We're on our way

It is Tuesday morning in Beijing. We have to check out of the hotel in a few minutes. Then we will tour a traditional Beijing courtyard compound, have lunch and tour the Capital Museum before leaving for the airport. The pictures is from the Great Wall from yesterday!

Yesterday it was hot and humid! Today is about to rain...

See you soon!!

Arrival in Beijing

We all met back at school yesterday afternoon for our big departure. Both Madame Jiao (superintendent) and Madame Wang (assistant sup) were there to wish us well, and the host families were there as well. The school finally gave permission for Mrs. Dong to accompany us to Beijing, and she brought her 6-year-old daughter, "Linda". Mrs. Fan (last year's exchange teacher) also came to the train station. We had warned the kids what the train station would be like, and they saw that we were right. The school bus had to stop a few blocks from the station, so we hired a lady on a bike to carry our bags. Since we brought everything valuable or necessary with us the backpacks were heavy. (And Amanda's host father gave her numerous big and heavy gifts - which Aure lien helped carry.) We felt sorry for the lady since the load was so heavy, but she managed. By the time we arrived at the station the crowds were impressive (as usual). We waited in a very crowded waiting room until about 40 minutes before departure when we were able to get on board. We had two compartments (4 beds each) with Mrs. Dong and Linda in the next room. The kids ate for a while and then we all went to bed. Most of us slept off and on, but at least we were lying down.

We were met at the Beijing train station by our guide, "Helen". We were driven to our hotel for breakfast, but by 8 a.m. all of the rooms were not available. Our suitcases arrived at the same time so we stored them all in Mrs. Dong's and my room. At 9:30 we set off for the Beijing Zoo to see the Giant Panda exhibit which includes 15 pandas brought from Sichuan Province after the May 12 earthquake. The two buildings were full of people all trying to see the panda's. Some of us got some good views. The plan had been to spend more time in the zoo, but it was hot, humid and crowdedm so the kids decided they had seen enough. After a brief stop in a silk factory we headed to the Summer Palace where we walked through the gardens, seeing what was once the equivalent of the Forbidden City in the hottest months. And this was a hot and humid day. Many of the students were tired and ready to leave, but first we saw the "marble boat" - one large block of marble carved to resemble a boat (and located in Kunming Lake). Then we took a "dragon boat" across the lake.

Below - at the entrance to the Summer Palace.

You can see how energetic the students looked!

We got back to the hotel by 2:30, got all the rooms, moved the suitcases from our room to the appropriate location and then had a rest and/or showers until dinner. We will leave to eat in a little while.

We're on our way...

This morning we all gathered at school at 9:00 a.m. to meet our travel agent and a van to take all of our suitcases to the train station where a porter will check them for us. When we get to Beijing another porter will claim them and bring them to our hotel tomorrow during the day. Once this was done all of the students left for the day with their host families - our last few hours in Xi'an. We are all due back at school at 5:30 to take the school bus to the train station. This will be my last post from my dorm room...

It is a hot day in Xi'an - which I am afraid tells us what we can expect in Beijing... We have been incredibly lucky this summer as it has not been nearly as hot as it has been other summers. We did have a few really hot days, but it also rained more than usual, which kept the temperatures more moderate. We will take the train at 8:16 p.m. and arrive in Beijing just after 6:00 a.m. Then after a brief rest and breakfast we will take off on our ambitious 4 day tour. With the Olympic Games just days away it should be spectacular. For the last 4 years one tourist site or another has been in the process of being repainted or repaired. This time everything should be done. :)

My cell phone will be on in Beijing, so if you need to contact your kids you can try to call. I should also be able to get internet access, so that is another possibility. Yesterday I asked the kids who was anxious to get home - there were only a couple of enthusiastic yes votes, which for the most part had to do with food that they miss. This group has seemingly adjusted well!

See you all in a few day!

Earthquake...

