Spring break has been an immersion into Chinese culture for Trinity senior Aaron Reilly and junior Jerald Oliver. They, along with Trinity teacher Mrs. Jocelyn Shi, traveled to China. Reilly sent the following description of the first five days of the trip, along with photos: 

Sunday – First day spent with our host families in Taiyuan, Shanxi. My student host’s name is 杨逸飞 （English name is Frankie) and he, his mother and father, and I went to Meng Mountain to visit the third largest Buddha in the world. After that we went to dinner and had a traditional Chinese hotpot.

Monday – The school we are visiting had Monday and Tuesday off due to the Sweeping Tomb Holiday. This is a holiday to honor and remember those who have passed. Frankie and I attended a picnic at the park that some of the students from the International Department of the school put together so that we could get acquainted with one another before starting school.

Tuesday – We visited the city of Pingyao to watch a festival celebrating the Sweeping Tomb Holiday.

Wednesday – Our first day of school at The Affiliated High School of Shanxi University. School begins at 8:30 in the morning and concludes at 9:45 at night. Gordon and I arrived at school a little early in order to give our presentations about American life and culture to students of the International Department and the principal of the school.

For the rest of the students, the morning began with the entire student body gathering at the soccer field for stretching and light exercise. Classes then started and ended at around 12:00 for a two-hour lunch break. Classes then resumed till around six and another break was given.

During the break Gordon and I played basketball with some of the students. After the break our group of classroom students ordered takeout to eat during the “self study” period at the end of the day (each group of students have their own classroom that they report to for the last two hours of the day on three out of the five-day week).

Thursday – Frankie, his mother, Mrs. Shi, 牛乃玉 Niu Naiyu (a student for the International Department), and I visited the Pingyao town in Pingyao City. This is an ancient city with a six-kilometer long wall around it. It is also where the very first private bank in China was founded. While there, we went to see a play about the history of the city and the bank. We also went to dinner and had noodles called guanchang that are native to the city.

Gallery • 19 Photos

photos courtesy of Aaron Reilly

Trinity senior Aaron Reilly is part of a group that traveled to China during spring break. Teacher Mrs. Jocelyn Shi coordinated the trip.