Yanji

I am here in our next city having some technological issues. I hope to be able to post more again soon!

Dandelion School

Today we visited the Dandelion School, founded especially for middle school aged children of area migrant workers who would have otherwise been unable to receive their 9 year compulsory education.  Many of these families are not registered to live in the Beijing area so the free education that their children can receive would be available only in the area from which they came.  Most of the children live at the school Monday through Friday and spend the weekend with their families.  Although the accommodations at the Dandelion School are very modest, they are still much better than the conditions that they might endure with their own families. The children are happy, friendly, appreciative, and so very respectful of the teachers and the opportunity that they have been given.  We were able to spend the afternoon observing the classes, meeting with the teachers, and eating dinner with the students in their classroom.  The students even serenaded me
for my birthday in both English and Chinese! 
Tonight we are packing up to leave for Yanji on a 6am flight.  It is there where we will encounter more educational issues related to minority groups because of this city's proximity to the North Korean border.  I have very much enjoyed my stay in Beijing, but I am looking forward to cooler temperatures!

The Great Wall

Today will probably be on record as one of my favorite days in China despite the fact that I am still at the beginning of my trip!  We had to begin very early in order to beat the heat and drive about 90 km northeast of Beijing to visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.  It is less crowded and touristy than the Badaling section which is a little closer to Beijing.  With a 6am departure, many of us were snoozing on the bus and when we arrived, we were instructed to meet at a small coffee shop before we were to climb up to the cable car station in order to ascend.  Little did I know that my fellow travelers had arranged a birthday party for Tamara, who turned 30 on the 25th, and I, complete with birthday cakes decorated with our Chinese Astrological signs.  I am fortunate to be in China this year, as my sign is the Ox and 2009 is the year of the Ox! I am also very fortunate to be able to say that I climbed the Great Wall of China, and I
even have a t-shirt to prove it. About 9 of us also just enjoyed a 70 minute foot bath/massage after two very long days on our feet!

Hutongs

"Hutong" means "alley" and the word, a derivative of Mongolian, dates back 700 years to the occupation of the Yuan Dynasty. The traditional courtyard homes, which are still in existence, are about 70% government owned and 30% privately owned.  Upon completion of our tour today, we dined in a home that occupied 4 rooms of an 32 room area shared by many families, with the only common space being a "shared" bathroom.  Many of these areas are now preserved and restored with aid from the government. Perhaps the most fasinating feature of the Hutong is the existing neighborhoods around these areas which are bursting with energy from the nearby lake, shops, and the many bars which lined the streets. I hope that at some point during my trip that I will be able to access my blog and post some of the videos that I have taken which will show some of this rich cultural energy.  But for now, I am still being blocked, and thanks to some help from a friend of
mine, you should be able to see your comments posted soon!

Forbidden City

We had a very busy 13 hour day today starting with a visit to the Panjiayuan Market where we got to do some shopping and bargaining, a trip to Tian'anmen and the Forbidden City, a stop at a silk factory, dinner, and then a performance at the Lao She Tea House. Now we are back at the hotel preparing to depart at 6 am to visit the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall.  Forgive me, as it is often difficult to think clearly after these long days, but I know if I wait too long I will get behind on posting about all of our learning experiences!

Tian'anmen, or "The Gate of Heavenly Peace", is the main entrance to The Imperial Palace, or the "Forbidden City", which housed 24 emperors over 5 centuries.  Ordinary Chinese were forbidden from even approaching the walls and the emperors rarely left the premises. The complex contains over 800 buildings and would take days to walk around to see more than 900 rooms!

Beijing 2008

We got to visit the Bird's Nest and Water Cube today. During last summer's Olympic Games I never dreamed that a year later I would be here to see it for myself!

Here's what I won't be eating for dinner...

At our lunch banquet today we saw the "whole fish" on the plate including the eye. The eye is edible and the Chinese say that its consumption will improve your own eyesight!  I think I would rather eat the fish eye than the things pictured here.  The smell at this street market was so overwhelming that I had to step away.  Some of the items not pictured were: fried silk-worm, sheep kidney, and chicken heart.  Thankfully today our Chinese hosts at the Beijing Language and Culture University fed us some delicious dishes that did not contain any of these!

RIP Michael Jackson

Michael,

Thanks for lots of good times dancing to the Thriller record in our living room. You'll be missed.

