Prologue: Today, I had a field trip with my class. Here are some of the things we did but also how I felt about the trip.
This afternoon we walked from our school to Jiaotong University. It took about 20 minutes to get there. Since everyone was singing on our walk there, I didn't get tired at all. Although I didn't know the words and couldn't sing, it was very pretty. My teacher had a tiny silver whistle to keep the kids attention (there are about 65 kids in my class and there were only two teachers). The whole first grade went on this trip and our class got to be at the front of the line.
The most important thing in China is sharing food, and that is what we all did on our field trip. At different points during our field trip we would stop and share our food ( three quarters of what I ate was from other kids). The snacks: included sugar-coated dried fruit, chips (that's what I brought), mousse jelly (yogurt on the top, jello on the bottom and fruit in the middle). My favorite new snack was afrench fry like snack coated with tomato.
We also did a lot of playing which included: a tag-like game where the person who is it wears a crown, catching something that felt like silk that was from a dandolion.
The biggest difference between American and Chinese kids is that Chinese kids cooperate a lot more than American kids. They share a lot, they form lines easily, they usually hold hands as we exit the school gates and at recess time, they always play together nicely. Maybe it is because of China's population; with so many people, they need to cooperate more.
The reason I liked this trip so much was the feasting and the playing. I am still struggling with trying to know what people are saying to me because I feel badly if I don't answer them. Here are some of the words and sentences I now know in Chinese and use almost every day:
1. hello
2. let's go outside and play
3. I am Julia ...wo shi Julia
4. i need to go to the bathroom...wo men cho cho wen ba...
5. can i borrow your pencil...je wo ee jer bee
6. good bye...zi dian
7. my sister's name is hana...ta shi hana.
8. hello teacher...lou shi how
9. i love my mom, dad and sister..wo i eye...mamam,..wo eye..baba...wo eye jeje
10. do not touch me! ..ba dong..wo
11. see you tomorrow...ming tien jen
12. can you or can you not give me homework today....ni neng bu neng gao su wo jia ting zuo ye.
So...as you can see, I am really starting to speak Chinese...
I miss you all...my family, my class and all of my friends!!!
