My name is Bridget Shee Anderson and I’ve been an educator in Washington for the past seventeen years. Presently, I’m teaching at H.M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek as an AP World History teacher and Psychology. I’m a mother to two great kids; Liam (14) and Eryn (10) and live in Snohomish where I will be watching my own child start high school this year. I have recently developed a passion for tennis and love reading, hanging out with family and friends and travelling whenever possible. I’m tremendously excited about the opportunity to visit China and thank the Cultural Exploration of Greater China Board for choosing me to represent the organization this year.

I grew up in Montreal and Vancouver, Canada and developed a taste for travelling as a 16-year old exchange student in Bombay, India where I lived for a year and a half. I met my husband when we were both teaching English in a tiny town in Japan and moved to Seattle after we got married. Since then, we have tried to travel as much as we could – Europe, SE Asia and North America. Despite all of this travelling, I’ve never been to China! I didn’t know much about China and, in all honesty, never wanted to visit until I started teaching AP World History. This class is all about China and I have found the subject fascinating. I’ve enjoyed learning and teaching the classical and post-classical dynastic history and seeing the cyclical nature of China’s economic power come forth once again. One of my goals is to develop some AP curriculum in primary source analysis and interview people about Confucian philosophy, Buddhism and where these values and beliefs fit into their lives today. However, I’m just as curious about the environmental issues and the capitalist vs. communist ideologies and outcomes for average citizens. I am looking at this trip as an incredible opportunity to learn and then share my observations, interviews and sources with future students. I think it will make the history of the region that much more exciting as they discover continuities and changes over time within China as well as comparisons with their own country.