Food

Perhaps one of the most interesting components of the trip has been our change in diet!  Our Chinese hosts have provided us with several formal banquets, and as a result we have learned about some of the etiquette.  For example, the most prestigiuous guest at the table would eat the chicken head.  No, we have not been eating chicken heads, but there was one on the plate that one of the hosts was happy to consume!  We also noted that the fish cheeks are the tastiest and most desired parts of the fish.  As for me, I have chosen to eat vegetarian while I am in China so I have been enjoying many cold dishes containing tofu, vegetables, fungi, peanuts, pumpkin...I could go on and on!  Last night our group split up since we didn't have a formal dinner scheduled and we went to Pizza Hut and ordered a Veggie Lover's Pizza which contained tomatoes, peppers, corn, and pineapple.  Pizza Hut is actually an expensive sit-down restaurant here!  It was nice to
have a break from Chinese food after eating it twice a day for almost a week.
Some of my colleagues visited an outdoor food market last night where they saw the scorpions, grasshoppers, snakes, etc.  They said that the sights and smells were a little overhwhelming, but I hope to get down there tonight to at least take some pictures.
I am trying to enjoy all the conveniences of Beijing because I know that the whole trip will not be like this!  In fact, I may even walk over to the nearby McDonalds to grab a coffee after I post this because good coffee is definitely something that is hard to come by over here.  I ask that you continue to please write comments and I will publish them as soon as I figure out the best way to accomplish this!

Time for English

Our second stop of the day was at Wall Street English.  We learned about their English training program and unique centers all throughout China and around the world.  They hosted a special "English Corner" where students sat and conversed with us and we did a scavenger hunt activity around the center.  It was really fun to hear a variety of levels of English and to teach them some new expressions like "don't cheat!" when playing a game.  Many students are participating in this program in addition to other jobs and responsibilities and it is incredible to see how motivated they are to learn English and to want to visit the United States.

Our days are very packed with activities and by the time we return to the hotel at night I am exhausted!  I am with a great group of educators and we are learning so much already. I am looking forward to the weekend when we can have some time for sightseeing!

Let the learning begin!

Today we began the day with a meeting with a teacher trainer from the Beijing Chongwen District, Ms. Di Di Yan.  Together we discussed how the English teachers are being trained to teach English and what their classrooms might sound and look like.  Some of the main things to note are that their semester grading breakdown looks much different than ours.  The mid term exam can be worth 30%, the final exam 40%, and the class activities, participation, and homework may only be 30% in total.  Also, there are not many discipline issues in class and students tend to be very quiet.  Asking a lot of questions and taking up the teacher's time can be considered a waste of class time by the other students.  To wrap up our meeting with her we practiced eye exercises which are often times performed several times a day to maintain attention and focus.

Our Arrival

We arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon about 4:15 after departing San Francisco at 11:15 am on Sunday.  Due to an erupting volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, our plane had to divert to a more southerly route to avoid volcanic ash.  This resulted in several more hours of flying time!  Our plane was then greeted by national health officials who board the plane and individually take every passenger's temperature with a laser-type gun.  Anyone even displaying a low-grade fever is quarantined in a hotel for 7 days!  Thankfully we all managed to safely pass the inspection but a few of my colleagues had to have their's re-taken after walking through the terminal and being flagged by a laser-scanning temperature device which are installed throughout the terminal.  It is more than obvious that the Chinese are taking H1N1 very seriously and we have had multiple reminders by our hosts and the hotel to contact someone if we begin to feel
ill. This is especially important within the first 7 days since this is when people would begin to develop symptoms after exposure.  We even had some locals plug their noses today and cover their mouths when we boarded an elevator! Our school visit tomorrow in Beijing has been changed to a briefing at the Chinese Education Association for International Exchange since officials are being cautious about possible exposure so close to final exams.

I am unable to post directly to Blogger so please bear with me while I try to figure all of this out!  I will love to read your comments but you may not see them posted right away. 

Adios!

Tomorrow morning we will be departing the Vallombrosa Center bright and early for our flight to Beijing. We have spent the last few days here preparing and learning about Chinese history, geography, sociology, and economics from university experts. We have also participated in two "Survival Chinese" lessons and after those I have to say that Spanish is easy! I have spent time with my fellow partcipants who come from New York all the way to Alaska and am very excited to continue this journey with them.

Orientation

On Thursday I will arrive in California for my pre-departure orientation and finally get to meet my fellow travelers. We will be convening in Menlo Park, California, just outside of San Francisco for a 2 day orientation to prepare us for our what to expect in the upcoming weeks. http://www.vallombrosa.org/ On Sunday morning we will depart as a group to Beijing and actually arrive on Monday afternoon at 2:40 pm. I am almost finished packing and the nerves are starting to set in...

Blogging Bans in China

Since I may encounter problems posting directly to Blogger from China due to internet bans, I am testing a new application from my Facebook page where hopefully I can post directly from here. Only about 10 days left until I arrive in Beijing!