April 9, 2011

We were trying to squeeze in all we could before we left, so we visited a Buddhist temple. The temple we visited had a life sized jade Buddha.

We then traveled to the train station and took a train to the airport that travels over 200 miles per hour.  Needless to say we arrived in warp speed time.

Daniel our tour guide was amazing! He taught us so much about China and the Chinese culture which made the trip extra special. We also enjoyed getting to meet all of the other Indiana educators on the trip. We made great friendships! We are truly grateful to all of the wonderful people we met in China. Everyone was so kind to us and so helpful. As we boarded our plane for the 13-hour journey home, we were sad to be leaving our new friends, happy to return to our families and to Scott, and excited about our new partnerships.

April 8, 2011

This morning we went shopping. Shopping in China is great fun! All of the vendors love to bargain. We bought a lot of goodies for our family and friends.

We then proceeded to the Shanghai Museum! The city's famous museum is filled with beautiful furniture, porcelain and art!

Our day ended with an evening boat ride on the Bund. The view was spectacular! The Shanghai skyscraper is unbelievable.

The magnificent skyscrapers are lit up at night. What an amazing way to end a wonderful trip.

April 7, 2011

Today we traveled to Shanghai. On the way we stopped for a happy housebreak and we thrilled to find chocolate chip cookies and lays potato chips!!!! A taste of home was great!

We visited the YuYuan Garden. The Chinese consider gardening a complex art form. The garden dates back to 1537. It was beautiful.

That evening we attended a spectacular acrobatic show. It was an amazing show to watch.  We can’t wait to show you the pictures.

April 6, 2011

Today we developed a formal partnership with Luqiao Experimental School! It was a wonderful day!

The children begin each by exercising to music. They all meet on the playground and three children are selected to lead the exercises. When they finish exercising they run around the track and then proceed to their classes. I had an opportunity to address all of the children during morning exercise. They were eager to introduce themselves and shake my hand.

After morning exercises, I visited a 4th grade Chinese classroom. The teacher was discussing the news with the children and explaining how reporters communicate with their audience. It was interesting to see the children respond chorally to the teacher and turn and talk with their neighbors periodically to review the lesson, in the same manner that we ask our students to discuss what they are learning. At the end of the class I was asked to talk with the children. Each child took turns introducing their self to me. It was great fun to see them so eager to try out their English.

We then proceeded to art class. The teacher enthusiastically presented an art lesson to second grade students focusing on two cows. She began the lesson with a story. She displayed a variety of cows for the children to view. She also demonstrated a variety of techniques used to draw a cow's face. The children were asked to draw a picture of two cows and imagine what they were doing. They were then asked to color the cows. The students were very engaged in their work.

We then proceeded to the formal ceremony establishing Luqiao experimental school as our partner school. Vice Principal Ding begin the ceremony with a brief speech expressing their interest in formalizing the partnership. Mrs. Laura Wang read the memorandum of understanding in English and Ms. Yu read the MOU in Chinese. Principal Xia and I signed the agreements and exchanged them. The media captured the entire ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony we exchanged pictures of our schools, letters our students had written to each other and other gifts. We received beautifully decorated t-shirts the students had painted, calligraphy posters, and other creative artwork.

We then went to celebrate our partnership over lunch. When we arrived there was a car decorated with beautiful flowers. I was told that weddings are held on lucky days in China and this was a lucky day. I too felt it was a very special day for Scott students and staff. We then proceeded to a lunch made for royalty. Media and school personnel joined us for this special Chinese feast.

We then proceeded to the train station where we took a train to return to Hangzhou. This evening Global Indiana held a commencement ceremony for everyone involved in the trip and the administrators of their partner schools.

I would like to thank Principal Xia for the hospitality he extended to me. I am grateful to Xia Xiao zhang for arranging for Helen to serve as my interpreter. She did a wonderful job! Her English is very good and she is so very kind.  

