{Ann’s Placement} My placement here in Chengdu is with British Education (BE). BE is dedicated to assisting Chinese students study abroad in schools and universities. In the first week, I assisted with planning an event and conducting a presentation for 16 Chinese students with ages ranging from 12 - 17 and their parents. The event and presentation was about preparing them for their upcoming UK study abroad program experience. None of these students have been to the UK before nor, in most cases, have these children stayed away from their parents for more than a weekend or short holiday trip. Helping them prepare for what they may experience culturally as a boarding student abroad is just one part of the education that BE provides. In the second week, I have been consulting with a few students on their placement within other UK schools for their senior school years and I helped one student who is preparing to apply to UK universities in the fall. The assistance primarily is to help those who want to attend a summer program, gain placement into junior and senior level boarding schools, and to consult around the application process for university attendance within the UK, the US and in Switzerland. The project I’m currently working on with BE is developing a program outline for an activities weekend at a local mountain and lake property for prospective students and parents to engage in a typical sport enjoyed by both British and American citizens. We have chosen fly fishing and although I think of myself as an adventurer and an outdoors type of person – fly fishing is something I know nothing about, so I have spent the last few days researching and finalizing my first brief on what a day of learning to fly fish would be like.
{Taylor’s Placement} While here in Chengdu, I’m working in a subsidiary of the German Winery, Jakob Gerhardt – currently in their slow season, as they have two main exhibitions each year: the Chengdu Food & Drinks Fair in March and Top Wine China in September. So far I’ve learned a lot about German wine and have completed “translating”/proofreading their English materials. It’s certainly interesting to learn about importing alcohol into China’s emerging wine market and about wine in general. Before being here I knew two things about wine: some of it’s red and some of it’s white. Through reading their promotional information and proofreading their documents I’ve learned a lot about the Gerhardt family and their 260 year old wine making business. I can’t say I’ve converted to being a wine-drinker, I’m still a beer and whiskey girl, but maybe with all this wine I’m drinking in the office, I may actually try some when I get home. Maybe.
After we departed Emei Shan, we headed out to see the Leshan Grand Buddha. Before even catching a glimpse of it in the Leshan Grand Buddha Scenic Area, we visited the Lingyun Temple, Jifeng Pavilion, and the Lingbao Pagoda and then realized that the line to get to the base of the Buddha was over 3 hours long (not including the walk back up). We caught sight of the head of the Buddha from the top and definitely understood why it is called the Grand Buddha.
At 233 feet, the Grand Buddha is the world’s tallest carved Buddha and, because construction began in 713 AD, it is also by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. The Chinese monk Haitong started production in 713 AD at the turbulent meeting place of three rivers – the Ming River, the Dadu River, and the Qingyi River because he believed that the presence of a Buddha would calm the waters and make it safe for sailors to pass. Despite the fact that construction paused and Haitong died; it was 90 years after the project began that the Buddha was finished being carved. And (surprisingly) the excess stone that had been disposed of in the rivers had indeed caused the unstable rivers to calm, which did, in fact, make it a safe passage for sailors. Although we decided not to climb to the bottom of the mountain to stand at the base of the carving, we still had the opportunity to see the Buddha from the river on a speedboat which we found after we left the site.
After all the drama and excitement from the weekend, the stares and stairs, sore legs and being very tired from all the walking – any guesses as to how many stairs we took?