Our trip to Xi'an on Saturday

On Saturday I wrote about our hot day visiting Xi'an, but there is a correction - it wasn't 100 degrees - it was 104! The correction came out in Sunday's newspaper. One way or the other it was hot! here are a few pictures that I took from that day...

At the Drum Tower

Careese, Kim and Amanda - together - as usual - on the Xi'an City Walls

This afternoon we again had painting class - one of the favorite classes for our students, I think. All of them are improving, but some have made GREAT progress. Our teacher is terrific!

Aurelien's best work to date!

Our Trip to Guilin part 3

Our good-bye dinner in Guilin (with lucky balls)

And below in front of Elephant Mountain

Thursday morning we were able to sleep in – only having to be ready downstairs at 10:00. We ate breakfast and then boarded our mini-bus for the one and one half hour drive back to Guilin. The road was lovely with endless small rice fields on each side. I noticed that few people in the farming area have cars. Rather most are on bicycles, tricycles, motorbikes, motorcycles or the ever-present 3 wheeled mini-trucks that those with the means drive. In Xi’an we used to see lots of these loud 3-stroke vehicles, but this year I notice far fewer. However in Yangshuo and Guilin there were more of these vehicles than any other, and in Yangshuo many had a kind of tractor or lawnmower-type engine mounted on the front of the cart with a belt that appears to provide the locomotion. As can be imagined they tend to be loud, but seemingly can carry heavy loads. (I learned yesterday that these vehicles cost only about 2000 yuan while a car costs at least 100,000…)

We arrived in Guilin for a visit to a local park where we took pictures of Elephant Mountain – some cliffs clearly resembling an elephant – complete with trunk. Then after lunch we another park before some time to shop. We made some inexpensive purchases and then took a long walk through yet one additional park where we saw a beautiful crystal bridge over a small lake, as well as a marble boat (for looks only). By that time it seemed that we were early so we sat along the lake and talked. Mrs. Fan and I spoke with our guide. We had learned earlier that she is of a member of a minority group as are a majority of the people in Guanxi Autonomous Region (a kind of province having more governmental rights than the others). We also heard that she is from a mountain village where she was one of 5 daughters. In spite of hard times her father knew that education was important so two of the girls graduated from the university. Our guide, Alice, has a degree in Business, and her sister is a doctor in the Army. Since they have been successful they paid for the education/marriage of their sisters and continue to support local girls so that they can get an education. (Alice’s family had the first television in the community in about 1995, so it became a kind of “movie theater” for the people.)
After our rest we had another excellent meal in a private room of a restaurant. Alice gave us each a kind of ball that brings good fortune and happiness, then accompanied us to the airport for our trip back to Xi’an. Our flight was once again on time and we arrived in Xi’an a bit before 11:00 p.m. All the kids were dropped off by 12:30 a.m. so we told them that they could start school on Friday at 10:00 (rather than 7:30). This was welcome news. However Friday everyone was still tired and sleepy – with Melissa able to sleep during break stretched out over two tables. Even the ping-pong was less enthusiastic. J However we all enjoyed the trip and appreciate the trouble the school and Mrs. Fan took to assure us a good experience!

Sorry...

I haven't had a moment today to finish the info about our trip, but will do it on Monday when I will again have internet access.

Today was hot in Xi'an. It was about 100 degrees F and we were outside most of the day. We visited the Xi'an city walls, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower before eating a delicious dumpling lunch. Then we walked through the Muslim Market where many of the students were able to find some deals. Then all but Keith and Kim headed to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. We had to wait outside for nearly half an hour and were all HOT! Then we took a guided tour of the museum with a guide who was able to give us the short tour in English, but with a good explanation of what we were seeing and how they relate to the history of this area. The earliest objects were several million years old (early homo sapiens) and then progressed through the 14 dynasties in the area (13 in Xi'an) and saw some national treasures - including several terra cotta warriors that we were able to see much closer than in the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. The guide also explained the burial process that preserved so many objects from long ago. Then we dropped the kids at their homes where I am sure they were happy to rest. I think they have too much visiting of sights this week and they are still tired from our trip...

I will put up more pictures on Monday.

Our trip to Guilin part 2

On Wednesday morning we had a very rushed breakfast and checked out of the hotel in order to reach the pier for our cruise on the Li River. (We arrived just in time…) There we boarded a boat that probably seats about 50 people inside (air-conditioned) and has an upper deck from which to view the scenery. We were given tea and a bottle of water and then set off on the 3½ hour trip. The views were magnificent! We passed interesting hill formations and many small villages. We saw numerous “house-boats” moored along the riverbank and even water buffalo grazing or bathing in the water. Most people traveling on the river were on small rafts that float just above the water level. Two of these rafts even “hitched a ride” on our boat while they tried to sell souvenirs to passengers. There were frequently people scrubbing clothes along the banks as well. We saw (as we had in the bus on our way to and from Guilin) that most of the land was planted in rice with occasional corn or other vegetables. (Even steep hills were planted with some crop.) There (and in most parts of China that I have seen) we saw no tractors or other farm equipment being used. Rather we saw people working in the fields – most wearing “coolie” hats. (Keith bought one later in market of Yangshuo.) It involves hours of bending over in the full sun. The most common means of transportation appeared to be buses, bikes or a kind of 3-wheeled mini-truck, often with what looked like a lawn-mower engine mounted in front. Everything was GREEN due to the large amounts of rain in the areas.

