Hello everyone! My name is Yasmine and I am a new Edu Pal from America. It is the
end of my first week here in Shenzhen, and I am loving it here.
A few days ago the Edu-Pals and I went to a Hakka Village in Shenzhen. We took one metro line and one bus to get there. It was my first experience using a bus in China and it was a lot easier than I expected it to be as the bus has English as well as Chinese narration.
The Hakka people are an ethnic minority in southern China. A Hakka walled village is a
large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible.
This building style is unique to the Hakka people. Walled villages are typically designed
for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at the ground level.
I was very surprised that Shenzhen would have a village with such history as it is a
young city of about 40 years, and is often said to not have nearly as much history as its
other counterparts (think Beijing or Shanghai).
We walked around and got to visit a museum on site that focused on famous Poets. We
stayed at the museum a long time because there was a great AC in there and it was so
hot that day! We then took a lot of pictures together throughout the day. It was a really
nice ice breaker for me and the others, as I can be timid at first. After walking through
the whole village we then had a yummy meal together at a small restaurant in the
village. I had fried chicken and shaved iced with lots of toppings for dessert. Sadly we
had to leave soon after because some of us had to return to our families and we were
1.5 hours away from home.
It was such a good bonding experience and I am so grateful to have gone. I am already
in love with all of my Edu Pals, Shenzhen, and China. I cannot wait to see what these
next 6+ months have in store for me!
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