by Ellen Lan
Breakfast:
Today was our second day at Nanjing. We began the day off by eating a luxurious breakfast at the Gaochun Jinling Grand Hotel. The breakfast was a huge buffet, encompassing a variety of delicacies, much different from the hotel breakfasts back in the U.S. The buffet included a noodle station, a salad bar, an omelette station, a congee station, stir fry, pastries, breads, fruits, eggs, rice, teas, different kinds of juices, and more.
Scavenger Hunt:
We then took a bus ride to a nearby village, Zhujia village in the Gaochun county of Nanjing. The village had many aged houses and alleys, beautiful trees and plants, and many cats and dogs roaming around. At the village, we were given an assignment to ask villagers in Chinese about the history and information of the village to answer riddles. We talked to many different villagers in Chinese, from little children to old people, and ended up learning about the fascinating history of the village while simultaneously practicing our conversational speaking skills with Chinese people. For example, we discovered that Zhujia Village has an extremely deep heritage, originally coming from the Ming Dynasty and the Zhejiang province, while now currently in the Jiangsu province. Furthermore, we learned that in ancient times, locals turned to their land and mountain deities for blessings and good harvest. We overall had a great time being able to talk to local Chinese villagers and learning about the fascinating culture and history of the village.
Cycling around Shijiu Lake
Next to the village was Shijiu Lake, a freshwater lake in China, connecting to the Yangtze River, and connecting to the Gaochun and Lishui districts of Nanjing, Jiangsu province. After the scavenger hunt, students rode bikes around the Shijiu Lake by following the riding instructor. I ended up staying behind and eating ice cream with Mr. Manakhov but I learned about the fun cycling experience from my friends. They cycled about 20 km around the lake. During this time, they saw the beautiful, shorelines of the lake, filled with grass and water, and as they rode further, they were able to see how expansive and blue the lake was. Throughout the ride, they also passed different villages and patches of trees. By the end of the rides, although everyone was very tired from cycling around, they ended up extremely enjoying the experience and view of the lake.
Lunch:
We ate lunch at a small restaurant in the Zhujia village. Our group took up two tables. We had a variety of vegetables, some tofu, meat, soup, and rice. Afterwards, some students ate ice cream from the nearby stand.
Farming:
After lunch, we all walked over to the fields with one of the villagers. The villager handed us hoes and buckets of water, which we then carried to the fields. She showed us how to plant seeds, first hoeing out the weeds from the field, creating holes, pouring two to three seeds in each one, covering it up, and then watering it. Students paired up with one another to each hoe dirt and plant seeds in different sections. In the end, although the work was tiring, we all enjoyed learning how the Zhujia villagers farmed and were able to fully appreciate all the hard work and labor they do everyday.
Dinner:
Like breakfast, we also had dinner at the Jinling hotel. We had a variety of different vegetables, soup, and a delicious egg dish. We also had Nanjing duck, which was nice, since we learned that the famous Peking duck originated from Nanjing. After eating, we had a fun time discussing all our answers to the scavenger hunt and learning more about the history of the Zhujia village. Overall, we had a great time learning about the history and culture of the Gaochun county in Nanjing, and eating more delicious and new Chinese food specific to Nanjing.
