Mandarin III students embarked on an immersive field trip to Flushing, Queens—a lively neighborhood known for its cultural vibrancy and rich blend of Asian communities, including Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Indian populations. The trip gave students the opportunity to step out of the classroom and into a real-world environment where language and culture come alive.
Upon arrival, students used Mandarin to navigate from the parking lot to a Chinese supermarket. Listening to spoken directions in Chinese, they applied vocabulary skills from this year’s “Asking for Directions” unit. Students were excited to recognize familiar restaurant and shop names they had explored on Google Maps during class. Seeing each place in person brought their learning full circle, connecting digital exploration to real-life experience.
In class, students have also been learning about Chinese food, dining customs, and hotpot culture. At the Chinese grocery store, students participated in a scavenger hunt for common hotpot ingredients. They encountered unique produce and snacks and practiced speaking Mandarin with store employees to find items.
Nathan Howe ‘27 shared: “I learned a lot about the culture of Flushing. One particular experience that stood out was when a kind Chinese-speaking store employee helped our group find some items in the supermarket on our scavenger hunt. It demonstrated the Chinese culture of kindness and also allowed me to see many food items that I hadn’t encountered before the trip.”
After visiting the grocery store, the group headed to Haidilao, a popular Chinese hotpot restaurant. Using their food-related vocabulary skills, students ordered ingredients and created their own dipping sauces. In addition to the delicious meal, students were treated to two exciting live performances: the famous Sichuan "face-changing" act, which they had learned about in Mandarin II, and Haidilao's signature noodle-pulling performance. When students returned to school, they reflected on the Chinese products, practices, and perspectives they observed and learned. To demonstrate their learning, they were tasked with completing a creative project of their choice, from Red Note posts and journals to stories and vlogs, to highlight takeaways from the trip.
Ben Winarsky ‘27 shared: “The experience taught me that everything we have been learning in Mandarin class has been very helpful to understand things going on around me. Some cultural aspects that I learned from the trip are to treat everyone with respect, try your best to form sentences since they do not need to be perfect, and if something doesn’t make sense, just stay calm and try to find a workable solution or kindly ask for help.”
This field trip not only reinforced key language skills but also deepened students’ understanding of how language, culture, and community intersect in the real world.