Here are some pictures from the schools we visited. Note I did not include pictures of the olympic size pool that the kiddies are using. This is just a small fraction of the pictures from Beijing. [View Full Entry]

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Finally as promised. I will start posting pitures. These are pictures from a couple of days in the Beijing area. These are some of the tourist type spots we hit. [View Full Entry]

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Most of you are aware that the we are all safely back home. I apologize for not writing for so long, but the jet lag was awful once I returned. I was warned it would be, but I am pretty physically active person, seldom get sick, and consider myself a healthy person, but I have to admit it has taken a while to get back to my normal routine. I have been like a baby with their days and nights mixed up, but all is well now and I do want to make several more posts. First, I want to tell [View Full Entry]

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I have my notes from our visit with the Xi'an Dong Fang Ya Ti Vocational Technology Institute and our seminar with the Ministry of Education. Since then we have also visited Fudan Univerisity and spoken with the principal of the Fudan University affiliated Elementary and High Schools. I will combine some of the information covered here. Here is some general information about China's educational system: 1) Students are required to attend school through grade 9. 2) Public schools are the schools of choice here. Private schools are considered not as good. This is because public schoo [View Full Entry]

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Questions- 1)Someone asked about accupuncture being only available in hospitals or in specified areas. Actually, when we were in Beijing, accupuncture was available in the hotel. I thought about trying it, but I have been very careful about trying not to get sick. And accupuncture from a hotel whether Chinese or American just doesn't fit my idea of caution. 2)Someone asked about coins and I said their were no coins. I was wrong. I know for sure there are coins equal to 1 yuan. The same value as the paper yuan because I got it as change today. There is also [View Full Entry]

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Before I write my next day's entry I want to answer some questions that I saw on the comments: 1) Were the thousand year old eggs really a thousand years old? No...they are rarely over 100 days old. Something else that is interesting about the eggs is that they are duck eggs. 2) Smog problem. The smog is definitely an issue. I asked our trip leader about what the government is doing to correct it since the Olympics will be here shortly. He said that the government has already started requiring companies to not pollute the air. I also heard the [View Full Entry]

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This is why I didn't write yesterday. The dinner show ended at 10pm and then we had to ride back to the hotel. Back at the hotel the community college instructors put their gift bags together for the meeting with the technology institute scheduled for the next day. Finally FELL into bed about 12. 1) Big Wild Goose Pagoda - Big Wild Goose Pagoda, situated in the Da Ci'en Temple, is one of the famous Buddhist pagodas in China about 4 kilometers from the urban center. Buddhist priests still worship there. 2) Banpo Museum and Excavation Site - Located at the [View Full Entry]

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Before I tell you about our day I want to answer a couple of questions. How long is the Great Wall? The actual length of the Great Wall varies from different authors, but it ranges from 3,000 to 4,500 miles (3/4). The actual length of the Great Wall was at one time 6,000 miles long. After lots of vandalism and erosion, the wall has reduced to become what it currently is now. Length of Wall What type of Internet access do they have? Broadband and dialup is all I know about. Thanks for the question Glenn. An [View Full Entry]

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Let's bypass breakfast. You know the spiel. On the way to the Emperial Summer Palace we drove by where all the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and track and field will take place. They have started work on it and it is amazing. I have a picture but the haze today was very thick and the picture was taken from the bus. It looks like a HUGE birds nest. It is not completed yet, but it is enough so that it is impressive. After that we went to a silk rug factory where the process for creating silk rugs by hand [View Full Entry]

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Whitney Houston sings I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. ... This perfectly describes what we saw at two schools today. Keep in mind that the schools we saw today were the best of the best, teaching the brightest of the brightest and being taught by the best of the best. If they meant to impress...they succeeded. Our first visit was with Beijing No. 8 Middle School. This school teaches 2500 students. There are about 40 students per class. The teachers are paid about $10,000 per year. The students are engaged and [View Full Entry]

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