Duncan Xiao zhang     

April 5, 2011

We left Hangzhou on Wednesday morning at 8:00am to travel to Taizhou. We traveled by mini van. The trip was supposed to take us 3 hours, however, our driver got us there in rocket time. The traffic in China is overwhelming. Cars, bikes, scooters, and motorcycles are jockeying for positions on the road. Folks cut across the road with little regard for lights or the direction of the traffic. I have to say it is best to chat with a friend or keep your eyes closed, as back seat driving is nearly impossible.

When we arrived in Taizhou we were escorted to a luncheon fit for royalty. The principals of our respective schools and their English teachers, who served as our interpreters, greeted Mrs. Shanks and me. The Chinese culture is rich with traditions. Each Principal from Taizhou and the members from the government who were present took turns toasting us, welcoming us to their schools.

Principal Xia and Helen, my interpreter drove me to Luqiao, which was about 20 minutes away from Taizhou. They escorted me to a four star hotel. Then they took me to Luqiao experimental school. My name was displayed on their digital marquee welcoming me to their school.

I briefly visited a music class upon my arrival. The students sang like angels. I was then taken to an English class. The students were very attentive and engaged in their work. The teacher presented the material using a power point presentation that was projected onto a screen. I observed some of the same strategies we use in our classroom in their classrooms. Students were asked to turn and talk with their classmates about what they had learned. I had an opportunity to talk with the students briefly at the end of their class. The students were eager to practice their English by formally introducing themselves, sharing their favorite color or their favorite animal with me, and asking me similar questions in response to theirs.

After class, Principal Sans and Helen invited me to join the students outside. The children had made kites in class and were flying them outside. The children readily invited us to join them in flying their kites. It was great fun!

Principal Sans then showed me a very small garden the students and staff designed and created. I was touched to see they had planted a peony, our state flower in honor of our partnership.

When school concluded we returned to the hotel for dinner.

At the hotel we saw a car decorated with roses and a young couple waiting to be married. We were told that couples select their wedding days based on the Chinese calendar and that today was a very lucky day. I too felt that it was a very lucky day and that we were so fortunate to begin a partnership with the staff and students at Luqiao.

We proceeded to dinner. Principals Sans, several of the assistant Principals, Helen and Laura, the English teachers and several local government representatives joined us for dinner. The meal was a beyond belief! All types of food were served on a huge lazy Susan.  Throughout the meal various people made toasts as a sign of respect and friendship.

         

Following our dinner, I met with Helen and Laura and we set up Skype accounts so that we could continue communicating with Principal Xia and each other when we returned to Scott.

April 4, 2011

Today we traveled by plane to Hangzhou. We arrived at the hotel early and since they were preparing our rooms, we decided to walk down to West Lake.  Several people stopped us and asked to take our pictures. They hadn’t met many people from the US and were excited to be able to practice their English with us. We had a lot of fun. The lake has many beautiful flower gardens for visitors to enjoy. Their boats are different than ours. There was a huge boat shaped like a dragon that people toured the lake and many little boats that look like a small flat boat with a roof on it, it is called sampan. 

On our way back to the hotel we visited a market on Qingfnag Street. The markets in China are much different than ours. They have an outdoor market where vendors sell many different items. They like to bargain with all of their customers.

April 3, 2011

Sunday morning began with us visiting the Temple of Heaven.  We started with a Tai Chi lesson in the park and then toured the Temple of Heaven displays.  From there we went to the Beijing Zoo where we saw the Giant Pandas snacking on bamboo. The zoo was packed with visitors and everyone was eager to get a glimpse of the pandas.

Today was a national holiday, similar to our Memorial Day, when the Chinese honor their relatives who have passed away.

Mrs. Duncan and I snacked at McDonalds.  We think our McDonalds is busy; the McDonalds in Beijing was so hot with lots of people packed in the restaurant. 

We left there and went in a Pedi cab through Hutong.  In fact, we visited a family and actually got to tour their homes.  We ended the evening another wonderful Chinese dinner.

