China Trip: Days 6 - 12 ( A Reflection)

As you probably could have guessed, I got increasingly busy over the second half of the trip.

This post, almost a month later, will be more of a short reflection about the trip rather than a detailed summary of everything that happened.


I had an absolutely AMAZING time. The trip was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was my first time in China, let alone the continent of Asia, and the cultural experience was wonderful. Even though, we did not have much time to truly immerse ourselves in the culture of the country because we were on tour, I felt like I got a good feel of what life is like during my short time there. All the cities we visited were rich, so I did not have many encounters with more poor urban and rural lifestyles, but I did observe some from far away.

It was an interesting experience... looking around and feeling like I fit in with everyone else. Unlike the Caucasians on the trip, I didn't blatantly stand out in crowds. Being outside was definitely different in that regard. It was a welcomed change.

My favorite parts of the trip were definitely the performances, the visits to the more rural, mountainous regions, and the food.

The performances..

The Chinese audience members behaved very differently than Western audiences. They were never able to keep completely silent. If I looked out during the middle of a piece, I would most likely see family members turning to each other and pointing at certain instruments or young children bouncing and clapping their hands or conducting in their seats. Often times, people would switch seats or walk up and down the aisles as well. Mr. Park said their behavior revealed that they were enjoying our concert. They were just enjoying our music in a different way than those in the Western hemisphere. It took a while to get used to, but I completely understand. Their movements and chatting was their way of interacting with the performers onstage, and this interaction was pretty cool. Though back at home, people would take their talking as their lack of attention to what was going on in front of them, I felt as if it revealed their close attention even more.

The meet-and-greets at the end of each concert were great experiences as well. Although most rushed towards the blonde musicians to take pictures with, many were interested in talking with us to learn more about our culture/ language and ourselves as unique individuals. At our last concert at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, I met my favorite audience member, an elderly Chinese lady who excitedly came up to me, shook me, and talked to me in Mandarin. Not understanding one word, I kept on repeating " Sorry, I am an American" in Chinese. She finally understood and talked with her friend who tried translating her praise for me. Finally the lady tried speaking one English phrase she had apparently learned in the past "I love you!". It was very cute, and I was so happy that she enjoyed our performance so much. I was happy that an audience member made a bond with me while watching. Usually when playing in an orchestra you don't get that 1-1 performer-audience bonding. But apparently I finally made a lasting bond during that last concert. I took a picture with her while she attempted to speak some more Chinese to me.

The young audience members were especially cute. After the same concert, I was standing next to Helena. Oh my! We got bombarded with people coming up to take pictures with us. Helena's blonde hair and talented harp skills kept them rushing at us. LOL. One family came up to us and spoke very good English. The father showed Helena an iPhone video that he took during the concert. While Helena was playing her harp solo at the beginning of the Across the Stars piece, his little daughter put on her serious performer face and played an air harp in her seat, intently trying to copy Helena. It was the cutest thing ever!

Performing for the Chinese was just another reminder that music trumps so many differences that plague society. Our orchestra was able to overcome the language barriers and interact with the audience the same way we are able to communicate with our audiences at home.

The venues were all very modern and impressive. It was an honor playing in all of them, especially the last concert hall in Shanghai, which was architecturally amazing in the exterior and interior.

The visits to the more rural parts..

I especially enjoyed our time in Hangzhou which included the visit to the tea house and Westlake. My grandmother was born in Hangzhou by the lake, at a time when the city was much less industrialized and full of construction and overwhelmed with the busy urban lifestyle found in Shanghai. The scenery was gorgeous and looking out into the little boats on the water helped me imagine how simple life was in the past when residents were more in-tune and connected with their natural surroundings.

Suzhou was also gorgeous..

The food..

OH Gosh. I legitimately gained weight on this trip. I ate too much at EVERY single meal. Each hotel breakfast had a very nice selection of dim sum dishes as well as soups, porridges, and noodles... And each lunch and dinner (minus the fast food quick performance dinners) oh my. Family style with SO SO MANY dishes and options. I scarfed down each meal as if I hadn't eaten in days. 

I almost forgot. I loved the people too!!!

I am so happy I got to experience this trip with some of my closest friends. The trip would have not been the same without them. This trip was an amazing way to celebrate the end of a great four years of high school with some of the greatest people I have hung around with over those four years. 

I didn't have the chance to make any lasting friendships with the locals, but I did befriend our tour guide, Leon (his English name)! His English was fantastic. I was able to ask him questions about Chinese life, especially over the second half of the trip and shared my American experiences as well. He had never left mainland China and was curious about Western life. On the last day he asked for my WeChat, so now we are WeChat buds and have chatted a few times about China and cultural differences.

From left to right: Me, Leon, Helena, and Taylin

There were so many more amazing aspects about the trip, but for the purpose of keeping this post short and reflective, I will have to save them to explain another time.

I'll end with a hearty THANK YOU to everyone involved on the trip. The parent chaperones, the siblings who accompanied the musician students, Mr. Park, the other teachers who came, the tour organizers.. we were definitely a large, tough group to keep in line 24/7. Thanks for everyone's full constant attention to us students. I had the time of my life thanks to the help of all the organizers. All the parents were so attentive to my bug bite/ allergy issues and kept on checking up on how I was doing at every moment of the day. It was nice knowing that they genuinely cared about protecting all of our well-beings, and it was really amazing how they put our needs in front of theirs all the time. I am so thankful for them for creating such a wonderful experience for me and the rest of the students.

I lied. I'm not quite ready to end this post. This trip helped me realize how much I enjoy international traveling and learning more about more cultures... especially my cultural roots (Vietnamese and Chinese). I really hope I can do international service in Vietnam next summer. I hope to also continue learning more languages and improve my Mandarin... I have found out that my suitemates at Rice University are from Nanjing and speak Mandarin, so hopefully I'll learn some more from them! Traveling is a wonderful way to not only learn more about the rest of the world, but more about my own self as well. By traveling, you put yourself in positions that you would never experience in your comfort bubble at home. One of my greatest goals is to travel more.

Until next time, China!