After yesterday’s trip to New York’s famous Chinatown, the Asian Cultures Intensive Learning group journeyed just across the river to Philadelphia’s own Chinatown to continue our study of East Asian culture.
Since Philadelphia is so much of a closer trip than New York, we had time to begin our day with an in-class discussion of China, based on both what we’ve heard in the news and school, and from what we learned yesterday. Then we left for Philadelphia, where we worked for the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, which supports the economic and social well being of Chinese Americans in the city. Working with Li Lao Shi’s daughter, who works for the Development Corporation, we did volunteer service by helping empty and clean the many flower pots that decorate Chinatown’s busy streets.
After three hours of service, we took a well-deserved lunch break. Since we had already tried Chinese dim sum yesterday, we decided to broaden our Asian culinary horizons by trying some traditional Vietnamese food, like pho rice noodles with beef: we also learned that Vietnamese immigrants have had a significant cultural influence in Philadelphia in recent years. In fact, the high Vietnamese population in Philly — concentrated in neighborhoods such as Little Saigon — outnumbers even New York’s.
While today was primarily service-oriented, over the course of the day we had a bit of time to wander the streets and check out the various shops in the thriving cultural neighborhood. Overall, a great last trip for the Asian Cultures group.