, Alex took a Calligraphy class last week. Here is a demonstration from the teacher:
Take a closer look with these images:
Emma is holding up the final version:
Here are Ben and Alex with their own fine work:
We all agree that the food in Beijing is delicious! On that note, Ada has answers and pictures for Alex and Kai’s questions on the topic of Food & Dining Traditions in China.
1. Where do they eat and what do they eat with other than chopsticks? Mostly they eat with chopsticks. But they do use spoons for soup and things like that!
2. What do they sit on? As far as I’ve seen, everybody sits on chairs.
3. Do they cook like us? They cook on stoves, which is similar to us, although they do have different ways of cooking. They put dumplings in these special steamers and then put them on hot plates to cook them!
4. Do they have plates? Yes, they have plates of all sizes.
5. What are their traditional foods? In Beijing, the city we are in, they eat a lot of noodles. Rice is more common in the south, and noodles are more common in the north (where we are).
6. What are their most common foods? Noodles are very common here, as well as tofu, pork, dumplings, bao zi, and red beans.
7. How tall are their tables? About as tall as tables in restaurants in New York City.
8. Do they have tables? Yes, they do have tables. Since we have so many people in our group, we usually sit at round tables that are the biggest in the restaurant!
9. Do they have different flavors than us? They have spicy food, and they also have sweet foods. But most of the flavors are similar to flavors that you’ve had before.
10. Do they have ice cream? Yes, they do have ice cream! They sell ice cream bars and wrapped cones and cups in stores. They also have ice cream stores. Haagen Dasz, the ice cream company, is very popular here!
This is a bowl of fried rice, which you eat with a spoon instead of chopsticks.
This is the lunch that we have at the high school where we learn Mandarin every morning.
These are pictures of the Mongolian hotpot that we ate a few nights ago. Using chopsticks, you put meat, vegetables and tofu into this pot of boiling water and wait for it to cook. Then, you get to eat it all!
These are the spicy peppers that we put into the hotpot in the Mongolian hotpot restaurant.
These are Chinese Skittles!
These are delicious Beijing noodles that we ate a few nights ago.
These are the breakfast pancakes that we eat every morning.
This is a cook in the kitchen cooking dumplings.
This is a scorpion on a stick! People in China eat this!
This is my friend Celena, eating the scorpions!
Here is a video of my friend, Ben, eating one, too!
Our Saturday tour began at the National Theater, which was unfortunately closed for renovations. And no, that’s not a filter on the camera lens. We awoke to a gusty dust storm this morning, and so we donned our face masks.
A little dust did not get in the way of our fun!
Next stop: a quick walk next door to Tiananmen Square:
Ahhh…a short reprieve from the blowing dust on our way to the Forbidden City across the street:
Approaching the Meridian Gate, entrance to the Forbidden City:
Standing in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the largest hall and one that was used by the Emperor for political and also ceremonial purposes:
After lunch, we visited Beijing Capital Museum and quickly busied ourselves painting traditional Chinese good luck charms:
By dinner time, the warm sun was shining and the sky was blue!
Yesterday, Ms. Bass and Ms. Lockwood visited Beijing’s Urban Planning Museum, and guess what’s on display? An model of the entire city of Beijing!
Ms. Bass took pictures for Dalton second graders. House 24, does this look like your city block project? Can you identify any of the buildings in the pictures below?
(This museum is not on our itinerary this year, but for additional photos, please see our post from last year’s visit with the students from dLab Beijing 2009.)
House 24, you might find interest in this video for a glimpse inside a public bus and also a famous Beijing landmark, The Drum Tower.
This afternoon, after morning Mandarin classes, students navigated the hutongs around the Hou Hai Lake area, just north of The Forbidden City. (Can you find this lake on our map?)
After taking the bus from school, students disembarked at the Drum and Bell Towers. The Drum Tower, featured in this brief montage, was first built in 1272 and marked the center of the old Mongol capital of Dadu. After a fire, it was rebuilt in 1420 during the Ming dynasty. Along with the ringing from The Bell Tower, the city’s inhabitants used the beating of the drums from The Drum Tower to tell the time of day until 1924. After their visit here, the students walked around the lake in search of the neighborhood’s finest old mansions.
Thanks to Ms. Bass for the photos and to Alex for the video clips!
View from the top of The Bell Tower:
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, students visited The Dandelion School, a middle school located on the outskirts of Beijing for children of migrant workers. On their first day, Principal Zheng gave the students a tour of the school grounds, including the dorms, the entrance to which is shown here:
Then, the students were split into two groups, each to work two seventh grade English classes. Here is each group with their partner teacher from The Dandelion School:
After introductions, they got to work with their students. This week, their lessons focused on how to formulate sentences in English around the topics of family, hobbies, and subjects in school.
As you may have seen from the earlier post, students spent the morning attending classes with the students of The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University.
They attended many classes, including physics:
Much later in the evening Ben and Emma joined their Physics A class at Dalton via Skype. To their surprise, Mr. Condie presented them with a quiz at the start of class!
