Blogs from Shanxi, China, Asia - page 8

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY !!! We took our first Chinese overnight train to Pingyao – one of the best preserved ancient cities in China. So far we only could see some modern city developments and we really wanted to see some authentic places. Hard sleeper was really good and comfy (150Y/15£ each). Could even say that it was of better standard than the Russian Platzkart that we liked so much. We arranged to stay in Harmony Guesthouse - Courtyard hotel with a lot of charm and great interior. They also provided pick up for free so we did not have to think about that when we got there early in the morning. Upgrade to a double en-suite room was a nice gift as well (100Y/10£ per room). We really got to like ... read more

The flight to Beijing from Seoul was uneventful. Gimpo Airport is only about 15 minutes on the airport subway line from my hostel in Seoul and the check-in and security process there was really easy. A few hours later I was landing in Beijing. Immigration and customs was easy as well - just show them the passport and visa and you are good. An airport express train took me pretty close to my hostel in Beijing. It was only a short walk from the station to the hostel, well it is supposed to be short. I ended up going in the wrong direction before realizing my mistake, but it wasn't too bad. I got to see a small part of the city and I didn't walk too far off course. The hostel - Sanlitun Youth Hostel, ... read more

Friday, July 29, 2011 We had a public lesson morning for teachers in our program. Several teachers from the 3 different classes prepared a public lesson and presented for the entire group of teachers. The lessons were quite good and instructive for all. Both my teachers who presented did an excellent job and I was delighted. One of the teachers -- Alice, who teachers at a senior high school -- did a very creative lesson about earthquakes -- a prereading and reading activity that provided scaffolding with vocabulary and ideas in the reading to help students understand and read the text more effectively. First she presented a song or poem that made students feel an emotional response and then she showed them pictures after an earthquake. Using the pictures she elicited a personal response from the ... read more

Up early again to beat the dreaded tour groups to today's attraction; Heng Shan Hanging Monastry. Our lovely driver took us the 100+km round trip for little more than the public bus. Jutting out of the cliff on long stilts, the halls of the small monastery are built in contours of the cliff and connected with small stairways and corridors. From the top of the small rickety maze it appeared much further to the ground and Having been 'templed out' in Asia in the last few years this was a welcomed break from the usual and topped off what had been a lovely 24h experience of Datong...... read more

Yesterday and today have been spent getting ready for the beginning of the program. We reviewed all the materials. Judy went over many of the games and activities that she has on file with the assistants. She has a great deal of patience and enjoys going over every game in great detail. As she worked with them, I searched for the placement test --- began to develop a new one based on years past -- and then discovered the placement test and rubric that we had developed last summer. There were copies left over and there were also copies of the criteria for rating the oral performance so we will use that rubric. After lunch we returned to our teaching site at the Lin Xian Teacher Training Center and looked through the pronunciation materials and planned ... read more