My trip to New York is almost complete and it feels great to be able to conclude that I have accomplished the things I came to do. As an aspiring artist it was important for me to experience the art scene in New York as well as the reality of what it would be like to work and live in this environment. It was not only a class for me but somewhat of a personal challenge to really discover if I could do this, and if I could make it here. I had never been to the city and my main expectation was this idea of polarization. I expected to see and experience the best and the worst of everything, because that is what exists in New York in this blended harmonious atmosphere. The richest, the poorest, the up and coming and the long established people live here together. Experiencing the diversity of the city was really inspiring to me. At any given time there are hundreds of different kinds of people walking the same sidewalk, sharing the same spaces, yet one is able to feel completely alone amongst them. Something that I have noticed in New York is that while you are always with people, you are also always alone, because people move and the city moves around you at an extreme pace. It has been fascinating for me to sit on a bench and watch all of the separate lives existing and moving around one another.

The one stereotype that I took with me on my way to New York was that all New Yorkers were rude, loud, and inconsiderate. In my experience here in the last month people have been a lot friendlier than I expected, especially when I need to ask directions. On the other side of that I have also seen my fair share of yelling, swearing, and angry people but it oddly fits into the mix of continual action that is always happening on the streets of New York, its part of the regional charm.

Reflecting back on everything I have experienced on this trip my idea of polarity seems to hold up. I have seen the best and most treasured pieces of art in the world in extravagant galleries, and walked onto the sidewalk to see the street vendors selling their hand made crafts and paintings. I’ve seen women in fur coats shopping on 5th Avenue, and homeless people being shuffled away from the front of stores all in the same moment. The food here is some of the best in the world, and the $2 hot dogs are great all the same. New York is like no place I have ever been, and the people, ideas, cultures, and resources that exist here are endless. As an art student it has been a truly inspirational and invaluable experience.

In general, when someone hears a person who is white complain about "the way black people are," they are quick to place a "RACIST" label on that person and tune out the rest of the conversation. We decide to keep their distance and to avoid the subject because it makes us uncomfortable or hurt or angry. When we do this, we are operating under the same prejudice that we are condemning the "racist" for.

When we spent time on an organic olive farm in the Karoo, Christine and I spent a lot of time talking to the sons of the owners of the farm. They were 17 and 21 years of age and we were excited at the thought of hearing about life in South Africa from the perspective of a young person. When we asked them about the situation here in their country, they began to complain about crime, violence, and inequality like most of the other people we had already spoken with. The difference was that they blamed the problems in South Africa on the black community. I don't feel it is important to be specific here, but they talked a lot about "the way all black people are" and used some racist terms that I had encountered in out research to refer to blacks. My initial reaction was complete disgust. Everything I have ever been taught screams "racism is evil" and "racists are bad." Yet there was another part of me that was intrigued by their position. I was definately upset at first, but as the conversation went on, I began to realy listen to what they were saying. What they believe about black people was definately wrong, I cannot deny that, but they had some interesting things to say about things like unfair policies that really made some sense. South Africa would be a really difficult place to live and they are the product of a very tumultuous past 100 years. Part of their arguement was something that was right: they told me I could never understand South Africa because I don't live there and I wasn't born there and they were right, I can't understand it.

Those boys did and still would deny that they are racists, but by every definition I have ever known, they were speaking out of racism. However, they were not bad people. I looked them in the eye, and they were just like me. They are a product of their history, their social situation, their parents, and their friends.

Prejudice is a dangerous thing. I was not ready to give them a chance to be human. I was operating out of my own prejudice, but I know now that their perspective, whether I agree or not, deserves respect. That is an important part of the South African picture that we came here for. Favoring the black perspective is just as dangerous as only listening to the white opinions. I did not come to South Africa to only hear the perspective of the oppressed.

