Well, day six is here. The week has flown by and no one wants it to end. All of us are exhausted, but in a good way. We have made friends, increased our families, enjoyed a culture, learned new things and realize how lucky each and every one of us are to have been a part of such a wonderful opportunity to share our two countries, our cultures, our two worlds.

We wake this morning to a beautiful day in our new City of Qingdao. A day with our Long Beach sun in the sky. A day we know will be filled with Shopping… Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh !

Mr. Z had to attend another official meeting and we are having breakfast in this beautiful hotel. At 8:30 we will meet in the lobby, check out for the last time and head to a Japanese Shopping Center so we can bring back a few items for our families and friends. Then from this shopping center, we will travel to another shopping area that is more ethnic and inexpensive. A cultural center with food, fruits, veggies, clothes, jewelry, etc.

After lunch at non-other than McDonalds… pork burgers, we arrived in an area that was a step back from what we had been use to during the week. Old, and hundreds of people moving about. We were directed to a huge building that had four floors down and four stories up. A veritable flea market of products. It was great. We all had 40 minutes to do as we please, but were told to hang on to our personal items and stay in groups so we were all safe. Mr. Z always was concerned with our well being and had chaperons and students accompany us wherever we went. Shopping was an experience and everything was barter, barter, barter..!

From here we had to hurry to get to the Qingdao Airport to check in, get ticketed and board the plane. To our surprise, we were met at the airport by everyone we were with all week including the officials and our host. It was their holiday, but they still wanted to be with us to say goodbye as we passed through customs and boarded our plane. Daisy, Gordon and Mr. Z made sure we all were taken care of. Daisy was able to get the Mayor’s office to request our luggage transferred in Beijing so we did not have to get our luggage and go through customs and check in a second time.

It was an emotional goodbye. All of us had tears in our eyes, hugged each other for dear life and none of us wanted this to end. Kicking and scratching, we entered customs and waved goodbye. We were all quiet and a bit sad with the thoughts of leaving our new found friends.

We boarded our plane and off we went to the Beijing airport to switch planes for LAX --- it would be 13 hours + five from Beijing to LAX. We landed and were able to select the dinner we wanted in the beautiful Beijing airport as we would not eat for a while on our flight. Little did we know that eating was a good idea because our flight was delayed five hours before taking off? We found our seats, sat down and I think the minute the plane took off we all passed out.

On the plane our minds were spinning. How could this be over, what did we do, where did we go, and what did we learn. All we know it was a life changing experience, one none of us would forget. We all have hopes to keep in contact with each other and with our new friends and families.

We will all watch the 2008 Olympics this year with warmth in our hearts.

Our wish is that everyone could have the opportunity we all had.

We feel special to have had this opportunity given to us and thank our parents, schools and especially the Long Beach Qingdao Sister City Association for their gift to each of us.

Your work as an association makes a difference and has

 helped 13 students gain an invaluable experience that we will carry our entire lives.

A memory we can all carry with us through life.

THANK YOU LBQA.

THANK YOU CITY OF QINGDAO AND ALL OUR NEW FRIENDS.

ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM

Below are a few more thought’s from us students:

Stephanie’s experience

Well I was incredibly nervous for the home stay night, to be honest. I know that I speak some Chinese, but I was afraid that the family wouldn't be able to relate to me or wouldn't like me. I was so wrong. 

My family was so considerate and caring, and all they wanted to do was feed me! The father worked for the government and the mother was a political science professor at Qingdao University (which was my major), so there was never a lack of conversation. The daughter, Sally, was an amazing girl. Fluent in English at the early age of 13, she was bright beyond her years and somewhat of a local celebrity for her academic achievements and English proficiency. I was amazed by how mature and intelligent she was, and we talked about everything. She understood every word I said, and never had a problem translation to her family (as we all saw when she ran the farewell banquet!) My family was constantly trying to persuade me to come back to Qingdao, to study there for grad school, to live in their lovely new home for as long as I wanted. I could never have imagined how kind the Chinese people were, and am so grateful to have learned so much about them and their culture.

I was taught how to make dumplings and play their traditional instrument (called an erhu, I believe), though I have neither cooking nor musical talents, and they didn't seem to mind. I am so happy that I was selected for this trip, everyone who went represented Long Beach and the United States well, and I think each of us learned a lot about the Chinese culture, and maybe something about ourselves as well!

Julie Blanc’s first two day experience. (written two days into the trip)

Merely two days and a summer worth of stories to tell…

The spirit of volunteerism has been the driving force behind this trip. Even though we live in different hemispheres and continents, speaking dissimilar languages, and practice diverse customs, putting service before self brings us together: the city of Long Beach, California and Qingdao, China.

From fast forwarding thorough time Sunday to Tuesday, thirteen hours of flight, a stopover in the huge amazing new airport of Beijing, to ‘walking on water’, the Long Beach delegation has been in the beautiful city of Qingdao for a mere 48 hours and seen so much! Upon arrival in the city we were welcomed with open arms. We cleaned up nice after the plane ride and were given a feast for lunch, forks and knives were on the table but everyone gave their best shot to use chopsticks or the authentic Chinese cuisine. Then it was off to the Olympic Sailing center, more technologically advanced than any of us could ever imagine. There is a touch screen timeline detailed with stats and pictures from all the Olympics held in history. Only there is no screen and no need for touching. Simply by waving your hand over the counter where the images are projected onto and one can absorb so much information. There are more screens and interactive technology which just blew us away. But what was most unique was being able to walk on a touch screen with the floor of shallow water complete with fish and rocks. Best of all, our leader David was able to actually ‘walk on water’ making ripples with every step across the screen. The facilities are top of the line; Qingdao is more than ready to be fabulous hosts for the Sailing of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Even though it was foggy and the rain picked up during our stroll through May 4 square we were able to dry off to meet the venerable may of Qingdao. A busy man, Xia Gang, he has not been able to practice his golf as he prepares for the sailing Olympics. But our mayor Bob Foster looks forward to playing a round with him sometime in the future.

The delegation was thoroughly entertained at the welcome banquet. The Qingdao volunteers are so talented, providing a full night of entertainment, magic show, unique instruments, and singing.

This morning we exchanged our volunteer experiences with our counterparts in the organization. Liu Ex. said in her speech, “The language of volunteers is the most beautiful and noble language of all”. Both the Qingdao and Long Beach students are so dedicated, enthusiastic, and have truly reaped the benefits of following their passions. At the Qingdao Community center this afternoon we found ourselves in a media circus. There was no limit to how many pictures the students got with other volunteers and senior citizens. The senior citizens gave adorable performances; their rendition of Elvis was priceless. We are looking forward to a rewarding and eye opening week. Joining volunteers cross cultures …the sky is the limit. Together we truly can make a difference, let the games begin!

THANKS..!

(   until next time  )