Going to China

I’m headed to China for three weeks on July 22. I got the opportunity through my college and ASIANetwork, an organization that gives grants for Asian studies at liberal arts schools. I am going with four other students and one professor, Scott Henson.

The main idea of this trip is to study the effects of globalization on the Dong and Tibetan people. The Dong people are one of 56 minorities recognized by the People’s Republic of China. They are mostly centered around the borders of the Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces. We will be visiting a village around the Liping area in the Guizhou province, called Zaidang.

In Tibet, we will be visiting a village called Tagong. If it is held, we will also go to the Litang Horse festival.

Within these villages, we’ll be interviewing villagers with the help of translators. We’ll split into groups of two, one guy and one girl, and go across the village. We each have different areas we’ll be asking questions about. My area is technology and communications, so I’ll be asking about how people communicate using phones, computers, and television. Tagong is more modern than Zaidang, so we expect to find a lot of interesting information about the differences.

I’m really excited about this trip! Its going to broaden my horizons when it comes to my cultural knowledge. I don’t know much about Asian cultures, so this will really be a great experience for me. I love international travel, so this opportunity is amazing.

Dr. Henson will have his computer on the trip, so hopefully I’ll be able to blog some when we’re in larger cities. Until then, I’ll be providing more information about the cultures we’ll be seeing.