We arrived in Yangshuo about 12:30 and walked through a small market on our way to the hotel. Yangshuo is a county of about 300,000 people. It is located in a small gorge or valley so most of the town follows one main road. Just after we checked-in to a modern, clean hotel about 15 minutes from the dock it began to rain. Once again we avoided most of the heavy downpours. We rested for a couple of hours and then set out walking to a shopping street. The temperature was above 90 degrees with nearly 100% humidity. The moment we stepped outside we felt the need for another shower… Mrs. Fan and our group did some shopping (including Keith’s hat and a few other items). The students got some practice bargaining!

At 6:30 we walked to a restaurant where we met our guide for dinner. Once again it was excellent, with a wide variety of dishes. It appears that the people of this minority region (non-Han Chinese) like sweets so we had many more sweet dishes than found in Xi’an. After dinner we attended a spectacular show on the river which was presented by over 600 “peasants” from the area. It was incredibly beautiful, though we did not understand the words. Most of the show was conducted on the kind of rafts used everyday to navigate the river. At one part of the show there must have been 500 people on floating “piers”, all with costumes that lighted up!

At the end of the show we headed back to the hotel for a good night of sleep. Unfortunately I'll have to continue this again tomorrow...so look back then for more pictures and information.

Our trip to Guilin part 1

In front of Camel Mountain

Reed Flute Cave

We returned from Guilin late last night after a terrific 4-day trip. Everyone had a great time in spite of the heat and humidity there. This morning the kids don't have to be to school until 10:00 so hopefully they got some sleep.

We all met at school at noon on Monday for the trip to the airport. Once we walked to the correct terminal we easily checked-in for our flight. We had a smooth - and on time - flight to Guilin. (Maybe I am speaking too soon, but all of our flights on Chinese airlines have left on time!) Once there we were met by our guide "Alice" for the beginning of our adventure. We drove about 45 minutes from the airport to the city of Guilin. It is located in an area surrounded by small mountains framing most pictures of the city. We checked in to our hotel, the "Business Hotel" which was adequate though not everything worked perfectly. Shortly after our arrival we met downstairs for a short walk to a nearby restaurant on a back street. There we were the subject of frank and obvious stares by the other customers. We were in a small private room and people stopped at the door to stare. :) This was the only meal (except breakfast) that was just average. For all other meals we went to restaurants that featured local dishes and the food was great! (In all of them we were the only western people but we didn't get the same attention as the first night.)

After dinner there was nothing on the schedule so we walked up and down the main street of town. It was very hot and humid so some of the girls bought fans. The other "big" purchase was ice cream - something that the kids did frequently over our 4 days. Guilin is surrounded by rivers, so we walked to the closest bridge and then went back to our hotel for the night. The only bad part of the evening was Kimi once again dislocating her shoulder. So the next day we bought her some gauze to make a sling.

On Tuesday we had "breakfast" in the hotel and then got on our bus for our first stop - a Folded Brocade Hill - in a park in town. Someone estimated that there were about 500 steps though some of us thought more... On the way up we passed through a small cave filled with Buddha statues - where we wanted to linger since it was cooler. It rained a bit on the way up, but since it was so humid anyway it didn't make much of a difference. From the top we had a nice view of the city and the Li River. We were told that just after the earthquake the river rose more than 4 feet for a short time before receding. This caused a fair amount of flooding since so many houses are located at river level.

After our descent we headed to 7-Star Park where we saw many interesting sites. There was a very small zoo with three red pandas (resembling raccoons), some monkeys and a bear. Throughout the park there are also numerous "statues", not only of the Olympic symbols which are everywhere but also pokemon creatures and teletubbies. All along the walk there were also places where one can sit to have his/her picture taken with costumed girls or peacocks. It was clear that this is a popular place for the Chinese although it was not crowded during our visit. (In fact we faced no crowds during the whole trip even though we visited very touristy cities. It appears that many Chinese have cancelled plans to travel this year, plus the school year will not end until next week.) At once point there is a rock commemorating Bill Clinton's visit there to speak about the need to care for the environment. It is located in front of Camel Hill which is (naturally) in the shape of a camel. We also visited a museum of rocks from China and a few from around the world. Some are incredibly beautiful with all kinds of shapes, colors and sizes. In the last room we were shown a kind of rock which glows when it is warm or in the sun. We also got to sit in an air-conditioned room and drank some tea. (Air-conditioning was always welcome!)

After this we went to lunch where we once again tried new dishes. Our group went though two dishes of noodles, with the second one disappearing in seconds! The chopsticks looked like baby birds reaching for a worm!

