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.