Foreign countries have always captivated travelers with their different ways of life, geography, and food. For some, life in a different county is often more entrancing than their own. While being in a familiar environment can be comfortable, witnessing a separate way of life can be eye-opening.
In 2009 and 2012, physics, astronomy, and electronics teacher Mr. Jamison Maley traveled to China and Taiwan with the late Chinese program founder Ms. Sonya Hsieh; Mr. Christopher Fox, the former art department chair who taught at Haverford for forty years; and twenty-six students. However, Mr Fox didn’t go in 2012. Together, they toured many high schools, ancient sites, and temples. They even slept in the same living quarters as monks.
Mr. Maley described these experiences as nothing short of “spiritual.”
“Both trips had a very profound impact on me, one that I think about even to this day,” Mr. Maley said.
The experiences in China and Taiwan even inspired Mr. Maley to incorporate aspects into his education.
“It was the initial spark that sent me on a very particular trajectory that included the creation of a distinct China unit for my environmental ethics course and also basing my entire thesis on China’s environmental challenges when I chose to go back to school,” Mr. Maley said.
The first weeks of the trip were spent in China, with the remaining week spent in Taiwan. A major part of the program included a steep cliff hike in the Yellow Mountains, where newlywed couples attach a lock to a chain and throw away the key to symbolize eternal love. In Taiwan, they stayed in the Grand Hotel, the same place where visiting diplomats stay.
Prior to the trip, Mr. Maley was hoping to find a quality Mongolian Horsehead Fiddle, a musical instrument. While in Beijing, he stumbled across a music store in the Xinjiekou South Street, where the owner brought him and a few musically inclined students tea, and asked his daughter to play violin for them.
Such hospitality stunned Mr. Maley.
“[We] entered a parallel universe where customer service meant grace and mutual respect,” Mr. Maley said.
“[Ms. Hsieh] designed a truly immersive experience where students were expected to absolutely rely on their language skills. It impacted me on an intellectual, physical, and spiritual level in a way that is hard to put into words.” – Mr. Jamison Maley
Yet another transformative experience occurred when the group sailed to Putuoshan Island, as a 108-foot statue of Guanyin: someone who was revered in Buddhism for guiding sailors back to land and calming the sea, stood looming over them. The statue guided the group back to safety in a terrible rainstorm, providing shelter on a small island, a mere seventy-three thousand miles from Haverford, PA. However, no distance separated Mr. Maley and his group from bringing back valuable lessons and beautiful memories.
“[Ms. Hsieh] designed a truly immersive experience where students were expected to absolutely rely on their language skills,” Mr. Maley said. “It impacted me on an intellectual, physical, and spiritual level in a way that is hard to put into words.”
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