AP World students travel to China

During the upcoming spring break, instead of heading to a beach, 26 AP World students, along with Ms. Jennifer Heimlich, Ms. Margaret Temple, Ms. Anne Sateren, and Mr. Janine Burns, social studies, will travel to China for ten days.

China’s rich history is central to the AP World and World Studies curriculum, and the opportunity to visit is both a great way to enhance class learning and broaded students’ view of the world around them.

“It is exciting to visit a country that [a student] has spent months studying in school. I think international travel is extremely important. It allows the traveler to experience new people and new, diverse experiences,” Ms. Temple said.

After an 18 hour flight, the group will land in Beijing, one of three cities they will be traveling through during their time abroad. After spending three days in Beijing, the capital of China, the group will travel to Xi’an, one of the oldest cities in the country, rich with history pertaining to class learning.

From Xi’an the HHS students will fly to Shanghai and experience what modern life in China is like during visits with local families. Finally, on the ninth day the team will fly to Hong Kong, and stay for one full day before embarking on another long plane ride back to Minnesota.

It is on this last day in Hong Kong that HHS students will be able to reconnect in a way they weren’t able to in mainland China, through social media.

In 2008, the Government of the People’s Republic of China began blocking many popular social networking sites, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, favorites of HHS students. In this respect, the trip will connect to other classroom learning, that in Language Arts classes, as students are reminded of George Orwell’s 1984, or Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World.

“I already know that there will be a culture shock, since America is really free in ways that of other countries, like China, don’t get to experience on a day to day basis,” said Meghna Saldana, junior, who will be on the trip in April.

During the last World Studies trip, students traveled to Spain and Morocco, countries more known for their tourism and hospitality. However, this year, those planning the trip opted for the unique experience a trip to China will offer.

“We had many places to chose from. Because we teach world history, and China has a dominant place in the curriculum, we wanted to visit this faraway place,” Temple said.

The visit to China, however, is not without its challenges. In order to enter the country, foreign citizens need to acquire a visa from the United States Embassy in China, signifying they have the proper clearance.

“It literally took, like, five weeks and multiple submissions because they [those approving the visa] were so picky about the photo [for the visa],” said Sam Eklund, junior.

Although preparation of the trip was lengthy, and the price to go was high, the students traveling are counting down the days until they leave.

“I’ve never been out of the country, so even thats cool. But also the fact that a week from Saturday I’ll be in China is so exciting, it has a lot of history and I’m looking forward to it,” Eklund said.