We must do that same as I encouraged them to. Do not label people. Think first about who they really are and more importantly, about why they do things and think about things the way they do. If you treat everyone first as a human being, you might find some understanding in your heart for someone you weren't prepared to give a chance to. You might even find an unlikely friend. =)

Today is our last day in China. I can't believe that our journey is coming to an end. As I look back on our experience here I have learned to appreciate Chinese and Tibetan Culture. Before leaving I had little knowledge about what to expect here, except for thousands of years of history. I had found the language frustrating and couldn't even use chopsticks (I can now say that I have mastered the art and prefer them over a fork!). The few weeks that we have been here have opened my eyes to the struggle of keeping old traditions and trying to become modern. I had never before really realized the impact modernization could have on a culture. Take for instance the Tibetan language, with the new threat of modernization and the ability to succeed focusing on Chinese and English, the language is facing a possible distinction.
My views on art has also changed. As we watched artist paint old traditional paintings and viewed modern art galleries, I have realized the importance of both the older, traditional and the newer, modern ideas. I had never really had a facination with art or realized how essential it is to a culture until this class. As we wandered the temples or walked the streets, vibrant colors and beautiful designs were everywhere. This entire trip has opened my eyes to the exciting culture of China and its art.

Before I came to China I had the stereotype that the Chinese people were very quite and reserved. Anyone who has ever walked down a popular tourist site in Bejing knows better. Over-eager "merchants" shout "Hello", "You buy, You buy" amd "Is very good" along with other very simple yet pushy sentences. Very quickly we all learned to say "BU YAO", which means "Do not want." On one occassion a merchant grabbed a girl by the arm and Ira, a sergeant in the military, had to come to her aid.

However, those are a small minority of Chinese people. Usually driven to such a life by extreme poverty in the countryside. Perhaps a more typical example of Chinese liveliness is the manner in which they toast and drink. When at a party any little thing is an excuse to toast and drink. And the Chinese insist constantly that you drink more. A way to say that you have had enough is to put your hand over your cup. A fellow foriegner we befriended on our journey described how her hosts would sometimes pour beer or rice wine over her hand when she had too much to drink already.

Groups of girls of about 13 to 16 years old, on the streets of Chengdu, seem especially fond of sending one girl and saying "Hello." Promptly, she retreats back to her collective clique. Shortly after this sortie, the lasses, with indecipherable feminity giggle as though they had just pulled the greatest prank ever.

However, despite what I have written above the Chinese are reserved in ways westerners aren't. Particularly, when it comes to strangers. When you bump into someone on the street (which is a common occurrence) you do not have to say, "excuse me" or the Chinese equivalent. You just move on. Likewise, after buying something, you don't have to say Xie Xie (Thankyou). You just sort of nod and walk away. It still feels odd for me to buy something and not say some kind of thank you. In conclusion, Chinese reservedness and Chinese gregariousness are more complicated than I originally knew.

As I prepared to come visit China, I was especially excited to visit the Tibetan region within China. This was mainly due to my interest in Tibetan Buddhism and the way it will influence the people of Tibet. However I was not expecting a warm welcome due to the usual reserved attitude towards foreigners that I had expected from the Buddhist monks. This stereotype was blown out of the water the second we arrived in the small town Tagong. When we exited the car we were surrounded by the familiar sound of Hello. As I turned around expecting to see another westerner, I was shocked to see a group of small Tibetan children running towards the members of our class. After we found our hotel (if you would want to be kind in the description) the 70 year old Tibetan owner even tried to help us carry our bags up the stairs to the living area. Even the supposedly reserved monks at the local monastery were excited to see us as we visited their temple and orphanage. While I was expecting the usual gawking as our large group of foreigners, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most Tibetans knew how to say hello and would go out of their way to meet us. As I prepared to leave I actually regretted the fact that I would no longer get the chance to meet the spunky Tibetans who totally blew away my stereotype of a quite reserved group of people.

In today's get-rich-quick culture in China, it is a delight to find someone who defies the stereotype of a popular music superstar. Yadong is known all over China as the first Tibetan pop star, and he lives here in Chengdu. I have been working on getting an appointment with him for over a year, and last night finally succeeded. Our group of 13 students and myself, accompanied by two translators, met with YaDong for three hours at his studio complex in downtown Chengdu.

