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.