Shanghai Session 2 First Week!

This week our students started their Chinese language and culture classes and have been having a blast. They spend their morning immersed in Chinese in a traditional classroom setting, then after a yummy lunch at one of the cafeterias on campus, they spend 30 minutes meeting new Chinese friends and showing off their new vocabulary. In the afternoon they head to their daily culture activities before eating dinner with their host family!

This week's afternoon activies consisted of 扇子 (fan) decorating and 陶瓷(pottery). Students were split up into 2 groups, Group A and Group B. Group A did fan decorating on Wednesday and pottery on Thursday then Group B did the opposite. I was in Group A with the students level 0 through 2! 

扇子 Fans

Shanghai's summer weather can be brutal, boasting 104 degree weather and 70% humidity. Having a good, sturdy fan is essential for living in Shanghai. Students learned about fan culture in China and the different meathods of holding fans. After a quick presentation of fan dancing by students, they learned the technique of 湿拓 (wet marbling) to decorate their fans. Although making sure you didn't get the fan too wet was tough, most students were successful.  

陶瓷 Pottery

We hopped on a bus after class and headed to a pottery workshop and museum. The outside was decorated with beautiful lily pads and lotus flowers. We started with a tour of the beautiful pottery displayed there. We had the chance to view some art by the person who made the design for our transport cards! After our small tour we exercised our art muscles by painting ceramic plates, making charm bracelets and throwing on the wheel. In 3 weeks we'll be able to pick up our beautiful art projects and bring them home as a unique souvenier!