While writing the previous posting I was interrupted by a feeling of "sea sickness" . At first I thought I must be getting something, but after a few seconds it was obvious that we were experiencing an earthquake. It wasn't violent but seemed to roll on for a long time. I decided to keep on working, but then there was a knock at the door. My host sister came to get me as the few hundred students still in school were evacuated onto the open area in front of the school. I saw a few tiles that seemed to have come loose on the steps, but everything else was just fine. We waited about 20 minutes and then headed back inside. I imagine it was another after-shock but I didn't hear anything specific as to the epicenter. In any case all of our students are home or shopping, and if they were moving or on the ground floor I doubt that they even noticed. Sitting still on an upper floor it was obvious. :)

Last Days at No. 1 High School Part 2

This morning's good-bye ceremony began at 9:30 today. We were taken to big multi-purpose room where we were greeted by a speech of welcome from the "Principal" of all the GaoXin schools (more like a superintendant) Madame Jiao. She commended the leadership of the Wm. S. Hart District (Mr. Castellanos and the members of the Wm. S. Hart School Board) and Mr. Bolde for their vision in participating in this type of exchange. She commented on how it changes lives in both countries. She also commended our students for the progress they have made over the last 6 weeks. She said that perhaps in 10-20 years some of these students will come back to China as teachers, ambassadors and businessmen. She then presented each of our students with gifts and a certificate of completion of their studies here.

Following Madame Jiao I gave a "speech" in Chinese. Although I don't know that I believe it all, supposedly they all understood me... (I wrote it but read the translation). That was followed by short speeches by our students. Then we saw several performances by the 10th grade students - dancing, singing, kung-fu, etc. It was a great show! At the end our students performed some classic poems from the Tang Dynasty and then sang a good-bye song. The audience of host families and students seemed to enjoy the show. Then after many group and family pictures outside, we were treated to a delicious lunch in the teacher's lunchroom. Last year's Chinese group at Saugus was invited and Yao gave a very nice speech about our exchange. At the end of the meal the students and their families headed home - or off to finish last minute shopping! We will all meet at school at 9 a.m. tomorrow to ship our big suitcases to Beijing, and then will meet again at 5:30 to take the bus to the train station for our overnight train trip to Beijing. We will again be staying in the Taiwan Hotel. It is well-located only 10 minutes by foot from TienAnMen Square and the Forbidden City. We will arrive early on Saturday morning and after check-in will eat breakfast and begin our tour at the Beijing Zoo to see a special giant panda exhibit prepared especially for the Olympics.

There were many more pictures taken by my host brother, Li, but I'l have to get them later tonight and will try to post more tomorrow.

Last days at GaoXin No. 1 High School Part 1

Penny toss and find the ping-pong ball

"Buying" prizes and pinning the tail

This short week has flown by. On Monday while I was at the conference the students reviewed for their Chinese language final exam, and began to learn the program that they would give for today's good-bye program. Tuesday they took their comprehensive exam, and most of the students did well. The top score on the exam was Keith's, with several others only a point of two behind.

Then yesterday the students took the final exam on the book that we have been reading and discussing over the last 6 weeks. I think I will correct those on the way home, since I still have a lot to do before we leave tomorrow night. The students also surprised me with a small cake and thank you notes, which I will read on the train tomorrow. I was very touched by the surprise. This group also wrote thank you notes to all their teachers!

Yesterday morning, we finally had our "party" for some of the friends we have made over the last weeks, including some host brothers and sisters, the students who have met with us each morning over the last couple of weeks, and the new group of Saugus-bound students. Our group organized all kinds of "carnival" games (penny toss, "bowling", pin the tail on the bird, shooting a bow and arrow (with suction cups on the ends), follow the hidden pingpong ball, etc. Our guests earned tickets that they were able to trade for the prizes that we had all brought. We also served cookies and coke. The students who will be leaving for Saugus in a couple of weeks also entertained us. :) Everyone seemed to have a great time, and I was proud of the what our students did!

Then yesterday in class our group again practiced today's peroformance and had their last handcraft class. Everyone was able to finish his or her project. Then we put the classroom back in orderbefore heading home.

Last week in Xi'an and RAIN!

