Unexpected food, common ground in China

FALLS VILLAGE — Jacob Horowitz, a junior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS), said he learned that “if you accept that other people have other cultures,” then an American can get along just fine in China.He was speaking about a two-week trip to China in April undertaken by 11 HVRHS students and teachers Lisa Carter (and her son) and Alan Lovejoy.Carter thanked the trip’s sponsors, the Education Collaborative, the 21st Century Fund, the Region One Board of Education and “a generous parent without whom this trip would not be possible.”Along with 13 students and three chaperones from Canton High School, the group spent three days in Beijing, three in Xi’an and five days in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province and home of the partner school, the Shandong Experimental School.In Jinan, the students went to classes during the day and stayed with host families for three nights.Senior Reilly Lynch said he was “exposed to a new culture.” “I ate a lot,” he added.The food situation was a big change for the American students. Horowitz said that during an especially spicy meal he was served — gulp — ox testicles.He was game and ate one. (He didn’t like it much.)The students said their Chinese counterparts spoke enough English for communications to flow fairly well, though there were moments of confusion.Junior Ben Finkelstein said his host brother used British English idioms that led to a misunderstanding.“We were playing basketball and my host brother said, ‘We go flat.’ He meant we had to go back to the apartment, but it took about 15 minutes to figure it out.”The students were amused at the English translations on signs. For instance, instead of asking people not to walk on the grass, one sign read, “No striding.”Or this one: “Artifacts are not recyclable.”Forrest Meyer, a junior, said the father of his host family blowdried his hair every morning, and sophomore Monica Chin said her host family was surprised by how little she ate.Asked if there were banners and signs with Communist Party slogans in modern China, Horowitz noted that Mao’s “Little Red Book” was for sale everywhere. Carter added that the iconic book was more of a souvenir item now. “Nobody stops anyone and quizzes them on a passage anymore,” she said, referring to the violent days of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.Meyer said the group’s tour guide took them to Tiananmen Square but said nothing about the 1989 protests, focusing rather on the square’s size and shape.Elise LaFosse, a sophomore, said in the course of discussing pop culture, she realized there was a noticeable lag time, with musical trends especially, and Finkelstein agreed. “They were three months behind, or more,” he said.The American students said the question their Chinese peers asked the most was whether they had a boyfriend or girlfriend.Horowitz said the Chinese teenagers are discouraged from romantic entanglements. “Their parents want them focused on school.”Driving was something of an adventure for the students. Junior Clara Ziegler said she counted 20 traffic lights total in the three cities.And everyone remarked on the smog.Finkelstein said his host family was surprised he wasn’t “political or controversial,” He said he was able to establish a good rapport with his host brother, as they are both preparing for college.The students since their return have stayed in touch with their new Chinese acquaintances by email.This summer a group from the Shandong Experimental School will visit the Region One School District. The students were asked to rate the culture shock of visiting China and living in close quarters with Chinese people. On a scale of one to 10, the group agreed on 8.