Here’s how Physics A looked in Beijing at 9:15 pm (9:15 am New York):
Here’s how it looked in New York:
A special thanks to Mr. Condie and to New Lab’s Arlo Klinger and Paul Zimmerman for making this possible.
And way to go, Emma and Ben! We know you had a very long day today leading up to this class.
Students spent Wednesday morning attending classes with their peers at our host institution, The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. Today’s schedule included physics, P.E., English, math, and biology or chemistry. Unlike classes at Dalton, students at this high school usually stay in one classroom for the entire day, except when they leave to attend P.E. and morning exercises on the nearby field.
View of the main building:
The view from the back of class:
Time for P.E.!
Making new friends:
Sharing about homework and movies in English class:
English class was followed by morning exercises with the entire student body. If you look closely, you’ll find Genevieve, Ada, and Celena in the crowd of students:
Hi, House 24! Ben is here to answer Mitra, Katia, and Lauren’s questions about transportation.
Your questions are:
1. Does China have subways?
2. Does China have more greener ways of getting around?
3. Does China have more transportation than New York State?
4. How many types of transportations can you go on publicly with an octopus card?
Click below to hear Ben’s answers, and if you have any more questions about this topic, please be sure to leave a comment on this post.
Take a look at the pictures we took on the subway ride from the Olympic Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) to Wangfujing Street:
After visiting the Olympic Park, we took the subway to Wangfujing, one of Beijing’s most famous shopping streets. Split into two groups, students navigated this busy pedestrian thoroughfare to locate 11 significant locations in the area. Congratulations to both groups for discovering all of the sites!
Some of their pictures are below:
After lunch on Monday, we visited the 2008 Olympic Park and the students practiced their Mandarin with other tourists. Notice how different the stadium looks with snow!
http://blogs.dalton.org/dlabbeijing/files/2010/03/Bird-Nest-Stadium-Interviews-iPhone.m4v
Our dorm is just a short walk from The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University:
Getting breakfast:
Class begins with a visit from Mr. He, Vice Principal of International Affairs, and then, the students begin their studies:
We arrived safely in Beijing late Sunday afternoon, and after a quick trip to a grocery store to pickup snacks for our dorm rooms, we headed to a Cantonese restaurant at The Place, a mall with a very unique outdoor feature. Those of you who remember last year’s trip will recognize the giant LCD screen in the background.
First, we met up with Jack in San Francisco:
After over 24 hours of continuous travel, we finally arrived in Beijing, where to our surprise, it was snowing!
Here’s the group huddled together at The Place:
Ada, Genevieve, and Jack explain more:
We officially kicked off dLab Beijing 2010 today with a visit to our second grade buddies in House 24 at The First Program. Each group of second graders crafted questions about a different aspect of Chinese culture (art, transportation, writing, spoken language, movement, food & dining, landmarks, and religion) for the high school students to explore during our travels in Beijing.
Thanks to Ms. Bass for this short clip:
A special thank you to the students in House 24, Ms. Meyer, Ms. Mui, Ms. Bass, Ms. Lockwood, and also to Mr. Lerner who took these photos.
Movement (Dance & Martial Arts)
Here is some important information that you will need for the upcoming weeks:
Academic Contract
Please complete and return your Academic Contract to Ms. Nickles or Mr. Lee by Friday, February 26th.
Video Assignment
When we are in Beijing, you will have the opportunity to spend the day at a Chinese High School. For this you are required to create a video in English about your daily activities (or your friends’) to be shared in class with students at our host school. Think, what do teenagers in NYC/Dalton do everyday? Please submit your video to Ms. Nickles or Mr. Lee by our Pre-Trip Orientation.
Pre-Trip Orientation
We will meet to prepare more for the trip, discuss our collaboration with our First Program buddies in House 24, and meet with Principal Hong of The Dandelion School . That meeting will take place during Government Assembly on Wednesday, March 3rd.
First Program Collaboration
On Wednesday, March 10th, during Assembly, we will visit House 24 at First Program. We will have more information for you about this at our Pre-Trip Orientation.
The faculty and staff welcome you to the dLab Beijing 2010 Language Immersion Program, a two-week program of intensive Chinese language training and service learning hosted by The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. This site provides essential information to help you prepare for your departure and ease your orientation during your stay. Please read it thoroughly and check back regularly for updates.
Dalton students leave for Beijing in the early morning of Saturday, March 13th and return in the evening of Sunday, March 28th, 2010. Students miss one week of classes at Dalton and one week of spring break. All dLab Beijing 2010 students are are expected to abide by the policies and rules of conduct outlined in The Dalton School Student Handbook.
Program details will be distributed at our upcoming program meeting:
dLab Beijing 2010 Program Meeting
Thursday, February 18, 2010
from 6pm – 7pm at 89th, room 507
We look forward to seeing you there!
We had so much fun on our last day at The Dandelion School with our new friends! (Please note that this movie version was created for the blog, and we will provide one of better quality to dLab Beijing participants.)
We started the day at Peking University, which is hosting its 5th annual Peking University National Model United Nations Conference for High School Students. First, we took a brief tour of the campus, and then, students observed the conference’s committee sessions and interviewed student delegates about China’s future.
