Behind the Scenes

Winter break in China

In my last post, I introduced our new intern, Beverley Kreul.   Beverley was very busy over Winter break.  In her words:

While many students consider Winter break as a time for rest and relaxation, I took a quite different approach this year. Instead of spending my time between semesters catching up on sleep and enjoying home cooked meals, I decided to go to China. That’s right. I wanted to spend two weeks half way around the world. The National FFA Organization sent approximately 50 students from across the Unites States to the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers.

After airport security and a 12 hour flight, I had finally made it to my destination- Beijing, China. Our group hit the ground running by starting off the next day with a tour of The Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and The Forbidden City. By the end of day one, we were on our way to our first brush with Asian agriculture. Seventy percent of beef found in Beijing markets are provided by the Fuhau Beef Farm and has over 3,000 head of cattle on limited acreage. The very next day we were able to tour the Cangdafu Dairy Farm which milks 2,200 Holstein cattle every day.However, the highlight of the trip, for me at least, came the very next day. The Great Wall of China!  While many participants claimed it to be the hardest stair master in the world, the excitement and views more than made up for the unexpected exercise. After experiencing one of the Seven Wonders of the World, we left Beijing and headed for Xian. In Xian, I had the opportunity to visit a farming village that was host to 300 greenhouses covering over 10,000 acres.

 

This particular village is considered one of the most advanced farming practices in all of China. Even the Chairman of Agriculture and Chairman of Fruit and Vegetable Trade showed up for our tour.

Our stay in Xian was short, though, because the very next day we boarded a flight for the city of Suzhou. As deemed by Marco Polo, Suzhou, or the Venice of the East, is a city built almost exclusively with canals. A tour of the Uni-President Enterprises Corporation was on the itinerary for the day. The corporation is the largest instant noodle and bottled drinks factory in the nation. A short bus ride later and we found ourselves viewing the famous lights of Shanghai.

On our last days in China, we threw ourselves into learning about those agricultural practices that were very new to many of us on the trip. A goose farm, tea farm, and silk factory were the major sights of the day. We wrapped up our trip by viewing some of the local ornamental gardens, shopping, and seeing the famous Chinese acrobats. A fast train ride (260 mph) and a long flight later, I was back on U.S. soil with more memories and pictures than I know what to do with. The International Leadership Seminar for State Officers was an incredible way to spend my Winter break and despite the loss in sleep and home cooked food, I would not trade my trip for anything.

-Beverley Kreul