Reflections from 2009 RFK Scholarship Recipients

Cecilia from Colorado

China was beautiful, in every sense possible of the word. The country struck me as a nation of pride, similar to the United States. I was always trying to be aware of the surroundings, trying to listen to Colin Speakman, our group guide and leader, to hear what he would say about everything.

“The Chinese don’t talk about Tianamen Square and what happened during that massacre,” Colin would say. I was left with this desire to know more. Why? Why not? But I always had the feeling that I would never know. Just like in the U.S., and any country, China ‘keeps many secrets.’

At one point, during our culture class, our teacher asked us to state some pre-judgements that we had about China. None of those that we said included human rights abuses and he said he was surprised. But then he continued to talk about how those human rights violations don’t actually occur and that it is the media that is biased. I, of course know about the media’s bias, but I also can recognize the convoluted desire to ignore.

Seeing the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube from the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a symbol to me of how impactful the Olympics were on Beijing, China overall, and the policies of the world. I was walking around the Olympic arena just wondering everything that went into the construction, the clean-up of the city, and everything else. I feel these questions will never really be answered fully.

This trip was a definite stepping stone for me to become even more aware of issues, internationally, and in China in particular. I will never forget my experience in China and the ideas and thoughts that came up surrounding social justice while I was there. Thank you to every person that worked for me to receive this scholarship to have this life time memory experience; with teachers that brought me a desire to continue learning Mandarin, friends I intend to visit and forever stay in contact with, and memories that forever are stamped into my life. I am therefore more than grateful for my summer in Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai China.