By Melissa Henderson
University students embarked on an “Experimental Learning Trip” through Chinatown in New York City on April 26 to find out about Chinese heritage, and to put Chinese culture into a broader perspective.
Students and faculty members from the Office of Multicultural and International Student Programs met a hired tour guide at the Bowery Savings Bank on Grand Street. The tour guide discussed the influx of Chinese immigration to the United States and the affect it had on the culture.
As he led students through areas in Chinatown, students could not help but appreciate the raw experience and economic development of the neighborhood. The community brings in a lot of revenue and supports its own culture by selling, trading and producing goods.
As always, the locals were boisterous and diligently working hard in the outdoor marketplace selling fish, tropical fruits and vegetables and clothing items at low rates.
Chinatown is located in the lower east side of Manhattan, and it is home to more than 100,000 people of Asian descent. It has its own governing rules within the large community, which provides new immigrants with jobs and homes.
One of the things Chinatown is famous for is its tenement housing. This apartment style housing has been the model of living since the earlier 19th century and have never been static. Much of the housing that exists throughout Chinatown is tenement housing because they are able to hold a large amount of residents.
Other points of interest University students experienced were the various landmarks. There are statues of famous figures from Asia, such as the statue of Confucius on the corner of Bowery.
The main event of the trip, however, was a scavenger hunt that University students took part in as an end to the trip. Students were broken up into three groups of four and were given a map and places to look for within a six block vicinity, in Chinatown. University students raced up and down the busy streets of Canal Street, Bowery, and Lafayette Street feverishly trying to find the destinations listed, hoping to earn the $100 prize for first place.
“Although we did not win the hunt, it allowed us to explore Chinatown by ourselves,” said Talia Cadet, a freshman.
The trip came to a close as students and faculty gathered in the Sarah Delono Roosevelt Park, to reflect on the days’ experience. Malcolm Malone worked extremely hard to put the trip together, and was ecstatic that students enjoyed the trip
“I learned a lot about Chinese immigration and enjoyed walking around and exploring parts of Chinatown I never knew existed,” Jamie Fogarasi, a freshman, said.