Bridging Cultures: China through the eyes of a Stellamarian

Bridging Cultures: China through the eyes of a Stellamarian

By: Virginia Gisella Ong – 9B student

In a world full of different cultures, we see a lot of people with unique traditions and cultures. This is why building a bridge with other cultures is important, it teaches us to adopt mutual respect, promotes a peaceful community, and enriches our lives with more perspectives.

In Stella Maris School Gading Serpong, we were given a chance to visit China and exchange cultures. We visited Zhangjiajie College to learn the traditional art of China, while viewing the beautiful sights of China. We visited the Tianmen mountain, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, and many more.

After the holiday on December, we went to China on January for 8 days, and it was the best experience in my high school years. We stayed in comfortable hotels and we were able to choose our roommates which made the experience more fun and memorable. 

One the first places we visited was Tianmen mountain, I remember it started snowing as we got there. We took beautiful pictures all around the mountains and spent the whole day looking at beautiful sceneries while buying snacks and having fun with friends. 

A favorite memory of mine is the time we spent at Zhangjiajie College; we visited the college for 2 days. On the first day, we were welcomed with a performance and introduction we spent time learning a few traditional dances, calligraphy, and painting, we were allowed to get our lunches ourselves so we were able to go with our own friend groups to eat lunch together, a few of us were picked to perform at the college. During the second day at the college, we were given a tour around the museum where beautiful artworks was displayed but also ancient artifacts and furniture. We gathered in a hall after lunch to perform before taking pictures with the teachers there and saying our goodbyes. 

We then visited the Zhangjiajie Glass bridge before going to a night market, we were allowed to roam around the market for about 2 hours. Me and my friends brought many snacks and brought things to bring home, I remember getting lost with my friend ten minutes before we were supposed to gather at our meeting point but we managed to make it back on time. The day before we went home, we visited an amusement park and spent the rest of the day playing with our friends and going around the park.

This China trip was not just for fun but it also taught us the culture of China, personally I learned a lot from spending time in the college. Not only did we learn but we made memories that we will look back and be happy about and it was an overall wonderful experience.