Thursday, April 11
Is it time to come home already??
We have some free time this morning to get our bags packed and organized, then our tour guide will pick us up for lunch at 11 am. After lunch we head to the airport and board our flight for HOME :-]
We will call parents when we leave the airport and are on our way to Kennedy.
We have some free time this morning to get our bags packed and organized, then our tour guide will pick us up for lunch at 11 am. After lunch we head to the airport and board our flight for HOME :-]
We will call parents when we leave the airport and are on our way to Kennedy.
Wednesday, April 10
We set out at 9 am to visit the Yu Garden in the middle of old Shanghai. The garden was a beautiful example of classical Chinese Feng Shue. We had some free time to explore the shops around the garden, then we had another "lazy susan lunch" with multiple courses of delicious food. After lunch we spent some time at an indoor market similar to Beijing's famous Silk Market. We all got a few bargains, and travelled to an old courtyard neighborhood that has been converted to shops. Our last night in Shanghai was capped with another fabulous dinner.
Tuesday, April 9
Shanghai is a fascinating city - very different from Beijing! We started our day with a visit to the Shanghai Historical Museum, where we could view bronze from 2000 BC and jade carvings from 700 BC. Then we visitied the Bund http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bund and walked along the Huangpu River. Next we wandered along Nanjing street, an area of exclusive and traditional shops. We had a huge lunch and set out to explore again. Our first stop was a five minute walk away, to a silk factory, where we got a demonstration on how silk is made and a chance to shop for high quality silk items. We hopped on the bus to visit Shanghai's tallest building - the Shanghai World Financial Center. We rode to the 94th and 100th floors for fabulous views of the city. Dinner and a nighttime river cruise capped our busy day.
Monday, April 8
Our last day in Beijing began with a tour of the new kindergarten building. The students there are SO cute and many of the ideas their teachers learned from Violet, Rodgers and Masonic Heights teachers are being used every day. We assembled one last time in the south cafeteria for a special farewell and final lunch. The Haiwai school gave each of the students a bear dressed in theschool uniform. we gathered our luggage and said our farewells to our host students, then boarded a flight for Shanghai. On arrival in Shanghai, we were met by our tour guide, Alan, taken to dinner and delivered to our hotel for a good night's rest before our full day of site-seeing tomorrow.
Sunday, April 7
We all returned to Beijing late Saturday. Unfortunately, we had no internet connection while away from Beijing - that is why there were no postings. Tomorrow we travel to Shanghai. We stay at a college dormitory, so we are not sure if we will have internet acess.
Today we visited the the Emperor's shopping street, the Temple of Heaven and the Pearl Market. We struck some hard bargains in the market and capped the day with dinner at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken - there's one on almost every corner in Beijing!)
Today we visited the the Emperor's shopping street, the Temple of Heaven and the Pearl Market. We struck some hard bargains in the market and capped the day with dinner at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken - there's one on almost every corner in Beijing!)
Wednesday, April 3
Another gorgeous day in Beijing for touring the Summer Palace and grounds. We spent the morning at the Summer Palace touring, dancing, and joining in the activities Beijingers love to do in their parks.We returned to the school for lunch and then toured the primary school with teachers and administrators. Later this afternoon, we leave with our host families. Students will return to school late Saturday - while they are with host families, we will post some of the pictures THEY have been taking since arriving in China.
Tuesday, April 2
It is a BEAUTIFUL day in Beijing! Sunny and 65 degrees made for perfect conditions for visits to the Beijing Zoo and Olympic Complex. We saw the giant pandas and other animals, then had our lunch at the zoo, before driving to the Olympic Village where we toured the Bird's Nest and Water Cube from the 2008 Olympics.
Monday, April 1
Students were up early today for morning exercise with the Haiwai students. Then they had breakfast and classes with Chinese teachers, including Kung Fu lessons. Lake Shore teachers presented lessons to the Chinese students. Everyone had great experiences. We attended the whole-school flag raising ceremony, then students went to class with their host students and old friends. After lunch at the school, we visited an historic part of Beijing - the Houhai alleyway (hutong) which was filled with old courtyard houses that have been converted to shops, restaurants and coffee bars. We explored the area for the afternoon, returning to school for dinner and sports with the Chinese students.
Sunday, March 31
Happy Easter! We awoke to a cold, foggy Beijing, but bundled up and drove north to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Luckily, the vendors there were selling hats and gloves we could add to our outfits to stay warm. We returned to the school at about 3:30 for some rest before our dinner at 5:30. After dinner we will play ping pong, badminton or basketball and meet with our hosting student.
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE (NEW) PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY :-)
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE (NEW) PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY :-)
Saturday, March 30
We started our day with breakfast at school. The Haidian Foreign Language Shiyan School (Haiwei) gave each of us school jackets to wear on our travels. We gathered up our sack lunches and gear and hopped on the Haiwei school bus to head to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. After seeing those sites, we walked to the adjoining Jingshan Park. We climbed the park's hill and had a fabulous view down on the Forbidden City. We ate our lunches in the park and enjoyed a rare treat - a sunny, clear day in Beijing!
Our bus was waiting to take us to Wanfujing Street, a pedestrian-only street full of exclusive shops. We explored the shops, a local Christian Church and visited a side street that sells exotic snacks and has plenty of street vendors to practice our bargaining skills on.
Our bus was waiting to take us to Wanfujing Street, a pedestrian-only street full of exclusive shops. We explored the shops, a local Christian Church and visited a side street that sells exotic snacks and has plenty of street vendors to practice our bargaining skills on.
Our first supper
Our partner school had a special meal ready for students and teachers in the cafeteria so everyone got to perfect their chopsticks technique. Administrators had a traditional mongolian dinner with Chairman Li and his administrators at a nearby restaurant.
Our 2013 Chaperones
Our chaperones will be Dawn Hannawi and Robin Kutney from Lake Shore High School, Yang Li, Cindy Clow and Travis Chesser from Kennedy Middle School, Paul Schroll from Violet and Deb Barnett from Rodgers.