It is sad that it is over, but I think China taught all of us great lessons, not just in basketball, but life itself.  It taught us how not everyone’s lives are the same. Learning about another culture was not only interesting, but it brought a new level of respect to the table.  Not being able to communicate, or drink their water, or even use a fork made you realize how different people are.

I would like to thank all who made this trip possible. Especially both schools, with out their relationships we would not have been able to go. I would like to thank Rantao for all his work he did for us, it could not have been easy to please 14 girls! He made the trip so much easier and that much more fun! I also would like to thank Todd for all the great pictures he took, and getting to know him! He is hilarious, and I am glad we got to share this wonderful trip together. Finally I would like to thank all the coaches for making this trip so much fun, and allowing us to work the camps. We all had a blast.

Thank you all for reading the blogs! I really enjoyed this, and hope to do it in the future!

Go Valpo!

Mallory Ladd

Culturally, one thing that really struck me in China was the concept of community.  When we visited the university of sports in Hangzhou, we saw countless athletes striving for excellence with such commitment that I was shocked personally.  These kids gave up nearly everything, in order to spend all day in a gym, diving into their Olympic-sized pools or slamming thousands of ping pong balls at partners over and over again.  The same kids that we worked with at our camp in the morning were in the gym running drills when we came to practice in the late afternoon!

The thing that drives these athletes is a sense of the community rather than merely individualistic goals.  And this wasn’t just with the athletes, but I saw this theme also with the students we spent time with after the first game in Hangzhou.  Everyone works to represent China the best they can, whether they play badminton or study physics.

Although we may not agree with the political system their community desires to promote, I really believe we could benefit a lot from learning their collective concepts rather than just our country’s tendency towards rugged individualism.

In America, there are some systems that immediately come to mind when thinking about our individualism. I’ve never thought of NBA stars working to represent their country, sport, league or even families the way that these young Chinese athletes do, but I imagine there would be a lot less selfishness if they did.

I am really excited that we got to experience a huge group of people concerned about each in a real way.  I hope it will help us go that extra mile when we are working out, and allow us to have that greater goal in mind rather than just personal fulfillment.  Maybe we will even be able to see beyond the game and take it to other areas of our lives.  It would be a pretty spectacular thing to see the members of a Church forget the me-ism and think, in a way, like the Chinese do.

- Tabitha Gerardot

China was an unbelievable experience. The experiences we had going halfway around the world to play basketball and tour a completely different and new country is something that none of us will ever forget. Playing against a Chinese professional team was a lot different than playing against our regular season opponents. The game was different, the court was different, the refs were different, and the rules were different. But after the game, getting to eat and hang out with the players, we realized we weren’t that different. Yeah we might have a language barrier, but the love of basketball brought us all together and trumped any barrier that was set in front of us. The players we met were so funny and great to get to know. Getting to know more about basketball in a foreign land makes me more appreciative of what we have here in America.

I’ll never forget this trip to China, and I’m sure none of my teammates will either. Being in a country where the language is completely new and different to us, we really had only each other to talk to. That was a major reason why we became such a closer team over the course of the trip. Another reason was we weren’t distracted with the outside world (no cell phones or Facebook) so we got to know each other even better. Traveling together and having only each other to rely on really built trust among us and now we’re an even closer knit team than before. It was a lot of fun to spend 9 days in China with the team!

Looking back on the trip, there are several things that I’m going to miss about China: the ease of the airports, the shopping, the cities, the culture, the slower paced life, all the bikes and scooters, and mostly the people. And there are also things that I’m not going to miss: the smog filled air, the driving (constant honking), the toilets, the cleanliness (or lack thereof), and the food (definitely not an acquired taste). I’m definitely grateful to live in a country like America, even though China is a great country and culture too! All in all, China was an unbelievable and unforgettable experience and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to go. It’s definitely a trip that I will always remember!

As we rest in the hotel, the team has been contemplating whether to try to pull an all-nighter or go ahead and fall asleep, because our flight leaves at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning.  We are lucky enough that we get to get up at 2:30 a.m. to start driving to the airport. When we start to head back to Valpo, since we are ahead in time at this moment, it is going to be like we are living this Monday twice. It is going to be quite interesting to see how long it takes us to get back on our regular schedule.

I can not wait to give my family all of their gifts I got them from China. I hope they like them as much as I do. And I can not wait to go and eat my favorite meal. I do believe I will have to splurge for one whole day for each meal to make up for lost time. I can not wait to have an Old Chicago salad and grilled chicken sandwich with ranch. It seriously gives me chills that in less than 24 hours I will be back in the States, sharing all my stories with my family and friends. It has been such a great experience, and it is one that I will never forget!

Thanks!