After lunch we went to another small park which had another small cave with many different statues of Buddha. In two places there were “lucky spots” where if a student reaches a certain place with his/her hand they will have good results on all tests. Most of the kids tried!

Our next stop was a pearl factory where we learned how to tell real from fake pearls and where we also saw a short “fashion show” with models who appeared in evening gowns – with pearl necklaces of course. The factory store was cool so we all spent time looking around. Then we headed to 3-flute cave a few miles from town. It is an old cave that has been lit with colored lights making the views magnificent. At each stop on our tour we were told about the shapes of the formations which resembled something. The best was a small lake that appears to be surreal image which could be New York City or lots of people. Of course it was cool in the cave, so we were in no hurry to get out. (It was interesting that on the way up the stairs to the cave there was a sign pointing foreign visitors one way and Chinese the other. Our path included a walk through a gift shop…but I was also told that Chinese tours are so big that they often have to wait to enter the cave after the previous tour has passed. Foreigners who all have guides get special priority. Of course after we came down the hill we were bombarded with vendors trying to sell books, postcards etc. There were certainly persistant!

On our way back to town we stopped at a silk factory where the students learned about how silk is produced – with single cocoons being used for fabric and double cocoons for bedding. We wandered through the salesroom before heading to dinner.

That was (I think) the favorite meal of the trip with all kinds of new and interesting dishes. We were also seated next to a window overlooking the street so we had a nice view. That was also the night of the watermelon. Our guide had noticed that our group liked watermelon so she bought two on the street. That restaurant didn’t serve watermelon but cut up one for us. Amanda and Aurelien managed to eat multiple pieces at one time! We also took a bag home which I heard that Aurelien ate later that night.

We have class in a few moments, so I'll post this now and continue this afternoon.

Chinese wedding and other news

The bride and groom during the cermony (left) and above with Mandy - a computer teacher at our campus and our biggest help with life everyday!

Today is Monday in China. We will leave for Guilin in just over one hour. We had a rainy weekend in Xi'an, but today I can see a blue sky for the first time since our arrival. Nevertheless I am not complaining since it has not been hot. :) Usually it is very hot at this time, but yesterday I even put on a sweater!

Yesterday I was invited to the wedding of a chemistry teacher from the International Campus of GaoXin No.1 High School. It was a beautiful affair, and much of it was not much different than what we would see at a fancy reception at home. However the actual wedding "ceremony" is just a simple presentation of a kind of family book recognizing the union. Yet this young couple did exchange some kind of vows sharing their devotion to each other. Although I did not understand/get a translation of all of it, the occasion was still moving. They are obviously so very happy. While the bride wore a white gown for the ceremony she immediately changed into a more traditional red dress for the rest of the time. Incidentally Chinese weddings take place before noon as that is considered an auspicious start of the wedding.

Big Day at GaoXin No. 1 High School

Keith's panda was cute!

Here we are with our two Chinese teachers, Laoshi Zhou and Laoshi Shi

Many government education officials as well as numerous principals from other schools came to our campus today to obseve the school, make suggestions and give some sort of school score. It may be something like our accreditation though certainly not the same. Everyone has been working overtime all week. Today all the female teachers wore a green suit that is the official school uniform, the males wore a pastel colored shirt with a school belt buckle and all the students wore their uniforms - our students included. All staff was on duty to be sure that everything went smoothly.

Our schedule today was changed so that we had art this morning and Chinese in the afternoon rather than the usual culture class during our last period starting at 3:30. Today the students painted one of the panda's that is the symbol of the Beijing Olympics. They did a great job! Everyone was impressed! Then about 11:00 our doors were opened and the important people came in to watch our students. They thought their work was good as well. And the kids were on their best behavior - working seriously. The principal was there and she, too, was very happy with what she saw. I'll post at least one of the panda pictures, but they were all good. :) After lunch we had two Chinese classes and since both teachers were here at once we took this picture. We all really like our Chinese teachers. We are learning a great deal! Today the students even played some word games - in CHINESE!

It is Friday afternoon here, so all the students went home for a free weekend. All the host brothers and sisters will be studying for final exams all weekend, so we don't yet know what all the kids will do, but I'm sure the host families have something in mind. We will all meet on Monday at noon to go to the airport to fly to Guilin. We will return to Xi'an late Thursday (June 23rd) night and will have half a shortened day on Friday.

I want all the families to know that each of your children has been and continues to be a great asset to our exchange program! They are polite, considerate, hard-working and are turning into a great team. They always seem to have positive attitudes and do whatever I ask of them. They are good representatives of Saugus High School and of our city. You are all to be congratulated! And the best news of all is that our injured members (Aurelien managed to pull a muscle in his neck two days ago) seem much better today. Aurelien was able to hold his head up straight and the wound on his shoulder looks great, and Kimi is managing to write and paint with her write hand. Everyone else also seems fine - an auspicious start to our trip!