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 the second blog post below from Brandon ’26 about trying new foods, meeting his host family, and symbols of home on his first day in China.
After an eternity of what felt like 86 hours in the air (thanks time zones), I finally touched down in Shanghai and fell asleep like a rock. And then I woke up at 5 a.m. in Shanghai!!! My body felt like it was still in New York, so I woke up bright-eyed, confused, and very, very awake.
To use up some of my newfound energy, I did some pushups with Oscar (because fitness never sleeps) and jumped into an amazing shower. A few friends and I went down to the complimentary breakfast, and that is where our Chinese adventure began. With the help of Ms. Kelly, we learned the names of the foods we were eating–包子 (baozi, steamed buns), 西瓜 (xī guā, watermelon), 鸡蛋 (jī dàn, eggs), etc. I even had the courage to order 煎蛋卷 (jiāndànjuǎn, an egg roll) in Chinese. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Did I do my best and make the waiter smile? Sure did.
Following breakfast, it was a quick bus ride to East China Normal University (ECNU)—our school for the next two weeks. Once we hopped off the bus onto the large and humid campus, I could feel the nerves, excitement, and tons, tons of sweat!
We toured the campus with a guide, visiting places like convenience stores and dining halls (where I may have loaded up on more 包子). At lunch, I watched one of the most wholesome “oops” moments in real time—Tamu tried to practice her Chinese with an ECNU grad student…who turns out speaks perfect English. Classic moment.
After what felt like a 7-hour orientation (which included the singing of the evensong and some seriously chaotic icebreakers), the moment arrived—we met our host families.
My new “Chinese mom,” Ms. Amy, picked me up right on the dot at 5:00 p.m. She had a box of fruit for me in the car, like pears, grapes, you name it. It was the sweetest welcome. I discovered quite quickly that her English was as bad as my Chinese, which made our conversations…interesting, to say the least.
We talked about things like the Putuo district, the fruit I was consuming, and ending up talking about skin colors. While it was clumsy, I found it to be honest and somewhat beautiful, to be honest.
When we arrived home, I met Orlando, Ms. Amy’s teenage son and my accidental translator. Thankfully, his English was decent. I learned he was into online gaming, played the drums, and listened to American music (he is admittedly a big Maroon 5 fan).
Later in the evening, we headed to the 商店 (store) to do our shopping for dinner. The dinner? Shrimp, cod, beef, pork, veggies, fruit… and fried duck. Ms. Amy and Orlando kept on piling my plate as if I hadn’t eaten since I was born.
As we finished dinner and Ms. Amy started cleaning, Orlando invited me to his room. He placed a pen with a deer on top of it in front of me and said, “this is a symbol,” implying that Deerfield is my home – and part of that home is in China now. Then he fist bumped me and said “Welcome to China.
That moment, I was struck. Relievedly. In just one day, I transitioned from jet-lagged and nervous, to feeling like I was home, if only for a slice of time, in a new country, culture, and family.
Brandon, ’26.