I didn't have much time to talk with the students today since I was invited to participate in the second GaoXin No. 1 High School International Education Conference. Principal Bill Bolde attended the first of these in the fall of 2005 following GaoXin No. 1 High School's 10th year anniversary. Once again the moderator was a man from Singapore who gave us his English name of Moses. He was a terrific moderator due to his intimate knowledge of both Chinese and western education systems.

The goal of the conference was to give some ideas to our host school on how to give GaoXin students – who are already outstanding – more opportunities to study abroad; and how to help our host school to develop a system of not only Chinese, but also a global education. The participants were from the United Kingdom, Kenya, Singapore, the U.S. and China. Most of the U.S. representatives were a group of educators and administrators who have been here to train the Chinese teachers in American styles of education. A number of GaoXin administrators and English teachers also attended. A key member of the panel was Dr. Huajing Maske from Boston, who grew up in China but who has lived in the U.S. for many years. Her expertise along with our moderator made the whole meeting progress well. Following our 3 hours discussion all the international participants were invited to a delicious luncheon prepared for us by the school cooks. The meal was outstanding with many new and delicious dishes. At the end of the luncheon the U.S. guests were taken to a local museum while I returned to class.

This is our last week in Xi’an. We had classes today, but only have two days left. Tomorrow we will meet with Chinese friends from 8-10, and then our group will have their final examination in Chinese. On Wednesday morning we will have some kind of small “party” with the students who meet with us every morning since the end of regular classes, and then after lunch our group will have their final exam on the book we have been reading all summer – Three Kingdoms – which is one of the 4 classics of Chinese literature.

After the final exams most of our time will be spent preparing for the presentation that our students are to give Thursday. On that day there will be a celebration where our students will sing a song and then recite two classic Chinese poems. The GaoXin students will also entertain us with various acts. Following this celebration there will be a “Good-bye Banquet” which will also be attended by the host families. At the end of this event our students will leave the high school to have a few hours of free time. On Friday morning they will bring their big suitcases to school to be shipped to our hotel in Beijing. That evening we will take the train at 8 p.m. on the first leg of our trip home….

It has been raining constantly since last night! And this is not a California drizzle, but rather continuous rain. The Chinese tell us that this is not “natural” rain, but comes as a result of cloud seeding. I would imagine that it has rained more in the last day than we have in an average California “rainy” season. It also rained on Saturday, and yesterday when I accompanied my host family to the countryside many of the roads were impassible or nearly impassable with large amounts of water. I can imagine that those roads are certainly closed after today. However it is not cold, but just comfortable outside.

I took some new pictures today but am having some trouble down-loading them. I will try again tomorrow.

Busy times

It's hard to believe another week has flown by. As I write it is Saturday afternoon. We only have 6 more days here in Xi'an. We will leave by train next Friday evening with "soft sleeper" compartments - meaning each compartment will have 4 beds with sheets and a comforter. We will be shipping our big suitcases earlier that day as there is no room for all the luggage in the compartments. It will all be delivered to our hotel the next day.

I met with our travel agent on Thursday afternoon to pay for our tour and to finalize plans for our time in Beijing. We were able to once again get rooms in the Taiwan Hotel, where we have stayed for most of the years of the exchange. Luckily it will still be about 10 days before the start of the Olympics because at that time the room rates jump by hundreds of dollars. The hotel is well-located with lots of places to walk nearby - including shopping.

This week we had slightly shorter days as the Chinese students were not able to join us on Friday, and due to our cooking class once again being canceled on Thursday due to a visiting American teacher-training team from Massachusetts. Yesterday I heard rumors that the school year for the remaining students might end as of today - meaning that the campus will be much quieter for our last days. We still have classes from Monday to Wednesday with a final exam in Chinese on Tuesday, and a final exam on the book we are reading on Wednesday. Then on Thursday we will attend a one-hour show when some student groups will entertain us and where our group is to present two short "acts". With the help of our two Chinese teachers some plans have been made for our part of the show. Following the show will be a Farewell Banquet to which all the host families will be invited. A couple of the students will help me with my speech. Following the luncheon we will all head home for our last 24 hours to pack and get ready to leave.

