China SST 2017 is now over, but the experience will live on for each of us. In Beijing, between visiting the palaces and temples of dynasties and the Great Wall that protected them with varying degrees of success, we had a couple group meetings. On Sunday night we gathered…
Time moved fast on our culminating excursion, and the Fall 2017 SSTers have already left China. This entry will tell the story of the Xian and Beijing portions of our trip through photos and captions. In the coming days there will be one more blog post with…
Goodbyes on service led to reunions in Nanchong and then more goodbyes as we left on our final excursion. It felt strange to turn in our keys and bus cards and know we were making a one-way trip this time. Before this final farewell to Nanchong, SSTers regathered at…
Yadira and Cornelius teaching A highlight of our second round of visits was watching each SSTer in action in the classroom. We reversed the order this time, beginning with a bus trip to Yilong early Wednesday morning. We arrived at Virtue Middle and High School in time…
SSTers are beginning the third week of teaching English in middle and high schools in their new locations. Each city is 50-60 miles from Nanchong and we will visit two times during the service portion of China SST. Last Wednesday I traveled by train with Greta and Naomi to…
Our National Week field trip just completed, we began the final week of classes with two big events quickly approaching – a thank you party for our host families on Thursday evening, and the departure on Saturday for teaching internships. Afternoon sessions included an extra group meeting to prepare…
Carter and Skye playing mahjong with host family members Today we share an essay by Carter McKay-Epp. This was published in the Goshen College Record last week. Writing an article while on location during SST gives me a rare opportunity. I have the opportunity to share a…
Fortified with mooncakes from Mid-Autumn Festival, we gathered early Thursday morning to travel west to Wolong and other destinations. Our first stop was Yingxiu township of Wenchuan county, where the ruins of a primary school memorialize the earthquake of 2008. The 8.0 scale quake was a devastating event for…
Lexus, Yadira, Emily, Mia and Amy Week Four of our Study-Service Term in China was reminiscent of a familiar academic phenomenon: the increasing weariness that sets in as a mid-term recess approaches. The accumulation of input and content becomes weighty in combination with the routines, deadlines, and…
“To pursue peace we must understand each other better, and the arts are a way to do this.” These words from our second lesson with Liu Qingyang, Professor and Master Tutor of Calligraphy, echoed through other recent arts experiences including two dance classes and the first of two sessions on…
