Art, Architecture, and A Little Rain

As our travelers emerged from the subway on the way to morning classes, they discovered an absolute downpour, but it was worth being stranded on a sky-bridge in order to escape the rain because it allowed for observation of the fascinating entity that is Beijing. Packs of bicyclists, bikers, and moped drivers weaved between motorists while in ponchos, while holding umbrellas, or while simply getting drenched. The street became a stream and the world was grey.

Then, suddenly, the rain stopped. We made our way to campus (while being stopped briefly by security; there was some event or speaker on campus that required increased security, we were told), fixed some technology problems (two more of which have sprung up since!) and had our first Cross-Cultural Communications Training. This is the only class I teach the students and I was very glad to get to talk to them in a classroom setting. We talked values and the role of disagreement in communication. It was a truly interesting discussion and I am immensely thankful for the respectful intellectualism and kindness these students carry.

The afternoon saw us at the art district 798 in hot, sunny weather, completely opposite to the morning's. Of course, to get there, the Discoverers had to plan and make the metro trip as a group without us. They tackled this challenge admirably (Ana picked the fastest route in minutes) and we were very proud.

At 798, many souvenirs were purchased. A great mural covered the entirety of the side of a building. Red glass dinosaurs roared in red cages. Tiles from the famous Chinese board-game, Mahjong, were inlaid in the bathroom wall. It was an amazing sight and allowed for the kids to learn more about their own artistic interests. Of course, a significant portion of their time was dedicated to taking pictures of each other in various poses!

We ended the day at the largest office park in Beijing, an architectural icon called SoHo. Four buildings come together in brightly lit hills of glass and steel. We had Cantonese food beneath this behemoth for dinner (Tova seemed to like only the chocolate ice cream, but Leilani and Ana seemed to find joy in steamed pork buns, while Connor made everything more interesting with fun facts about the history of hamburgers). So... three full days into program and the students are off to a great start. This is turning into quite the adventure.