I'll try to post more pictures before we leave on Friday.

A quick note...

Tang Paradise - with 3 "friends"

This has been another busy week with many long days (for me at least). On Saturday we went to visit the Tang Paradise - which is a park designed to look like a palace from the Tang Dynasty. There are lovely buildings, lots of water, a small lake, restaurants and a beautiful dancing show. Unfortunately the day that we were there it was VERY hot, and there is little shade. Nevertheless we enjoyed seeing it. I will attach a couple of pictures.

Other "big news" is that we are now in our new classroom and have managed to make it more "comfortable" for us by moving tables and even getting chairs (instead of stools). We continue to meet with the Chinese students every morning. Yesterday we also celebrated Careese's birthday with cake and "music" by a recorded device that didn't stop playing Happy Birthday until some of the students "killed" it by dropping it off the 4th floor twice before it finally broke into pieces.

What has happened in the last week part 2

This week began a new stage in our schooling here. Since all but the incoming seniors (called senior 3 here) finished school last week (except for a few taking special extra classes), our students had no regular class to report to at 7:30. As a result the school invited a small group of incoming 10th graders to meet with us from 8 - 10 a.m. each day. It is a really great group whose English is excellent. All week we did various activites designed to help our students with their Chinese and also to help the Chinese students with their English. The kids made introductions, talked about their families, played a few games and discussed their daily lives in each country. Also the Chinese students helped our group with some difficult homework and to study for this weeks' tests.

First day introductions (above) and some of our partner groups (below)

Yesterday we all met the new group of Saugus-bound students. They all seem very nice. This is my second time to meet Guo Hongmei - the teacher - and she is really friendly and nice. Above and to the left you see the new host sisters and brother. I met with the new group for two hours and explained as much as possible as to what they might expect. I am looking forward to working with this group! :)

What has happened in the last week part 1

Last weekend brought many different experiences to our group. Some climbed (or drove) up mountains, one visited an orphanage, others went shopping and Keith celebrated his actual birthday with a small party. Carisse and I were invited by Mrs. Fan (last year's exchange teacher who lived with our family for 5 months) to go to a specatacular national park located less than 60 miles from Xi'an. There were two families who drove - Mrs. Fan's family (husband and son) and Li Liaoshi - a math teacher at GaoXin No. 1 High School with her husband and daughter. Also joining us was Carisse's host sister.

Though the distance is not far we were delayed by road construction and endless trucks carrying building materials to Sichuan to help rebuild from the May 12 earthquake that killed so many and destroyed whole villages. We climbed into the Qingling mountains where we visited the Qingling Geopark. It is a place of incredible beauty! We took a long trail to see a waterfall. The trail had many stairs and followed, for much of the way, a stream. Along the way there were smaller waterfalls and beautiful bridges. Signs along the way explained the Chinese myths that "explain" the scenery - including a drunk dragon who caused mischief... Due to my food poisoning I couldn't travel far without stops, so Mrs. Fan and Mrs. Li stayed with me while the others continued to the top. We met them about 2/3 of the way up and all came down together. Other than one westerner (from Oregon) who spoke Chinese Careese and I were the only foreigners on the trail. I think tourists who miss this spot are really missing something extraordinary.

When we returned to the bottom of the trail the group ate noodles (cooks by local people) and had a huge picnic with enough food for a small army. Since I couldn't eat I spent a good part of the afternoon lying down in the back of the car while the others sat by the river to talk. The 4 kids played cards. Even weak I enjoyed looking up at the BLUE sky and trees. No camping is allowed because of the wild animals including bears, wolves and others, but there is a lovely hotel inside the park gates.

Mrs. Fan, her husband and son at our picnic



On our way home Carisse's host family invited us to dinner in a a new golf club. Though not a golfer I think the course looked lovely. The group ate barbecue and lots of other dishes on a private deck overlooking the golf course as the sun went down. We returned to Xi'an by 10:00 p.m.