He is as charismatic in person as he is onstage, but also very genuine, very excited about his music, and clearly somewhat surprised to have such a large delegation of Westerners interested in meeting him!

We asked about his upbringing in a small remote monastery town, about his self-taught rise from truck driver to pop star, and about his efforts to use his music to teach both Chinese and young Tibetans about authentic Tibetan music. For him this means both the original folk songs he learned as a boy, but also the new popular songs written by himself and his colleagues and students which are rooted in the traditions of Tibetan song. Some of these sound to our ears like Rap (!) but are closely based on the singing tradition of the "Gesar Epic" singers- Gesar being arguably the longest story in the world! It's staccato singing style is mesmerizing, and it is no wonder Yadong finds it so compelling in his new music.

At the top of his game, one might expect a superstar to relax and just continue to make money. But YaDong is moving now in the direction of producing and directing music and videos for the next generation of Tibetan singers, many of whom revere him as their idol and mentor. Indeed, he is planning to go to school for the first time since primary school to learn more about the craft of film making so that he can continue to grow as an artist and person.

He really won our hearts when he played us the rough mix of a new song he just wrote for his daughter. I was particularly touched by this as I am missing my two daughters back home! I felt like a school kid as I sheepishly asked him to autograph some copies of his CD's and have a photo taken with him. He was most gracious, and I promised to bring him several CD's of Western singers he might enjoy.

I'm not sure one can really understand what stereotypes one has until those stereotypes are challenged. I think that this trip to China has both challenged the stereotypes we hold as Americans, and the stereotypes the Chinese people hold about us. It always surprises me who knows some English here, and clearly it surprises the Chinese people when we ask them, in Chinese, what the price of something is, or tell them that we aren't interested in buying it. Most of the time our Chinese gets a laugh first, followed by a response that we usually can't understand and have to request for it to be written down. Experiences and encounters like this work to both support and challenge stereotypes. I hope that we are challenging the stereotypical view of Americans as greedy, self-centered people, and I know that I have gained a deeper understanding of how Chinese society functions under a authoritarian government, and the subtle ways they are establishing individuality. My hope is that we are supporting the positive parts of stereotypes and challenging the bad, while opening doors to further experience each others' cultures to develop accurate perceptions and an understanding that one does not represent all.

Before I came here I thought that many people in the West had a tendency to romanticize Tibet as being somehow intrinsically more magical and mystical. After having been in Tibet for a few days now I see that there is something special about the landscape here. While visiting the grasslands at Tagong I saw that there is a somewhat calming and mediatative sense that comes out of the landscape. A vast expanse with the Himalayas in the backdrop, and a gold roofed monastary shining in the sun. This being accompanied by the constant sound of chanting, and the freezing air biting at my face and freezing my beard. Although descriptions of this region are often romanticized, I think it is because you can't help but over do when trying to describe the experience of this landscape, when only actually experiencing it will do.

Anyone ever tells you that everyone in New York is rude and would just as soon as run you over, they're nuts. All we heard heading to this city is how unfriendly the people are.
Now, don't get me wrong. New York certainly has its share of, shall we say, unpleasent folk, but I've met nicer people here than I have back home in California, or in Washington at PLU!

People in the service industry here have been surprisingly friendly (Though God forbid you ever split a check, NO way). It's astounding how people act here, so many folks act so differently than what you hear of New Yorkers.

Hello All,
It is officially the end of our first week in Africa! We are having a lot of fun learning about African culture and meeting South Africans. I think a lot of our stereotypes about South Africa are being challenged. One of our speakers the other day joked about how when people come to Africa they expect people to be wearing loinclothes and holding spears. He meant this jokingly but I think that wildness is something that we as Americans expect upon arrival, and while there are many wild animals around, baboons for example, Cape Town is also much like a modern day American or European city.
Tommorow we are spending the night in a small township, most of the houses are just small shacks. I think that this will really challenge some of us and teach us a lot about the other side of life here in poverty stricken Africa. Alright I'm off!!

Emily

ps. Check out the way cool pictures that people have posted