Cherry Shen 6d reports on her experiences this summer:
I’ve traveled to China several times before but none of my trips were quite as insightful or fun as this one. On July 22-30, a team of 11 American undergraduates and graduates had the amazing opportunity to attend the 1st U.S.-China Go Camp/College Student Exchange, simultaneously playing go and learning about China’s rich culture and history. The group consisted of 10 students (William Lockhart, Steven Palazola, Cherry Shen, David Glekel, Zachary Winoker, Michael Haskell, Michael Fodera, Dan Koch, Brian Lee, and Cole Pruitt) and one team leader (Walther Chen), most of them hailing from the East Coast . Exploring China with a group of go enthusiasts was hilarious, eye-opening, and extremely memorable. As soon as we landed from the airport, we were showered with generosity and overwhelming hospitality from the members of the Ing foundation, Mrs. Lu, translators, other go players, and everyone else. The university hotels we stayed at were great and the authentic Chinese food was incredible. Aside from the mind-blowing go-themed hotel, go schools, and go lectures hall, I also learned about the many cultural aspects of China during our trips to the Great Wall of China, Yu Garden, Shanghai Financial District, and more. The presence of go in China was so impressive, especially when we were introduced to numerous 4-5 dans who were 7/8 year-olds at the Hangzhou Go School. We also had unique opportunities to receive teaching games from professionals, meet other college go students, and tour go facilities. This journey has been unbelievably amazing and enriching; and I hope we can reciprocate this experience to future visiting Chinese college students. – Special E-J Report by Cherry Shen. Photo: At Fudan University, with various college go players.
