Flat Classroom at The W.A.L.L- We All Learn and Lead

Incredible.  Glorious.  Amazing. Inspiring...................My faith in our future has been restored. These kids really do CARE about the world and other people that are less fortunate as them.This youmg man, Younis from Oman, along with Anisa, John and Yuxi who were from China and Indonesia were kids I was lucky to be able to work with at the conference...they came up with a project called X-out Poverty. Their idea was to have teens "walk a mile in their shoes" by living in another county for a week or so, in order for them to be able to relate to them, and then to
go on to blog about their experience on a wiki/website created for discussing poverty. Their idea is by experiencing poverty, and educating others, they can slowly eliminate it.
Younis and 3 of his friends from Oman created a digital project about recycling in their country. 
I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be able to go to this conference. I learned so much, it is hard for me to put all into words. I learned about the Chinese culture and history, I witnessed kids from other countries, can just hang together for a few days and become lifelong friends. I also learned that we as Americans, should NEVER take our freedom for granted, we are so fortuitous.

Rickshaw Ride and Hutong Tour on Our Last Night in Beijing!

A typical entrance to a siheyuan in a Beijing hutong - note the decorations by the door. This hutong has 2 posts over the doorway meaning the owners were kind of important. Also, note the small pillars on either side of the doorway, these show the importance of the owner also...Some hutongs have 5 posts over the door, and lions that sit atop the pillars! one more important thing:the little beam that runs across the bottom, this is for good luck: keeping the evil spirits out! Men must enter with their left leg, women with their right!

Our group with Mr. Wong in his hutong

Ok, It was a bit chilly for a rickshaw ride, but I am SO glad we went! This historic tour is up there with The Great Wall for me. For those that don't know what a hutong is, it is like the very first "gated community!" The hutongs are 500 year old residential neighborhoods in the heart of Old Beijing.There are only 25% of these "neighborhoods" left, as many many have been torn down. 6 million people live in the hutongs!!!!  They are formed by narrow streets with each hutong sharing a courtyard, restroom/bathhouse and kitchen/dining area.  We rode in a rickshaw (see video)  to visit their neighborhoods.When you are on the bust city streets, you don't even know these exist! They are tucked into the alleys of shops. Hutongs represent an important culture element of Beijing city.  Once upon a time only the wealthy lived in a hutong, but over time, anyone could live there. The one we visited, has been owned by Mr. Wong's family for 5 generations! He was very proud of this and he proudly served us tea and crackers. Their living room was about 6 foot by 9 foot. We are pictured in it. They have 1 separate bedroom, but basically, this is it!! I cannot imagine living in such a small space. They also raised a daughter in this space. When asked where his wife was, he told us she needs to get out of the house, so she works part-time (I think I would too, its soooooo tiny!) 

These hutongs are on the "endangered list" in Beijing and have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history