Study tour BLOG

[Anonymous]

I have a picture of Judi and Dennis dressed in warrior costumes at the Nintoku Tomb Museum! Will try to upload picture on the Favorite picture thread.[Edit by="eamador on Jul 27, 5:02:02 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Greetings to all my study tour friends!

Re: Clay's suggesstion to report on "Chinese or Japanese encounters".

Today's (July 28) Los Angeles Times has a number of interesting China articles. the best is located on the bottom left corner of the Calendar section entitled "China's imported 'Panda'". The article chronicles the overwhelming popularity of the animated movie, "Kung Fu Panda" in China and yet, why the film could never have been made there. The piece provides a great deal of information regarding the government's involvement in the arts. It also comments on some cultural soul-searching the Chinese people are engaged in regarding this issue....Turning to the back page of Calendar (page E12-upper right corner) under "Today's Highlights" (television listings) features the begining of a new series on the Travel Chanel, "Samantha Brown: Passport to China" (premiers tonight at 8 pm). The photo shows Samantha Brown (in Beijing) backstage with an acrobat that appears to have been in the show that we saw...On page A7 of the front section is a photo captioned "Breathing Hard in Beijing: Cyclists pass the 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium, seen through the thick smog in Beijing, just two weeks before China holds the Olympics". Hmmm, Jenny Cheung told me that we were experiencing 70% fog and only 30% smog?...The cover of the Sports page (upper right corner) features an article entitled, "Chinese athletes' age at issue: Documants indicate two female gymnasts appear to be younger than once listed by Chinese federation. Olympic eligility could be affected". At issue is the eligibility of (among others) Gymnast He Kexin, who won the Bronze Medal at the 2007 World Championship. The Chinese Gymnastics team is headed for another major showdown with the U.S. team (whom they finished second to at last year's world championships), so this is a very contentious issue in the sports world.

Apart from today's paper, there are a few other sources that I would recommend for people who are still reflecting on our East Asia tour. Yesterday, I saw the movie "Mongol" which is a film biography of the early life of Genghis Khan. The film is in Mongolian and Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles...Two fascinating works take you into the world of the students in Tien'an Men Square, circa 1989. "Beijing Coma" is a new novel by Ma Jian. It features a student leader who was shot in the head on that fateful night. Now, lying in a coma in his mother's apartment, he relives the events surrounding the insurrection. Also, a new video that I found at my local Blockbuster entitled "Summer Palace" also provides a student's eye view of the days of rage in Tien'an Men....Two other films that we discussed way back at the orientation, "Bejing Bicycle" and "Shower" are particularly good at showing the lives of ordinary Beijingers.

-John Keveanos

[Anonymous]

Hello All. I apologize for how late this post is. I just got back from Japan a couple days ago. I want to let you all know that I enjoyed my time with you all so greatly and I miss you guys! I can't wait to see you all at the follow up! Please keep in touch.

JULY 14- KYOTO

We visited Ritsumeikan Jr. and Sr. High School in the morning. Before arriving at the school, Ray gave us some insight regarding the Japanese education system. In Japan, parents are required to pay for books and for school provided lunches. Schools in Japan are strict requiring students to eat all the food off of their plate before they are excused from lunch. They also have students with janitors to keep the school clean. Schools are highly competitive since each student receives a national ranking based on their achievement. This ranking and a series of challenging exams determine each student’s chances of attending a university.

The Ritsumeikan campus was large, new, and extremely clean. Upon our arrival the vice principal greeted us and gave us a brief introduction in an orientation room. In the introduction we learned much about the school and about education in Japan. This school’s tuition is about $11,000 per year and it caters to top students, athletes, and international students. Student grades here in Japan are based on a 1-5 scale unlike the A-F scale we are accustomed to. We also learned that this school has teaching opportunities for international educators. One day some of us may be teaching in Japan. After the introduction we toured the campus. We visited a few Jr. High and Sr. High classrooms, the computer labs, the performing arts center, and then the sports center. This tour was impressive but many of us were disappointed that our interaction with students was limited. I am sure many of us would have enjoyed more time interacting with the Japanese students and teachers but we arrived late and our time was limited.

