Eleven Saint Patrick High School students went on a field trip to Chinatown recently as part of their class in Introductory Chinese.  The three-hour trip allowed students to experience Chinese culture in a way that they couldn’t possibly experience it in the classroom.  Chaoyi Li, a native of China, is teaching the class in Introductory Chinese at Saint Patrick, and she served as the guide for the field trip.

The group began their trip by visiting Chinatown Square, where there are statues depicting each of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and two Chinese towers.  They then went across the street to do a little shopping in Chinatown Market, a local grocery store.  The students were struck by the strong odor of the seafood department, which featured live bass, tilapia, soft-shell turtles, frogs, shrimp, lobsters, dungeness crabs, clams, and freshwater eels to name a few things.

The group then walked through the Chinatown Gate and down Wentworth Avenue, stopping in many of the shops along the main street of Chinatown. The Chinese –American Museum of Chicago was the next stop for the tour. The museum displays artifacts and exhibits covering the history of Chinese-Americans in Chicago, from 1858 to today.  The museum is currently featuring an exhibit called “Great Wall to the Great Lakes – Chinese Immigration to the Midwest,” which highlights the history of Chinese immigrants to the United States, exclusion laws enforced upon the Chinese, reasons they moved to other parts of the U.S., and the different groups of Chinese who came in the last century including the adopted children from China.  Mini replicas of a Chinese restaurant, grocery store and hand laundry showed the livelihoods of early Chinese immigrants. 

The field trip concluded with lunch at Dragon King restaurant, where the group was seated in a private room.  Ms Li ordered a variety of traditional Chinese dishes, for the group to share.  The students then placed their individual orders in Chinese.  As they waited for their food, Ms. Li instructed the group on Chinese table manners.  She poured tea for the group and taught them that as a sign of respect the younger people at the table should wait for their elders to begin eating first.  When the food came, the group ate their entire meals with chopsticks.

Saint Patrick High School’s class in Introductory Chinese meets before school, three days per week, for the entire school year.  The class focuses on the language and culture of the Chinese people.  In the inaugural year, the class is being offered as an “Enrichment Class,” with students able to earn a half-credit.  The administration at Saint Patrick will is gauging the interest level to see if it might generate a two-year language sequence in Chinese.  The school currently offers four-year language sequences in French, Spanish, and German.