Tianhe Hotel Anshan

... book on Obama, a Clay High School yearbook, and a Clay Colonial blanket. Wang Yue, our event organizer, had a difficult time getting us out of the room and on to dinner. We had hot pot for dinner. Sarah got squeamish over the live shrimp being boiled alive, but everyone else enjoyed. The adult table of Chinese principals and staff would normally have had beer, but in deference to our custom of not having alcohol at school activities, they drank water. Tomorrow off to Shenyang.

... danced to Aaron's mouth percussion.The high point was the sharing of Chinese painting, calligraphy and knot making, Each of us left with a beuatiful gift created by the students on the spot. We posed for pictures one after the other, but were glad to do so. All of us were overwhelmed by the affection. Spirits are still high for our students. No homesickness that I am aware of.

This weekend is a festival where Chinese pay respects and give sacrifices to their dead ancestors. Most government workers were off work today but schools went on. Juniors and Seniors are preparing for their university exams. We began our day at Haicheng Senior High School. Our students were exuberant about their host families. All had been given the royal treatment. We were taken by bus to Maifeng village, where the mayor and his staff greeted us in his office. Maifeng's ecomonic ...

When we got to the Shenyang airport, the groups were divided and taken to their respective schools. The Clay group will probably not see the Discovery group for several days, so I can only post news about our group. We were met graciously at the airport by the principals and other staff from both schools, and then taken by bus. The Clay group stopped in a town for lunch, which all agreed ...

... s house for dinner. On Fridays my "little sister" Li Jia Wen, or Shuang Shuang, as I call her, (all Chinese have their 'real' names, and then family nicknames which only family and close friends call them) is at school. Shuang Shuang is 16, and a junior at the best high school in Anshan. This isn't bragging about the wealth or position of my Chinese family. In China, after 9th grade all students take an exam to determine their placement in high ...

... excruciating detail my day (think A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, but hopefully less tediously boring!) well I'll probably leave out some parts and I'm sure there will be a fair amount of digressions.... So...here goes! I will describe a typical Monday for you. I usually wake up anywhere between 6:30 and 7, sometimes on Mondays I don't drag myself out of bed until around 7:30. That's right, lazy bones Michele who would never take a class ...

... But oh well, my kindygardeners make it worth while. Dave, a former teacher at Apollo took Anastasia and I out to dinner and introduced us to many of the foreigners in the area. it was an....experience. Many of them seem to dislike China and much of the culture and griped about a lot of their experiences. I was a bit disappointed as after my initial culture shock there are many things about this place ...

... so they could stretch out to sleep, i got maybe half an hour on the whole flight....it was long and it was boring. I did get to see What Happens in Vegas, which was cute and played endless amounts of video poker, read almost my whole book, and did many crosswords and find the differences in the goofy little book my mom bought me. After the plane landed in Beijing, I had to go find my luggage and lug all 100+ pounds of it to a shuttle bus, then lug it back onto a ...

... bouquets of flowers and calligraphy scrolls done by students. Mine was a painting of the Chinese national flower. When we left the auditorium, students applauded, grabbed our hands, hugged us, and one little girl even kissed my cheek. I honestly felt like a movie star. When I got into the car, I could barely hold back my emotions. Another banquet at an elegant downtown Chinese restaurant with toasts and laughter all around. I fell asleep on the car ride home.