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.