This summer, 10 students and two faculty members are traveling to China to enhance their Chinese language skills while experiencing the country’s vast and diverse cultural landscape. Please enjoy this next blog post below from Tamutenda ’26, Jeanne ’26, Zariah ’27, Ava ’27, and Ella ’26 who share about their final full day while reflecting on personal growth, newfound friendships, and unforgettable moments while climbing the Great Wall.
Tamutenda ’26: After the Great wall we had time to reflect on the day’s proceedings and the China trip in general. My mind landed at my proficiency in mandarin. I think my mandarin hasn’t improved as much in terms of grammatical structures and, but I have gained a lot of confidence as a speaker. I think I can successfully ask for any sort of necessity—food, water, bath, picture, ask a person to make way. I can also use my awkward Mandarin sentence structures to make complex commentary—and hope it lands well with the receiving party. All in all, this trip was an amazing experience. I can feel the world expand beyond my own experiences. I think this was a practice in humanity most of all. China isn’t just yellow stars and a bright red background. It’s the smiles I get from the people who manage the boba shop I frequent going to school, located at a corner, near my homestay. It’s my homestay sibling, Droma, singing and dancing with me in the living room before dinner. It’s the warm homecooked meals served with love from my 阿姨. It’s the spontaneous conversations with ECNU students. It’s the lifetime connections I have developed along the way.
Jeanne ’26: Climbing the Great Wall felt to me like a gateway to my younger self and with my ancestors. While walking I was constantly imagining the soldiers and archers who day and night manned these walls as well as the men who built them. Another image that frequented my mind was the picture of my five-year old self jumping on the Great Wall over a decade ago. The experience was incredible and really made me realize the extent of humankind’s abilities.
Zariah ’27: Tonight, we had our second to last dinner filled with laughter and three servings of general Tso chicken. After dinner we all hung out in the common spaces in the hotel. From mini-Pilates classes to a dance Ella and choreographed together. These people have become a family to me I’m so grateful for all of them and the stories we shared on our last night.
Ava ’27: Now that our trip is coming to a close, I think we can all agree that this day was one of the best. In the 40 minutes we had to hike the wall Ella, Zariah and I managed to walk from the thirteenth tower through the nineteenth and back. Determined to make it as far as possible we spent most of our time sprinting and weaving between people. Our one moment of peace being stopping to get a popsicle up at the eighteenth tower before resuming the run. We’ve collectively learnt a lot on this trip-about each other, China’s history, and the Chinese language, all while laughing. Thank you!
Ella ’26: I can’t even express how excited I was to hike the Great Wall in only a few sentences. I had hiked a small part of the wall back in 6th grade but couldn’t wait to experience a new part of it. Ava, Zariah, and I made it our mission to travel as far as possible in the 40 minutes we were given (leaving enough time to hike back down to the group’s chosen meeting point). Soon enough, we found ourselves running in the heat to reach section tower #20, which was the furthest point we were allowed to go. Afterwards, dripping in sweat and smiles of pride across our faces, we had a buffet lunch where we ate lots of watermelon, quizzed Zariah and Ava’s knowledge on the 50 states (how did they do you may ask? Let’s just say Zariah thought Philadelphia was a state and Ava thought Detroit was one too so I’ll let you guys be the judge of how well they did), and of course, we all laughed a lot.
And that concludes our last blog day!