Our next destination was the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. The day was hot and humid as we toured the inner perimeter of the palace. The tour was in Japanese making it difficult for most of us to follow but the beautiful palace really spoke for itself. The roofs were detailed with ornate carvings, gold emblems, and special roof tiles. Some of large pillars of the entry way boasted the bright imperial vermillion color. Its large rooms inside had wide open tatami floors, silk screen doors, and Japanese paintings decorating the walls. As we rounded the compound we got to see the beautiful garden. It had a large pond, bridges, well manicured pine trees, and lush vegetation. The garden was my favorite part of the palace tour.

Following the palace tour we went to the Bath House Temple. I know that this is not the real name but I think you all know what I am talking about. The temple housed a dragon painting, an ancient temple bell, and a bath house. We first entered the ceremonial hall to view the dragon painted on the ceiling. It was awesome! We saw that it took up the whole ceiling. The docent explained that it was painted with the characteristics of several different animals. She then instructed us to move around the room to view the dragon from different vantage points. The dragon’s eye seemed to follow us where ever we sat down and depending on the side of the room we were on the dragon seemed to be ascending or descending. Next we viewed the oldest temple bell in Japan. It was a large bronze bell, tarnished green with age. The docent did not strike the cultural relic but she played us a recording of the bell when it was still in use. Its tone was warm and it had a long resonance. Afterward we walked to the old bath house found on the premises. A warm rain fell on us as we entered the bath house and once we were inside, it began to pour. This site is significant because it was the bath house of the “Three day Shogun.” This Shogun had such a short reign because he was assassinated. After viewing the bath house the docent was kind enough to lend us umbrellas back to the bus.

For dinner that night we had a multi-course tofu dinner at a local restaurant. Besides tofu were served rice, pickles, and various vegetable dishes. The dinner was great and needless to say, we ate very well on this trip! After dinner many of us walked out to join the largest festival in Japan, the Gion Festival. This was actually the pre-festival but the street was still packed with people dressed up in kimonos while huge floats decorated with lanterns lined part of the parade way. Some of us ventured down side streets and found streets crammed with people buying traditional local food and kids playing carnival games. This is a huge festival for the people in Kyoto and I am glad we were apart of it!
[Edit by="jyamazaki on Aug 4, 3:10:09 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Our last full day in Tokyo began with a visit to the Meiji Shrine. This heavily wooded shrine was absolutely beautiful - approximately 170,000 trees had been planted in dedication to the Emperor Meiji. As the group approached the entrance to the shrine, most of us noted the landscape worker sweeping leaves with as much art and precision as anyone who takes pride in their work. Some of us took our time looking around the shrine and the grounds around it, while others took a needed break for refreshments and bathroom runs - our last day in Tokyo seemed to be the hottest and the humidity was difficult to escape from. In leaving the shrine, a few of us were reminded that it was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire-bombs during WWII.

Next we headed over to Harajyuku Street and shopping district. There you could see Japanese youth dressed in some of the most unusual outfits. The focal point is Japanese teenage culture, and its side streets are lined with boutiques, trendy shops, and used clothes for the most fashion conscious. I decided to venture off to one of these side streets and was amazed by the bright colors, music, and anime costumes everywhere I looked. I thought I would buy myself a top at one of the boutiques, but was refused when I wanted to try the article of clothing on. This happened three more times, and in my frustration I asked the sales clerk, "Is it because Im an American?" She simply replied with an extended arm and hand, "No try on." Needless to say I didn't walk out of any boutique with an article of clothing in my hands.

Surprisingly, the group headed off to lunch for a little Italian - no complaints from me - as well as our closing session. It was certainly difficult to believe we had spend already three weeks together! After some well deserved "thank you's" and the gracious gifts handout out by Miranda and Venus, we set out for our last destination as a group before venturing off on our own - Shibuya.

This popular shopping district is a "born-to-shopper's" dream, but nightmare for those who can't stomach another department store, or trendy boutique. I was truly amazed at how populated this area was for a Thursday afternoon. Despite the hectic nature of the area, people still managed to cross the street using three different angles and in an orderly fashion. Some group members headed off to their next adventure immediately- the Kabuki Theater. Others visited the Edo Museum. Myself, Betse, Judi, Anna, Mimi, Christina, and Heather tackled the crowds, shops, and later dinner.

What better way to celebrate a last evening together in Japan, is to go to a Karaoke Bar. Frank, Mimi, Anna, Heather, John Y., Richard, Ray, Judy, Christina, Kevin, Venus, and myself headed back to the Shibuya area and sang and danced to our content (or until the beer and alloted time ran out). Some of us tried to "recreate" the evening before in the Roppongi area and find another Japanese rock band, but we left the area without success of finding one. Still it was an evening worth remembering, and a great way to end the trip.

