We arrived in Beijing at 2:45 pm. We were all so excited to finally be there. We made our way through customs and all the entrance stations, and were swished away to baggage claim! After getting our luggage, Hallelujah all of us received it, we looked up to see our In-country travel manager welcoming and waiting for us. We jumped on the private motor coach for an air-conditioned ride and refreshments. Riley, our travel manager, kept us entertained the whole ride! We arrived at our beautiful hotel and had some time to freshen up. We then met our group for a briefing of what great adventures will await us tomorrow!
The hotel treated us to an excellent authentic Chinese dinner. Michael, our second in-country travel manager, taught the group how to use chopsticks the right way. Before we got dinner we had to prove our chopstick skills. Our task was to snatch an oiled peanut from a huge bowl at the center of the table. We all accomplished it, after a couple practice tries, but Rita shined BRIGHT. She was able to snatch 4 peanuts with her chopsticks at once. What an excellent performance!
Dinner was fabulous. We had at least 12 selections of beef, lamb, pork, seasoned fresh vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, noodles, and much more. It was amazingly divine! That is when the urge to sleep began to overwhelm us. We all headed to bed with our tummies full, minds excited for tomorrow, and bodies utterly exhausted. Beijing awaits us in the morning!
- Stephanie Wolfe
The plane rideMonday, August 3, 2009
I met our group at the airport with great excitement in the air! Just before boarding the plane we found out the results from the “Follow Me” contest. Emilie pulled out a win, coming from behind! She is now the lucky winner of a new Itouch phone! Congrats girl, you deserved it. She had almost 200 followers. Great job! Our group departed O’Hare Airport for our 13 hour flight to Beijing.
We were excited to find that we had been seated together in the back. We took up the whole back two rows. Yes, the flight was long and well; long. We watched movies, read books, listened to IPods, played games, and got to know one another. Our plane was a Boeing 777; having 42 rows deep and 9 seats across. Half way between Chicago and Beijing, our group decided to take a stretch break. Before we knew it, we were swarming the back portion of the plane, having snacks and talking. The airlines stewards were so accommodating and allowed us to “Stretch” in the dinette in the back of the plane. After an hour of discussion and hype about our future destinations, we decided to rest a little. Beijing was waiting for us and just around the corner! -Stephanie Wolfe IMG00003-20090803-1049.jpg
The temples and palaces of the Forbidden City revealed stories of power and rich symbolism of ancient empires. Tiannemen square quietly held all the Chinese power without the fear of any restrictions. After sweating in the humidityfor hours we felt useless in the heat. But energy quickly re-entered our bodies as we entered Dong Zhi Men; China's school of master ping pong players. Mr. Tong, the instructor has taught several world champions. We wasted no time in picking up paddles and getting schooled by 5-12 year-old boys and girls who will be future table tennis stars. This was a clear highlight for the kids. The CA team especially shined at the table (what did you expect?) even besting their Chinese opponents. During the Tai-chi, I had a moment of joy watching my students. We spent so much time preparing for this and it was finally a reality: we are in China learning an ancient, beautiful art. Their faces lit up as they learned every move and watched each other in the master's challenge. I feel so lucky to be exploring a new culture with such curious and fun students. --- ______________________________________________________________________ Ping Pong and More
What a great way to begin our adventure in China.... We started the day with a great tour of The Temple of Heaven and then learned some Tai Chi. I had the privilege of competing against a 67 year old Tai Chi master in a game of "push the master off his feet." I lost! Next, we spent some time in Tiananmen Square and stopped for some lunch. The food was great and it was nice to enjoy an ice cold Coke. After lunch we learned about the importance and history of the Forbidden City. We closed out the day by heading over to a local Chinese school to play some ping pong! The Chinese students were brilliant! We had an opportunity to learn from a professional Chinese coach. I played against two students, both under the age of 10. I managed to score maybe 10 points out of about 300 total points. Ping pong was the highlight of my day. I want to go back. The day went by fast and I am definitely ready for some much needed rest. What a great start! Thank you DSA.
--- ______________________________________________________________________ BlackBerry and Blogging!Friday, July 31, 2009
I am so excited to meet the China Crew! I am having a field day with the brand new and very cool BlackBerry that arrived at my doorstep today. I should also mention that my visa arrived today..... thus ending my panic dream because now I can officially say, I'M GOING TO CHINA!
--- ______________________________________________________________________ I'm Going To China!Wednesday, July 29, 2009 My name is Adam Controy and I am a fifth grade teacher at Bridge Valley Elementary School in the Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania. I have attended that last two National Institutes and have been a DEN STAR for two years. I just found out a week ago that I am going to China. Here is my story… A day before the DEN National Institute in San Francisco was coming to a close, Discovery Student Adventures announced they were going to randomly take another STAR on their trip to China. All I had to do was fill out an information card and cross my fingers. I did both! Anson Lee, Senior Director at Discovery Student Adventures, pulled my name out of hat the next morning. It was announced that I would attended the China Adventure with three other STARs and their students. You could tell from the look on my face that I was in a state of shock. However, with a little bit of encouragement, I was still able to do a “happy dance.” The turnaround was quick. Within a week’s time, I needed to apply for my visa, complete an immense amount of paperwork, cancel and reschedule a few workshops, and move up my daughter’s birthday party. Thank goodness my passport was current. My role on this trip is the same as the other three teachers. We will be working with their students to create a unique experience to take learning from the classroom into the real world. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to learn and explore China’s culture and traditions. I am fortunate enough to have been in the right place at the right time while attending the Discovery Educator's National Institute in San Francisco. I am very grateful for this opportunity and know that it will have a major impact on my life. I Dream of China...Friday, July 10, 2009             Well, it's official- our adventure in China is right around the corner. How do I know? Last night I had my first official China "panic" dream. What's a "panic" dream? I'm sure you've had them before- you probably just call them something else. You know, the dreams you start having a few weeks before school starts, where you:
Everyone has their passports & visas, so now we are just waiting to have our next teacher conference call on July 23rd. I'm really excited to compare checklists with Brett & Rita and talk about essential questions & "lesson plans" for our students to focus on during our trip. Anyone have any funny "panic" dreams to share? If you can identify and have any stressful dreams of your own, please share!
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