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I spent this week in Nanjing. I was surprised how much I loved the city; It is really beautiful and has such good vibes! 

On Saturday, we took the high speed train from Shanghai to Nanjing which only took about 2 hours. After we got to the hotel we explored the surrounding area (around Nanjing University) which was rich with chic shops and restaurants. I had my first veggie burger since being in China! 

That afternoon we met the Beijing NSLI-Y kids (Selene, Malin, Claire, Katerina, Savannah, Cameron, Manish, Alex, and David) for the first time! They're super cool and we all clicked really well. We ate delicious spicy hot pot for dinner and then headed to KTV. We sang everything from Grease to Lady Gaga, Chinese folk songs to Snoop Dogg and turned it into an outrageously fun dance party. 

On Monday, we visited started off out service work with some elderly at a community center in Nanjing. Brady brought his banjo, I brought my guitar, and Manish brought his Kuaiban (a traditional bamboo percussion instrument) and so between that and our talented group of singers, we participated in an exchange of creative expression with our elderly Chinese counterparts. They had also prepared acts as diverse as sword dancing, operatic singing, active group dancing, and Taiqi. The spirit and vigor of our elderly friends was truly inspiring! One man belted out Edelweiss in Chinese and another lady graced us with the tunes she sang as a Mama Mia performer in her younger days. After the performances, we got a chance to converse one-on-one with the community members. They were so fun and sweet and it was fascinating to see both historical and contemporary China through their personal stories and unique perspectives. 

Manish, Malin, Claire, Katerina, Alex, Savannah, Cameron, Selene, David

On Tuesday, we held the NSLI-Y required mid-year program workshop on communication. It was interesting hearing about others' experiences and perceptions concerning personal, American and Chinese styles of communication. 

After lunch, we visited the Grace Home for people with special needs. They taught us a song called "our cute home" and we taught them "if you're happy and you know it". We also drew portraits of each other and played an animal charades game. Everyone was so unbelievably sweet and their happiness was infectious.

That evening, Tilden, Maike, Claire, Savannah, Katerina and I all explored the city a little and ate dinner at a fabulous and very authentic Indian restaurant! Indian food was my last meal in Tucson and I haven't had it since then so it was a cool midway kind of celebration!

On Wednesday, we visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. It was really heavy but important to see; I was glad that it also expressed hope for future peace and prosperity. 

That afternoon, we went back to Grace Home and sang more songs with the students, played with clay and decorated frames for Polaroids of all of us. It was lovely getting to spend time with everyone again! 

On Thursday we spent the day with a classroom of elementary school children on an island on the Yangtze(长江) river. In the morning, we performed songs for the students and they performed a kung fu routine for us. W then held an English lesson related to Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat and then played a few rounds of "Telephone". For lunch, each American student went home with an elementary school student and ate at their home with their family. My lunch family was so sweet and showed me around the island, which is now under extensive development; everyone is being relocated for the project and it will be entirely indistinguishable in a couple of years. It's kind of amazing to observe Chinese urban development in action.  

During the afternoon, we taught the students "If you're happy and you know it", decorated frames for Polaroids, and played Bingo. 

It was overall a long but really excellent and rewarding day. 

On Friday we went to the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum. It was a beautiful place just outside of Nanjing and it was interesting to see how leaders of the Kuomintang are still definitely commemorated in mainland China despite being disfavored by the historical Communist party. 

That afternoon we went to the YMCA to spend time with middle schoolers. We talked with them about American schools and holidays and designed talent show presentations before having a pizza party and tasting some of the delicious homemade snacks that their parents had sent with them in lunch boxes. There was one particularly feisty girl in my group who wanted to help me with my winter break homework. It was so cute! 

By the end I was exhausted but also totally blissed out. It was a great way to end a week of fun and service in Nanjing.

Saturday, we packed up, said goodbye to the Beijing kids ('til we see them again in Hangzhou in two weeks), and headed back to Shanghai. It's always wonderful to travel around China and I always find it interesting when it makes me realize that I really do think of Shanghai as "home". 

It's been such a fast and fabulous five months here and because I know these next four are going to fly by even faster, I am determined to enjoy every moment.