Village schools

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Today we visited several schools in Shanxi...we went into the mountains, visited a village where Chairman Mao stayed for 1 night and visited the room where he slept...the houses are built in caves in the side of the mountains...out of stone, tiles, or a type of mud or shale that is part of this region's terrain. The government is engaged in a national initiative to create schools and to educate the children, particularly in the rural areas so we visited several recently constructed schools in rural villages outside Shilou. It was quite instructive to meet the directors and speak with the teachers who teach primary and middle school English. We are now trying to think about how to structure the training program for these teachers, whose English proficiency, educational background, and experience vary so greatly. This will be a challenge. One of the villages we visited was nestled in the cliffs/mountains along the Yellow River...we managed to go by van down to the banks fo the river -- a muddy indeed yellow river with a fast current...some men in a boat were dredging the river for the sand on the river bed, which will be used for construction...all incredibly interesting...we also had lunch in one of the villages...sooooo good! The food so far has been so good...and we eat all the time!

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