Hello from the village of 南尧村! Here are some of the things we’ve been doing these past few days: Picking up trash at our village’s water source Biking across the lake of 拉市海 to a monastery and playing soccer with the monks Listening to presentations by students and instructors about Read more…
Hello from the peaceful village of Nan Yao Cun! Internet access here is very limited. We’ll be here until July 18 before setting off on a week-long expedtion. We’ll arrive in Kunming probably on the 26th.
Hello from Kunming! Due to the limited internet access, most of the posts will be uploaded at the end of the trip. We have just finished our three-day orientation in Beijing and will leave by overnight train to Lijiang, which is located in Yunnan Province. We will spend two weeks Read more…
Today, I embark on a six-week expedition to the Middle Kingdom. It is a trip where we will leave our old lives behind us, and assume new identities while wandering through China. I wanted to share the following quote with you. It is by Anaïs Nin, a Cuban/French author: We Read more…
Bags packed and I’m ready for the 26-hour journey to Beijing (北京)! See you in six weeks, America!
Welcome to Off the Silk Road! My name is Benjy R., and I started this blog to provide insight into Chinese culture from the perspective of a 外国人 (wài guórén; foreigner). I live in New York, and have also lived in Hong Kong for five years. During my time there, I Read more…
While most of the group had left on the flight back to New York, I carried on the trip by staying in Hong Kong for less than 48 hours. I visited my old school, picked up pastries at the Mandarin Oriental’s cake shop, and did other routine things I used Read more…
今天早上我们去菜市场买水果和蔬菜。我们的目标是跟本地和老板练习说中文。我买了西葫芦、苹果、香菜、香蕉、和猕猴桃。大家都玩儿的很高兴。我们吃午饭吃了小龙汤包；很好吃！我们吃午饭以后，就坐巴士去上海浦东国际机场。我们拖行李，和上飞机。大家想纽约，可是我们也要想中国。我们希望将来我们可以回中国旅行、学习、和工作。 This morning, we went to the wet market to buy fruits and vegetables. We practiced speaking Chinese with the local people and shop owners. I bought zucchini, apples, cilantro, bananas, and kiwi. Everyone had a great time. We ate soup dumplings for lunch; they were delicious! After we ate Read more…
The flight is showing an on time departure. Hope to see everyone soon!
Tomorrow morning, we will begin our final few hours in China. After a trip to the wet market, we will have our final lunch. Then, we will proceed to Pudong International Airport to catch our flight to New York. We will be back Thursday night. Hope to see you all Read more…