Mallory Ladd

Today we spent time at the Great Wall and The Forbidden City. Both were experiences beyond comprehension. My regret in life is that I wish I could have had this experience before I studied World History. This was one of those experiences where what you see with your eyes goes beyond anything you have read in a book or seen in a picture. Massive attention to detail and perseverance stand in my mind when I think of these two historical places.

In reflecting on the entire trip I can say we have outstanding student-athletes. I enjoyed the balance between academics and athletics on this trip. I love to see the eyes of our players when they see something for the first time. I also learned that when we take away facebook and cell phones, our players really did spend more quality time together. This will cause me to rethink how we travel on team trips and figure out how we can promote this type of dialogue throughout our season.

When we return the players will have about five days to spend at home before we come back to school. Our entire coaching staff is going to take a few days away. Since recruiting occupied most of my days in July, these last 45 days have been spent away from home. The fatigue is worth it though because the memories and experiences will live with us for a lifetime.

Thanks again to President Heckler and Mark LaBarbara for making this trip possible. Also thanks to Professor Lin and Rantao Wang for their help. Finally thanks to our players and staff  for being such great ambassadors for Valparaiso University.

Go Valpo!

The Great Wall was an unbelievable experience! It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and to actually be here and climb on it was awesome! We climbed only a portion of the 5000 km long Great Wall and got to see some beautiful scenery. The highest part of the portion we visited was 888 km high, which the majority of the team reached. It was such a fun time, but all of us felt the pain in our legs. When we finally reached level ground after all the climbing and walking, our legs were shaking terribly. But it was definitely worth it!

After the climb on the wall in the morning, we visited the historic Forbidden City. It was amazing and there was such beautiful Chinese architecture. It amazes me that it was all built by hand in only 14 years of work!

Today is our last day in China and we will be heading home early tomorrow morning! We’ll be back in America tomorrow and can’t wait to see you all and share our stories!

- Betsy Adams

To paint a picture, imagine five floors of Yuan-hungry paranas with handbags and scarves.  It was both exhilarating and stressful because there were so many deals and things to buy, but with every purchase came a heavy dose of either remorse at not bargaining further or guilt tripping (if you lasted through the seller’s dramatic antics).  The way they acted you would think you cost them their next meal.  I think most of us walked away from at least one buy kicking ourselves for giving in to the pressure, but there are a few true hard-nosed poker faces in our squad.

Regardless, the sellers were relentless.  I’ve never seen anything like it!  Touching was not at all off limits.  One of our best bargainers, Maegan Callaway, says she had to call two teammates to help her get away from a woman who had a death grip on her arms.  I literally saw four frazzled American boys (we haven’t seen many other Americans, but this market was pretty diverse) running from a particularly aggressive seller.  Even though we were in air conditioning for once, I sweated more than usual just from the sheer stress (and excitement, because it was still very fun).

Anyways, four hours in a place like that went by like nothing, and I’ve never said that about shopping before.  I’ve never spent that much at one trip before either, but I think I will blame that on the Yuans (it felt like Chinese dollars were play monopoly money or something, unfortunately).

Other highlights from the day include seeing Tienanmen Square, Mao Zedong’s memorial and burial place, and the endless buildings of Beijing.  We also had dinner at an amazing German themed restaurant where we collected raw ingredients and cooked them at our own grills in the middle of each table. It was a good break from some of the traditional Chinese food we have been eating for the past week.

Tonight, it won’t matter that our beds are about as comfortable as bricks, or that they are too short for us.  We got our bargains, and it is definitely time for some sleep!   We will be up and at it again tomorrow to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.  Can’t wait!

If you have ever been to a flea market, this is what it resembled a bit. The Pearl Market was about five stories high, filled with stuff ready to be bargained on. it was quite interesting how they approached you and latched on to keep you at their booths. Bargaining was the best part, and buying gifts for other people in China felt so good.

Tomorrow we get the chance to go and see the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. We are all very excited. Starting today we became tourists, and it was such an amazing experience. When I would run into people that I thought were Americans, little did I know they were from Austria, Germany, and Israel. I was in shock. I have never met this many foreign people before, and to get a feel for their culture is unbelievable.

I hope you have been enjoying the blogs as much as I have been!

Thanks

Mallory Ladd

On the ride over to the temple I saw a small but noticeable difference in the way the Chinese react to the weather. In Hangzhou more people travel by scooter or bike than by car. Well, today it was raining, so I would think most people would take a taxi or drive their car. I come to find out the scooter traffic was just as high as any other day however, today they were easier to spot because of their brightly colored ponchos that were especially made for scooters. They were extra long in the front and back, but short on the sides so that they wouldn’t drag on the ground. They also had a clear plastic window in the front for the lights of the moped. To me, people riding scooters with ponchos on is something you don’t see every day.

-Laura Richards