The Traveling Buckeyes

Greetings - It is 10:30 am Sunday, Seoul, Korea time - 9:30pm Saturday, Buckeye Time Well, never say never I guess. I thought the blogging was over and I would not have more journey reporting to do. As we were only a few minutes from boarding our plane, two Asiana represenatives approached Mrs. Raymond and said they were overbooked and they were in need of 17 of our seats on the plane. After some quick figuring, only 11 seats were really needed. Those that could stay vs. those that could not were divided, and the group was split to travel different courses. As I write this, the first - original - group is still about two hours from arriving home, which means they should be about leaving Chicago for home. The rest of us have continued ... read more

Greetings - It is 4:30am, Friday, China Time - 4:30pm, Thursday, Buckeye Time The day proved to again hold new adventure and interesting things. The morning was again filled with class for the kids. I was able to join their last class, which was kite making. Two retired gentlemen whom PinPin referred to as "Kite Masters" had materials available and instructed the kids on the art of kite making. We we were all done, we went kite flying in the court yard of the school. Did you know that kites originated in China? After lunch we boarded the buses and headed to the Silk Factory where we had a tour of how silk is made. It was very interesting and proved why good silk is expensive. We then headed to the Beijing Zoo to see the ... read more

Greetings everyone ~ Currently it is 4:45am Wednesday morning, China time ~ 4:45pm Tuesday evening, Buckeye time. Yesterday (our Tuesday) the kids spent the entire day attending classes at the Huiwen School, where we are staying. From what I heard at dinner, they had a fun day. The adults that did not have to stay with the students went on an adventure to the silk market. I have never experienced anything like it. It is a department store-type building with seven floors. Each floor has hundreds of stalls, probably about 12 x 12 completely full of everything from name brand clothes to purses and luggage to shoes to scarves and coats. As you walk down the aisles, the keepers of each stall are yelling at you, wanting you to buy what they have. I have never ... read more

This evening (it is 10:00pm Monday in China, 10:00am Monday in Buckeye Land). we were finally given a code to get into the wireless connection available at the school where we are staying. So, hopefully I can send a daily update from this point on. Since I sent emails to you earlier today, the kids completed their day at the sister school. They had a lesson in Chinese caligraphy, and then took a yoga/pe class with a Chinese group of students. We stayed until late afternoon and the traffic was heavy returning to Beijing, so by the time we made it back to the school, we had missed supper. I am sure none of the kids were disappointed to have dinner at McDonalds, which is about a five minute walk from our dorm. Each night it ... read more

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE SECOND ONE THAT YOU RECEIVED... Travel Blog Entry #2 Saturday Evening, June 14, 7:00pm China Time Saturday Morning, 7:00am Buckeye Time Hello everyone! Sadly this is my second entry and I still have been unable to send the first. This evening we walked to a McDonald’s that we had been told had public WiFi, but that did not prove to the be the case. Hopefully you have heard from your kids by this time and at least know that everyone is safe and sound. Today was supposed to start with a trip to The Great Wall, but the weather has not been good - it rained through the night and continued all day - so our guide decided we should postpone that trip until tomorrow. We began the day with a ... read more