PS161 Hosting

Last weekend, I hosted two students from PS 161 in Beijing who went by the English names Evan and Taylor. I enjoyed getting to know them, and I was especially surprised to hear about Taylor's college plans: first to Tsinghua University to study science (I think chemistry) then off to the United States for graduate school, possibly at Caltech. He is in Tenth Grade! I am rather preoccupied with college right now, although thankfully the process is currently at a lull, and I have been struck by the uncertainty of the process. I have been told not to form attachments to schools or to try and plan too far ahead. It was doubly shocking, then, to hear Taylor's relatively flushed out plan for the next ten years of his life. That is not to say, however, that he was some kind of super student, the kind of brainwashed workhorse some in the US would like us to believe are being bred in China to overthrow our long-standing hegemony. I learned from one of the other students that in China one begins to study for the Gao Kao, the college entrance exam, three years before the test. When I asked them if they had begun studying, they grinned at me rather sheepishly and said "A little." We laughed; I have been in high school enough to know what that means.

Friday night, we went to Counter Burger with Gabi, Ally, and their exchange students. Going through the menu items was quite a challenge, but in the end everyone seemed satisfied. After the meal, we walked off dinner on our way to Yogurtland, where we ended up sampling quite a few flavors but buying almost nothing. Then Gabi's and my students, Gabi's younger sister Beatrice (a rising Global Scholar), and I packed ourselves into Gabi's minivan and headed off to the Prep Soccer game. My students loved the game and were integrated quickly into the student section. We won 2-1 in a hard-fought battle, a satisfying end to the evening. When we returned home, they had presents for us: a mini folding screen with small tableaux of the famous monuments of Beijing, eight decorative ornaments (a Chinese lucky number), two stuffed animals, and some delicious green tea.

Early the next day we set out for Joshua Tree. It was their first time in the desert, and they seemed engaged with if not a little overwhelmed by their surroundings. We did quite a bit of scrambling, which is an intermediate between hiking and climbing, and reached quite a few pretty overlooks. They really enjoyed it, especially Evan. I think there is something thrilling about forging one's own trail, and out on that rock pile we were explorers. It is worth noting for any risk management enthusiasts that I have around ten years of experience as a rock climber, and while there is an inherent risk to this sort of activity, I minimized it.

In the evening we went to see the Taiko Drummers at Caltech, which I will discuss elsewhere. Then morning came, and it was time to say goodbye. Once again, the exchange afforded me the opportunity to get to know students from a different yet by no means disparate culture, and I benefited greatly from it. We are staying in touch via WeChat.