Operation Travel Bug Presents:

Follow our travels in China!  Here’s the Master Plan:

Thursday, May 28th
Depart from John F. Kennedy Airport to Shanghai, China at 1:45 AM (New York Time [NYT])

Friday, May 29th
Arrive in Shanghai at 5:00 AM (China Time [ChiTi])

Saturday, May 30th
Visit the Great Wall of China, the Cloisonne Factory, the Summer Plalace, and tour the Pearl Factory

Sunday, May 31st
Visit Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City, Chinese Medicine Tong Ren Tang, and Peking Duck Dinner.  Then… on a train off to Xi’an!

Monday, June 1st
Arrive in Xi’an at 8:42 AM (ChiTi), and visit the Jade Gallery and the Terra Cotta Army

Tuesday, June 2nd
Tour Xi’an!  Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda Square, XuanZang Buddhist Stature, the Chinese Art Gallery, and the Muslim Quarter.  Then we’re swept up by a train to Nanjing.

Wednesday, June 3rd
Arrive in Nanjing in the early morning.  Settle in and begin the first day of classes! =Z

Settling down for classes for the next two weeks…

Sunday, June 7th
Side trip to Shenzhen/Hong Kong

Wednesday, June 10th
Return from Shenzhen/Hong Kong and Guilin Side trip is underway! =] (Can’t Wait!)

Friday, June 12th
Return from Guilin Side trip

Sunday, June 14th
Side trip to Sanya

Friday, June 19th
Depart for Yellow Mountain

Saturday, June 20th
Full day of Yellow Mountain activities

Sunday, June 21st
Depart from Yellow Mountain for Hangzhou.  There, we will visit a tea plantation and the West Lake.

Monday, June 22nd
Depart from Hangzhou for Shanghai.  There, we will visit the Silk Factory.

Tuesday, June 23rd
We will have our Farewell Banquet at the hotel.  Dress nicely!

Wednesday, June 24th
Depart from Shanghai en route to New York at 6:30 (ChiTi).  We will arrive in New York at 7:45 PM (NYT) on the same day.  I was confused at first, but time difference calculations work out…

Name: Jonathan Lam
Major: Business, Management, and Finance
Possible Minor: Small Business Management and Urban Entrepreneurship
Additional Interests: Creative Writing and Fine Arts
School: Macaulay Honors at Brooklyn College
Class: 2011, Rising Junior

About a month ago, I participated in the New Orleans Service Learning Experience hosted by the Macaulay Honors College with Professors Ted Henken (Baruch College) and Deborah Gardner (Hunter College).  Along with 25 other students throughout the CUNY campuses, we learned about the culture and the reconstruction process of New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina on a first-hand basis.  We also participated in the interior reconstruction of three homes in two parishes within the city of New Orleans.  It was one of THE BEST ways to spend Spring Break, and an experience that will never be forgotten.

China should prove to be a different experience that will hopefully be just as memorable.  The CUNY-BC in China program provides an opportunity for participants to see many different areas of China in the here and now, and to learn about the extensive history that the country has.  This summer, the program will take all us to Beijing, Xi-an, Nanjing, the Yellow Mountain, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.  I will also attending the side trip to Guilin and Yangshuo with about 9 or so other people.  The program also offers additional side trips to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as to Sanya.  Unfortunately, due to time and money purposes, I decided not to attend either of these side trips, so bloggers will just have to settle for the natural beauty that is Guilin, which I’m sure will be really… sad…