| Sources |
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 17 Jan 2007.
Richard Burton Smith obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 3 Jul 2013.
The Great Wall of China: 'Almost a surreal experience'
LEFT: Standing atop The Great Wall of China, from left, are Arin Chambers, Olivia Snell, and Xintong Yu. Chambers is the daughter of Robert and Whitney Chambers and the granddaughter of Bill and Beverly Chambers and Linda Smith and the great-granddaughter of Dolly Harville, all of Newport.
(C)2013 NPT PHOTO BY DUAY O'NEIL
RIGHT: Arin Chambers, left, shared highlights of her recent trip to China with her great-grandmother, Dolly Harville, right, this past weekend.
Author: Duay O'Neil
NEWPORT-Walking along The Great Wall of China was "almost a surreal experience" for Arin Chambers, a rising senior at Nashville's Harpeth Hall.
Chambers, 17, spent June 1-15 in Beijing, China's Dulwich College, an International Baccalaureate school where she attended classes with students from around the globe.
Joining Arin for the experience was Olivia Snell, a rising junior at Harpeth Hall.
While in China, Arin and Olivia lived with host families whose daughters will come to the United States in October for a similar experience.
"Visiting China this way was not like a tourist event," said Arin last Sunday, when interviewed at the home of her grandparents Bill and Beverly Chambers and great-grandmother Dolly Harville of Newport.
“We attended math, English, and French classes just like we do at home,” she continued. The international aspect of Dulwich College, a British school, was reflected in the make-up of the student body. “At least ten different countries were represented in each class,” she added. “Perhaps because of that everyone seemed more worldly and tolerant.”
Arin described Beijing, a city of thirteen million, more than some countries, as having “many things geared toward young people.”
These include “discos everywhere. I think these should come back to America.”
Arin’s host student, Jenny, “lives in a hip part of town. There are streets for teens to go clubbing safely.”
When not in class, Arin and Olivia visited numerous sites, such as The Great Wall of China, a fortification dating to 200 B. C. Built of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, at one time it stretched east-to-west for over 13,000 miles.
The day of Arin and Olivia’s visit proved rainy, foggy, cool, and dreary. “When we started climbing, we couldn’t see the top,” said Arin. “It felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest.”
But after breaking through the clouds and emerging onto the top, Arin said, “it was almost a surreal experience. And it was strange in that Olivia and I appeared to be the only Westerners there.”
They also visited the famed Ming Tombs that day. “They’re about 20-30 miles away. Sadly they’ve all been looted. We saw the thrones and I fell on the marble stairs.”
Arin’s fall resulted in a chipped bone in her elbow and a late-night visit to a local hospital. “After I fell, at first I just got up and went on. But my elbow swelled and that night we went to the hospital. When we first went in, it was totally empty, with just long, long hallways. And then when we did find a nurse, she was very, very rude. They wanted $150 for me just to sign in, and while we were there a very bloody man came running in. That was terrible,” she said, “and I finally just left and went home with a painkiller.”
She also needed ice for the swelling. “There’s just no ice in China,” said Arin. “KFC was the only fast food chain with ice, so we got there at 2 a.m. I sat on the curb putting on the sling and fixing the ice.”
Another visit took Arin and Olivia to the Forbidden City. “You have to go through many outer chambers to get to the palace,” which she described as “very, very big with lots of animal motifs.”
Again Arin and Olivia found themselves in the minority. “We only saw two German girls there. Everyone else was Asian” with the lines of visitors waiting to view Mao Tse-tung’s body “too long for us to stand in.”
Chairman Mao is “still venerated and held in highest regard,” said Arin.
She also found the Chinese economic system intriguing. “They only have an income tax, which is about 30-40 percent. There are no other taxes.”
Houses are extremely expensive and cars are distributed “by lottery.”
“When you go to the stores, things like clothes and televisions are very cheap. A television that would cost about $500 here would be about $50 in China.”
The girls also had a sobering visit to Sun Village, where children of convicted felons live and attend school. “It was an awesome day,” she said. “Most of the children, most of whom were very young, had never seen Westerners. They wanted to touch us.”
They also visited a migrant school on the day of a terrible storm. “The children were sitting down and holding on to their chairs to keep them from floating away.”
The most valuable part of her trip?
“I think we got to see reality versus tourism,” said Arin. “It was great.”
Now home, Arin looks forward to her senior year and making a decision about where she will attend college. “I want to work in a large museum,” said Arin, who has already interned at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Arin is also the granddaughter of Linda Smith of Newport and the late Richard Smith. She has one brother, Alex.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
CHAMBERS ROBERT G WHITNEY S [NOT GIVEN] COCKE 06-24-1989 20556
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Abt 1996 - (~ 28 years)
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