 

April 2, 2011

Saturday was a great day.  We spent the first part of the morning climbing the Great Wall.  It was constructed in the 3^rd century B.C. What a climb!  Mrs. Duncan and I walked across the Great Wall for approximately one hour before riding the luge down.  The luge is very similar to riding a toboggan sled down a slide from the top of the mountain down to the bottom. 

We had eaten a lot of Chinese cuisine; therefore, we decided to dine at Subway.   After enjoying lunch, we spent some leisure time purchasing souvenirs to bring home.

     We boarded the bus to return to Beijing.  On our way back, we had a herd of sheep and goats cross in front of our bus so we had to stop and take pictures of them.  Then we headed back to downtown Beijing where we visited the Birds' Nest and Water Cube where the Olympic games were held.  Next we went to participate in an afternoon Chinese tea.  That was a cool experience because we learned a great deal about the Chinese customs and the symbolism behind so many things.  We finished the day with a wonderful Peking duck dinner.

Mrs. Shanks

April 1, 2011

Beijing is the Chinese capital. This ancient city received its modern name when it became the capital for the second time in 1402! Beijing means Northern Capital.

We arose early on Friday, April 1st and went to Tiananmen Square, the gate of Heavenly Peace. It is largest Public Square in the world! The line of people waiting to enter the square was very long. There are two HD screens, similar to TV screens that measure the size of a football field, in the center of the square that displayed pictures of the people, art and other items. Two soldiers stood in the middle of the square on each side of the Chinese flag guarding it. The military conducted drills in the square. The square was filled with hundreds, possibly thousands, of adults and children from all over the world.

From there we went to the Forbidden City (Gugong), once only accessible to the Emperor. We went to the Imperial Palace, one of the world’s most beautiful architectural achievements. It actually had a gold roof at one time, but it was removed during the 18th century. ! It took thousands of workers to construct this complex during the Ming Dynasty.  A moat and a protective wall surround the Forbidden City. The water in the moat was used to put out fires and the wall served to protect the emperor. The emperors often spent their entire lives in the complex. It wasn’t until 1949 that a commoner could visit the area. It was hard to believe that Mrs. Shanks and I were walking into rooms where emperors and their families once lived.

We walked from one beautiful building to the next. The walls are very ornate and beautifully decorated. On the roof of each building are small-carved animals. We wondered how they had made such beautiful carvings without many tools during that time.   There could be anywhere from one to ten carved animals on the top of the building.  The number of animals represented the rank of importance of the person who resided in that particular building.

When we returned we went to a local neighborhood restaurant that served handmade stretch noodles. They were served in a ginger broth and were very good. We also drank hot jasmine tea with our meal. Everyone had a great time.

From lunch we went to a shopping market. The market was four stories high and contained any item can imagine. Their specialty was pearls. The pearls were a variety of colors.

That evening we went to the Mongolian restaurant. Mongolian singers and dancers entertained us. One of the dancers, danced with four cups stacked on her head. We couldn’t figure out how she could do this without dropping a bowl. The food was served on a lazy Susan. We sampled each of the dishes served, but we weren’t sure what each item was.  Some of the food was rather unusual, but we are being very adventurous!

As you can see we had a packed day. It was so much fun. We are learning a lot about the Chinese culture. The people are truly amazing. Everyone is very friendly. We can’t wait to visit our sister schools! Five days and counting!.

Tomorrow we will be climbing the Great Wall of China.  We are very excited!

March 31, 2011

We arrived in Beijing late at night after a thirteen-hour plane ride.

Mrs. Shanks and I were a little apprehensive about the flight, but it went very well. We spent a lot of time getting to know the others on our trip. When we arrived in Beijing, our bilingual Tour Director, Daniel, met us and took us to our hotel.

March 30, 2011

Good Morning,
Mrs. Shanks and I will be traveling to China today. We are looking forward to this adventure, as we travel to our sister schools, Luqiao Experimental Primary School and Jiaojiang Experimental Primary School. We hope that you will follow our blog, so that you too can be a part of the journey.