Reasons for no posts

Good afternoon! I am sorry that I haven’t added any postings this week but things have been hectic. I was sick over the weekend (and added another trip to the hospital for intravenous fluids) but Chinese medicine is really great for Chinese diseases and today I am feeling nearly normal. In the meantime as regular school is now out for most GaoXin students our morning includes meeting with a group of Chinese students for two hours. I teach this class, so my days are even busier than before, but they are great kids.

Today I met the new group of students bound for Saugus in just about one month. They are really nice and speak excellent English. We talks for a couple of hours and I was able to share the materials I brought with me.
I’ll include more tomorrow, but just now I have to run. The teacher is also delightful! I am looking forward to working with her.

I have some great new pictures which I will try to get up tomorrow.

4th of July in Xi'an

Today was a busy day. This morning the Olympic flame arrived in Xi'an. I was able to see it on television and took a couple of pictures. It is interesting that each "runner" only took about 15-20 steps before passing off the flame - but then we are in a country of well over one billion people! (The government didn't want too many people in town for the run, so all elementay school students in our area - maybe elsewhere, but I don't know - were called back to spend the morning in school, even though last week was the end of the semester. Officials felt it would be safer for the kids.) In any case the run was well organized and went smootly.

This morning both of our Chinese teachers came together - wearing Beijing Olympic shirts and carrying Chinese and Olympics flags. After our first lesson the two had planned a singing program, but few of the students were willing to sing... Amanda, Careese and Kim all sang something, however. Then our two teachers each sang a song. They have excellent voices! Then just before the end of class we saw the the Beijing Olympics song - Forever Friends on the computer. Then we saw the Chinese version sung by a host of Chinese stars - including Jackie Chan!

For our students this was their last day of regular Chinese classes. Many of the Chinese kids were very sad to say goodbye to them and Kimi was given gifts by her deskmate, classmates and the teacher! Our group was hoping that they could start coming to school later now, but instead they will return to our classroom at the regular start of school Monday and we will meet with groups of GaoXin students so that the combined group can increase their language skills - our students in Chinese and the Chinese students in English. In past years this was always a very popular part of the program.

Today was also our last drawing class as our teacher will be returning to see her family in the far west of China. We were sad to say good-bye, especially as all the kids really enjoyed the class. All have learned a great deal from "Lucy". Each of the kids made her a small thank you card which Careese and Kim put together into a nice poster which we hung one the board before our teacher arrived. She was very pleased. :)

We had one other out-of-the-ordinary activity when we celebrated Keith's birthday (really tomorrow, but we won't be together tomorrow) with a cake and drinks. Keith even had a crown to mark the important day.

Cooking etc.

Today we finally had cooking class. We made a kind of sweet dish which is made of rice flour and filled with small amounts of sweet bean curd. We made the balls and then they were cooked in sweetened water, finally resulting in a sweet broth with the balls. Most of the students added extra sugar, but I thought it was delicious as made. In any case we all enjoyed eating them. :)

Culture classes

In a previous post I spoke of our daily schedule. Every afternoon following lunch, reading time (we are reading a classic of Chinese literature - Three Kingdoms) and our third Chinese class of the day we have our culture class. Depending upon the day we have painting, handcraft, paper-cutting, tai chi, singing or cooking (though we have not yet had this class due to extraordinary circumstances). Here area couple of pictures of the students working intently on their projects.

10-mile long tunnel opens a new world to me

Please note when reading the following: I am NOT an expert on China, so the following explains what I have experienced and learned through 4 trips to Xi'an in the last 4 years. In reflects my impressions. :)

A none-too-clear photo of one of the "outdoor" parts of the tunnel.

On Sunday I took a journey to the past via 10-mile long tunnel through the Qinling Mountains. Most things in 21st century China are quite modern - meaning built within the last 30 years (except a few old monuments). As older Chinese construction was mostly in wood many older houses burned down. Today's construction seems to be primarily of concrete with some steel in high rises. (For example all of the apartments where I have stayed here have thick concrete walls making mounting paintings difficult, but also meaning that even though there are always neighbors above, below or next to one apartment, one never hears anything from them - as is common in apartments in California.) I have wondered if there were any of the older houses left in this area. On Sunday I found out that there are.