Final thoughts (for our last day): Not a lot was said in our closing session of Japan, but I think it goes without saying that Clay, Ray, Miranda, and Venus made this trip the success that it was. Thank you to Miranda and Venus for the meticulously organized travel itinerary - it seemed like no stone was left unturned! Thank you to Ray for offering his knowledgeable expertise in Japanese history and culture. Finally, a big thanks to Clay - your passion for Asian studies is contagious.

[Anonymous]

The theme of today can be summarized by Chinese ingenuity from engineering the extensive great wall to engineering modern computers at Lenovo to engineering almost impossible and magnificent acrobatics with the human body. The Chinese people never cease to amaze me.

Another theme from today is that the Chinese are about making the impossible possible. They engineered the longest and most extensive wall in history. It was an enormous task to mobilize labor, organize thousands of workers, deliver food and supplies to remote parts of China and travel through harsh terrains such as mountains and deserts. While climbing the Great Wall, I can see the strength of the Chinese people who overcame all these obstacles to build a wall to protect their country from the Mongolians. The Great Wall spanned thousands of miles and was also known as the world’s largest cemetery because numerous workers were buried in the Great Wall while working on it. Emperor Qinshihuangdi didn’t just use the Great Wall as a protective border; he used it as a way to gain greater control of the people in his Empire. The Great Wall kept invaders from coming in, but it also kept the Chinese from going out. The Great Wall was also the world’s first information highway. Soldiers communicated with each other by sending fire signals on the numerous towers built along the Great Wall. News can also be communicated by having riders carry messages along the Great Wall. Emperor Qin can receive messages from one end of his kingdom to another.

From one information superhighway to another, our next stop was the Lenovo Factory.
In modern China, information is no longer communicated via The Great Wall but by the computers that are manufactured by Lenovo. Lenovo is a mixture of the old and the new and of the West and the East with headquarter in both China and the United States. The computers and products engineered at Lenovo continue the tradition of Chinese engineering and ingenuity.

We ended our day with a marvelous performance of Chinese acrobats. Again, I saw the Chinese people push the boundaries of the impossible and carried it into the realm of the possible as acrobats performed stunts that demonstrated their strength, agility, flexibility and teamwork.

Today was truly a magical and inspiring day.

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the recent posts to our collective diary. I greatly appreciate the time it takes and how hard it can be to sort through the flood of images and memories. It's helpful, though, to write things out. I hope more of you will react to your colleagues' observations. Feel free to comment on these entries and to take up other subjects in the larger forum, Asia in My Classroom.

Can it be that this once talkative group is suddenly without opinions? Nah -- have at it.

[Anonymous]

Hi, Study Tourists! I hope all is well with you and your students! I am writing to make you aware that the Beijing Opera is coming to the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 10-12. (I almost missed the ad in the LA Times myself and have seen no others.) And not just any company but the "World Famous Mei Lanfang Beijing Opera Troupe from the Beijing Opera House of Beijing". Mei Lingfang (1894-1961) is considered one of the greatest performers of all time. His son Mei Baojiu will be recreating some of his best roles during this LA engagement. How significant was Mei Lanfang? Film Director Chen Kaige ("Farewell, My Concubine") is set to begin shooting a film biography of him in May of '09. For some, Beijing Opera is an acquired taste, but I find it exotic and original....Since we returned from our great East Asian adventure, I have read some very good books about China that I wish to share with you: "Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power 1850 to Present" by Jonathan Fenby (Harper Collins, 2008) 682 pages written by Fenby, legendary British journalist who was made a "Commander of the British Empire" for his work covering China; ""The Man on Mao's Right: From Harvard Yard to Tienanman Square, My Life inside China's Foreign Ministry" by Ji Chaozhu (Random House, 2008) is a very personal and intriguing look at modern China's history from the inside. Ji actually was primarily Zhou Enlai's translator but he did go on to rise in the diplomatic ranks to become China's Ambassador to the Court of St. James...."Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation (Or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid)" by J.Maarten Troost (Broadway Books, 2008) is the humorist's experiences in China. He went to many places that we visited (even the jade factory on the way to the Great Wall)...I look forward to seeing everyone at the Reunion!

[Author]

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