Hello friends and families, As you are likely aware, the Riverdale group was unable to board their original flight from Beijing to New York. We are currently working with our travel agent to find out why the airline did not allow them on their......Read More
After yet another exhausting day in Chengdu, we yet again have learned so much about the culture of China. With a usual start to the day, we ate a nice breakfast in the hotel and set out to a Buddhist temple, 文殊院 (Wenshu Temple). When we......Read More
One of my most meaningful experiences today was a short conversation with an elderly man in人民公园 (aka. rénmíngōngyuán/ the People’s Park) of Chengdu. This was not because I practiced my Chinese or learned a new skill, but the......Read More
My father grew up on the island of Puerto Rico until he was a teenager, when he then moved to New York. He has told me stories about his misadventures in his hometown of Naranjito, a small mountain town. Some of those include drowning a duck,......Read More
Ben Seklir 沈杰明 My homestay family in 临石(Linshi), Chengdu had a profound impact on myself because by embracing me with open arms, they have allowed me to become more comfortable in China and in my Chinese speaking ability. ......Read More
Never before had I realized our profound indulgence in excess. Within the palm of our hands we hold endless opportunity yet are infinitely confined to the comfort our lives and foolishly fear change. Cruising amidst Beijing’s greyish clouds we......Read More
Our third day in Beijing was spent visiting the Forbidden City and learning about the lives of emperors. By 7:00 we were all ready to head to a delicious breakfast at a local restaurant. Everyone thought that the noodles and fried bread there were......Read More
Looking back at our second day in China, and first day in Beijing, I remember all of the fun and exciting activities that we have done. However, it wasn’t the activities that struck me as the most interesting for today. Sure, we visited......Read More
Our first day in china! 第一天在中国! First day in China! Woohoo! After a 13-hour long plane ride, we finally landed in Beijing on Thursday night. We drove for another few hours to a rural village where we stayed with the 寇家 (Kou family)......Read More
Here are a series of photos from our orientation site, Xiangshuihu where the group is being hosted by the Kou Family. As you can see, days are filled with eating, hiking, exploring, and group forming activities to tone-set, recover from the long......Read More
Hello, my name is Joshua or 谢雨泽 and I am in Chinese 2 at Riverdale. Here are my learning goals for the trip: I gained a greater appreciation for Chinese culture by immersing myself within Chinese culture during the experience. I heavily......Read More
Hi everyone, my name is Lucie Wolf and I’m in 9th grade, Chinese 2. My learning goals for this trip are to: Improve my Chinese by speaking it often and asking questions when I don’t understand something, learn more about Chinese culture......Read More
Hello, my name is Jason Pepin. I go to Riverdale Country School and I live in New York. My goals to achieve in China are to be in the learning zone by learning new vocabulary and using it in everyday speech, meet new people and start conversations......Read More