We left Xi’an at 9:30 driving along a new toll-road which at that hour was nearly deserted. Soon we went through a couple of short tunnels and then the long one which by-passed miles of poor roads often blocked by snow in winter. At intervals through the tunnel were short patches of illuminated blue “sky” with trees along the edges – giving the appearance of being “outside”. The speed limit on the road is just over 40 miles per hour. (In Xi’an the speed limit is just over 20 miles per hour – a good thing considering the driving habits here which include making one’s own lane if the one wanted is clogged, or even driving on the wrong side of the road for a short distance if traffic is slow. Furthermore most people make left turns out of driveways without hesitation expecting cross traffic to yield. There are frequent fender-benders but most aren’t serious due to low speeds.) When we exited the tunnel we were in the mountains (so we must have been climbing in the tunnel – though this wasn’t obvious to me) with the road following a winding river. There were numerous small villages along the road.

When we exited the toll-road we took small, partially unpaved bumpy roads (most in the process of being redone with heavy equipment in the area) through small towns and villages. Eventually we arrived at a small cave called “Zha Shui Yong Dong” located in a cliff above the river. It was opened in the 1980’s after being explored, through there were apparently Taoist monks living there earlier. The cool temperature in the cave was a welcome break from the heat outside. Inside we saw only two other people over a period of about 90 minutes. There were numerous beautiful formations – some resembling a European castles, others looking like melted cakes, organs etc. Unlike the caves we visited near Guilin this cave is still growing with lots of dripping water and clear pools. I will try to attach a picture or two.

Then we drove along miles of winding mountain roads (stopping from time to time to ask local people how to get to where we were heading). We passed what appeared to be a coal mine and many small villages. Every inch of land not otherwise used is being farmed – as we also noticed in the south. However in northern China the typical crops are not rice, but rather wheat and corn plus various kinds of fruit and nut trees. Finally at about 2:00 we arrived at “Feng Huang Gu Zhen” or Phoenix Ancient Town. There is typical “modern” part of the village, and then the part that dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There were old stone and wooden buildings – most of only one or two floors (while modern China is nearly all high-rise). We passed small shops with old-style wooden fronts where the street side is made of planks of dark wood which are fit together to form a wall. In the center there is usually a smaller door mounted with a wooden dowel so that only that part can be opened when desired. Once the planks are in place the wall/door is secure. It was a clever system in the days when there were few metal parts – especially in a mountain region. We could see that the center of the narrow street was once a running sewer/drain system, now covered over with cement blocks. We finally entered an old-style courtyard house which used to be inhabited by one larger family made of several generations. When young a young man married he brought his bride home to live with the parents, grandparents and all of his brother’s families. This home is now used as a restaurant (once featured in a film by a famous Chinese filmmaker). There we ate a delicious lunch consisting of multiple dishes which were all new to me. (The town is know for its famous tofu including dry tofu which looks and tastes slightly like cheese.) We had sliced cold dried tofu with vegetable, a kind of small bean (resembling lentils but not tasting like them) with smoked pork, then more traditional tofu in a delicious spicy sauce, and finally eggs with a kind of spicy vegetable resembling spinach – but not spinach. It was an outstanding menu – decided after long talks with the owner. We were also able to visit the kitchen and look into a couple of rooms being redone to be used as a “hotel”. (And I even had the “chance” to visit the “bathroom” outside along a long path behind the house – also typical of another time.) Yanli and Li convinced me to put on a Qing dress (not made for a western body) in order to be photographed. I can’t imagine wearing such warm clothes in the summer and was happy to remove them as soon as possible.

Along the streets I noticed large bunches of corn drying in the rafters or mounted on walls. I learned that they are used for “firewood” in cooking as China now restricts the removal of trees in order to improve the environment.