Students participated in classes at our host institution this afternoon. They started with a P.E. class, and then, they took either a painting, dance, music or calligraphy class.
Students interviewed visitors to The Lama Temple on Monday. Here are their videos from that day:
Jeremy & Elizabeth Lama Temple Interviews: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Jillian & Jessica Lama Temple Interviews: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Jack, Jesse, Davita, Billyskye & Harry Lama Temple Interviews: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Sarah, Charlie, Eva & Krista Lama Temple Interviews: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadLast week we explored Beijing’s Urban Planning Museum, and then, students created mini-presentations based on the exhibits. (Please note: you may have to download the movies to read the slides.)
Jack, Eva & Jillian: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Davita, Jessica & Sarah: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Elizabeth, Charlie, Krista & Billyskye: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Jesse, Harry & Jeremy: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadAfter morning classes and an afternoon at The Dandelion School, we dined on Mongolian hot pot…
…and then we visited the Lao She Teahouse for entertainment, desserts, and tea, of course!
After The Lama Temple, we walked a short distance to the Temple of Confucius. Confucius and his disciples are commemorated here, and it is also the site of school where many came to study his philosophy and where the emperor gave speeches on the Confucian classics.
This afternoon we visited the Lama Temple, or the Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple. It is Beijing’s largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. See Sarah and Charlie’s video for more!
Climbing The Great Wall is a great workout! The Great Wall was built by prisoners, and this section, the Ju Yong Guan Pass, is 580 years old.
After lunch, we visited the nearby underground tomb of Wanli Emperor, a Ming dynasty emperor who ruled from 1572 to 1620. Davita describes this site in more detail in the video below.
KAPOW!!!!!
After a great day of sightseeing we dined on delicious Peking Duck at Qianmen Quan Ju De, a famous Beijing duck restaurant. If you are interested, check out the duck carving video that Krista filmed.
After the visit to Tsinghua High School, we sampled jasmine, oolong, pu’er, and litchi teas at this teahouse.
Dalton students returned for a second afternoon to The Dandelion School to teach English to 7th grade students. Thanks to Elizabeth for providing an introduction to these clips from their lessons. (Please note that these videos may take a few moments to load.)
Elizabeth's Introduction: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Krista, Charlie, Davita & Elizabeth: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Billyskye, Jillian, Eva & Harry: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSome students started the day with pork dumplings for breakfast!
Lunch is provided by the high school that is affiliated with Beijing Normal University.
After lunch we headed to the Beijing Urban Planning Museum, which features a large scale model of the city (see below) and a 3D movie that explains Beijing’s history.
Finally, students practiced their Mandarin and bargaining skills at nearby market.
On Tuesday night we feasted on traditional Beijing cuisine. There were too many plates for the table! Do you recognize any of the dishes in this picture?
On Monday, students were asked to interview tourists at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Park. Here is one group’s video project. Enjoy!
In the afternoon we visited Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Park, featuring the Beijing National Aquatic Center or “The Water Cube” and the Beijing National Stadium or “The Bird’s Nest.” Students were asked to interview Chinese tourists from all over the country. If you scroll to the bottom of this post, Harry’s video provides a succinct recap of the afternoon’s activities.
First, we visited The Water Cube:
The field research groups got to work to right away. And yes, that is THE pool where Michael Phelps won all of those medals.
On the way to The Bird’s Nest, Mr. Lee took this photo for House 23:
Ms. Nickles took this photo of the group in front of The Bird’s Nest:
Inside The Bird’s Nest…
…there was more field research to conduct:
Meet Nini, one of the five official mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The other group began a study of Chinese knots. Here they are finishing their knotted and beaded bracelets as the group from the Chinese Painting class looks on.
After their language classes this morning, students split into two groups to focus on an elective of their choosing. This group is learning Chinese painting. Be sure to catch the demonstration below, and thanks to Mr. Lee for providing the translation.
Thanks to Elizabeth for sharing her video clips from this morning’s first class. View them to get a sense of how the day’s language classes began for our students.
Student's First Class Clip 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Student's First Class Clip 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
We arrived safely in Beijing on Sunday, March 8, after a long day of flying (2 hours to Chicago and 13 hours to Beijing). First, we visited a supermarket to buy snacks and bottled water, and then, it was on to The Place, a shopping center that boasts China’s largest LCD screen. We were delighted to eat our first meal at The Crystal Palace, a Cantonese restaurant with a variety of dishes from which to choose. Don’t miss Jesse and Charlie’s video below!
For program parents: please note the updated contact information on our info page.
Jesse & Charlie @ The Place: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download LCD Screen @ The Place: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadYesterday at The First Program, House 23 and House 43 hosted a luncheon for dLab Beijing participants. The second and third graders were excited to meet their high school buddies and ask them about the upcoming language immersion trip. Many thanks to Anne Lockwood, Tracy Fedonchik, Genna Gurkoff, Cheryl Lexton, Julia Smith, Karen Bass, Scott Lerner, Suzanne Yanuska, and Janet Shaw for organizing this wonderful event! (Be sure to scroll to the end of this post to watch a video clip from the luncheon.)
