One-Week Diary

Emily Pereira '05 (wrap up)

I believe that the reason that many of us went to China was because we knew that an opportunity to go to that country with professors who knew the cities, history, and language would probably not come around again. Really, the trip was so much more than I expected - not only did we see famous sites like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Bund, and various temples, but there were many unexpected highlights. Visiting Professor He's aunt in Beijing, meeting Chinese high school students, getting traditional (amazing) Chinese foot massages, enjoying the delicious and varied cuisine and singing "The East is Red" with the professors at K-TV are just a few examples.

That the trip was such a success is thanks in no small part to the students and professors that comprised the group. Clearly the professors spent a lot of time planning our itinerary and preparing for the trip (in particular Professor Ross, who e-mailed us how many socks we should bring and what size our luggage should be!) Professors Ross, He, and Gottschang shared tons of invaluable information that enhanced the trip, and they were also a lot of fun. Despite the fact that most of the students didn't know each other before the trip and were members of all four classes, the cohesion was great and we all became very close. It was a wonderful week.

Prof. Claudia Ross - Photos from Day Seven

After a brunch of famous Shanghai dumplings, we visited the Yu Yuan, a 400-year-old landscaped garden containing rockeries (man-made rock structures created to evoke mountains and caves), pavillions, and ponds built by a Ming dynasty scholar. It is magnificent, and we spend several hours exploring the grounds and watching the carp swimming in the ponds.

Then we headed to the airport, riding the Maglev train that we had seen when we arrived in Shanghai. What a fun and crazy ride. Maglev is short for magnetic-levitation, and the Shanghai Maglev is the only maglev in commercial operation in the entire world. The speedometer in our car informed us that we reached a speed of 430 kilometers/hour - about 260 miles/hour! We could see the countryside zipping by, but the ride itself was incredibly smooth and a lot of fun.

That was it. Plane trip to Chicago, Chicago to Boston, Boston to Worcester, home. A great journey for all of us. Visit us at Holy Cross' Academic Conference on Friday, April 29, 3 - 4:30 p.m. to hear more.

(click on a thumbnail to see a larger version of the photo)

Visiting Yu Yuan	Yu Yuan roof	Yu Yuan gardens
Watching the fish	Countryside view	Maglev speedometer
Crabs to go