Rural School and Ancient Town

Today we drove a long way to visit a rural village school that is sponsored by People to People.


The ENTIRE town turned out to greet us. They had musicians and dancers lining the road into town as well as the citizens watching the spectacle. It was pretty incredible. The people were very curious about us and very friendly. I don’t think any Americans have ever visited this village before. It was certainly inspiring to see how people live when the make very little money each year. Everyone in the village participates in farming of some kind and they are very poor.






The school there was built by People to People and the students were all there even though it was a Saturday. We had a performance of a song by many of the students and directed by a student who looked about 9 years old. It was cute.




Next we had a performance of the opera of the village. This is a group of men in elaborate costumes with masks that depict different types of characters. They sang a little and acted out a story through their dance. It was incredible to watch. It was like being in the middle of a National Geographic Program.






Next a group of women performed. They wore traditional dress of their group which was not quite as elaborate as what the men wore.

We had some more interaction with the kids, including teaching them the Hokey-Pokey and then it was time to go. It was a true cultural experience that I will never forget. The beauty of what they were doing and the pride they took in it was incredible.



After lunch in a restaurant in a town some distance away, we went to a park that is really a village where the people live much like they did 600 years ago. They have added electricity but few other modern ideas have crept in to their lives. We saw a group of people washing their clothes in the river, for example. Also, the houses in the village are made of stone and they were once a fortress for Chinese generals. We saw some pretty interesting things here as well.



We returned to the hotel in and exhausted state! I can’t believe it is time to head home already. I have really enjoyed my time here and would come back. There is so much that I did not have a chance to see. I do not look forward to the plane ride tomorrow!!

School Visits

Today we visited two schools. In the morning we went an experimental kindergarten in Guiyang. It is actually a preschool with kids from age 0-3 in one group and 3-6 in the other. We first met with the owner, the director and some teachers from the school. They gave us some basic information about the school and the curriculum. This one is actually very much like some of the preschools at home.



Next, we visited a class of three year olds and their parents or caregivers who were with them to experience the class as well. They did lots of hands on things like shaking bottles with things in them to the beat, playing with a parachute and some gross motor climbing. The teachers did a great job and the kids knew the routine. The first class finished and then another with younger students came in. They did similar activities but ones more appropriate to their age and level. The kids were really cute and not very shy.



After observing these two classes, we went back and met some more with the teachers. We had a nice discussion about how we teach and how they teach. Again, it was nice to see that our teaching is not that different at all. They are doing the kinds of developmentally appropriate things that we teach our teachers to do.

After an exchange of gifts, we headed outside to watch the kids during play time. What a chaotic and fun scene. The kids could have free play and they had lots of equipment and materials to play with. in the summer months, they even have a pool! Many of the children came up to us and said "hello" and asked how we were. That was the extent of their English which is about like my Chinese! They were very eager and wanted to talk with us and shake our hands.


We participated in some of their outdoor activities and then went to lunch with the teachers from the school and a couple of professors from the university. After lunch, we visited a primary school that housed grades 1-5. They greeted us at the door of the school. The 5th graders came and practiced their English with us. They actually did pretty well but only knew a few phrases. We then had a brief introduction from the principal.

Our group then watched a teacher and some first graders do a lesson on traditional values and then calligraphy. Some of the kids were advanced enought to use the traditional ink and brushes to do their writing. Others traced the shapes with a pencil.
Some of the kids were very good at the calligraphy and we got to keep some of what they made. It was awesome. I am going to fram mine if I can. It will look good in my office.

We ended the visit with another educational discussion between the Chinese teachers and the American teachers. I believe it was a good exchange and we all learned some about each other's culture.

What a fantastic day! We had the evening on our own tonight but I was too tired to do anything but blog and rest. We have another school visit tomorrow that I hope will be as good as today.

Education Forum in Guiyang

Well, today we went to the conference that we are really here for. We had no ideas it would be such a big deal. It was held at the Guizhou Normal University which is a university that prepares teachers (among other things). The opening ceremonies were quite elaborate.


We were greeted by two lines of student volunteers playing traditional instruments and dressed in costume.


Others were dancing. One group came forward and offered random people a drink or rice wine out of a horn. I think I am glad they did not offer it to me!! We had a red carpet to walk on when we got to the building where the forum was to be held. There were many students to greet us and they were all eager to try out their English. Our guide told us that they had 100 student volunteers but that 1000 had applied to help out. I wish we could get that kind of motivation at home. Maybe it got them out of class for the day (ha).


We started the forum in a big auditorium. This was marked by MANY speeches from Chinese officials and US counterparts form People to People and other organizations. We had a tea break in the middle where they had snacks and tea and coffee. Many of our group tried a Chinese toilet for the first time. Some refused to do so and stood in line for 20 minutes to use the one Western toilet in the building.

We had to wear a device so we could hear the translator during the speeches. One of the things the forum was doing was to celebrate 30 years of China working with the US. We also heard a little background about the Chinese education system in this province and the steps forward made in the last 30 years.

We walked over to the school cafeteria for lunch. It was very good with all kinds of selections of food to choose from. And, we got to eat on old fashioned cafeteria trays so I could separate my food to my heart’s content.

The afternoon was spent in meetings with just our delegation and some Chinese teachers. Each group did a presentation and then we had an hour or more for open discussion. The Chinese teachers and University educators were very curious about our system. It is really hard to describe our system since every state has its own rules about teacher certification, etc. They also asked us some questions about getting parents involved with their children and what they are working on. We gave suggestions and I hope we were able to give them some good ideas.

From what we can tell, there system in early childhood is mimicking ours but at a slower pace. They also train their teachers to look at the whole child, what is developmentally appropriate and how to stimulate them at an early age. This was certainly a wonderful experience. I gave the university professors three editions of Current Issues in Early Childhood. I don’t know if their English is good enough to read through them or not but I am glad to have those heavy books out of my backpack!! The forum closed with a closing ceremony with a couple more speeches saying how successful the day had been.

We had just enough time to change clothes and then head out to a banquet for the forum participants. There were a couple of speeches and a toast. Then we had a wonderful buffet dinner and some musical performances by students from the university. One of the performances was a minority group that sang without accompaniment. This group really reminded me of one style of singing we heard in Bulgaria. Even the costumes were sort of similar.


You can tell that these groups of people might have been related to each other in the past. It is amazing the way things seem to be interconnected. Sometimes you just have to experience it to see the connections.

The Internet connection was working in the room when we got back but sadly only lasted for about 20 minutes. Again, this posting is very late!!

Arrival in Guiyang

Today we flew to Guiyang where we will meet Chinese educators at the forum. Our first stop was on the way to the hotel at the people’s square. There were many people there and most of them had never seen a foreigner before so we got a lot of stares. The people there were flying kites, playing chess and poker and one groups of ladies was singing and dancing. We listened to that for quite a while. It was a really neat experience and the people were very nice and very curious about us. Of course, they did not speak any English but were very willing to have their picture taken.

The square is marked by a large statue of Chairman Mao who has his arm raised as though he is waving at the people. Across the street, the other side of the square has a large clock and…..(wait for it)…a Wal*Mart. Yes, a WalMart. How ironic that capitalism has creeped in right across from the Mao statue. Also, the entrances to the WalMart are two glass pyramids that look like the entrance to the Louvre in France. I wonder whose idea that was. It is a much more pleasing look than what we have.

We had dinner in a restaurant featuring food from one of the ethnic minorities found in Guiyang. It was certainly different than what we have had so far. It was very mild and there were several dishes that were not recognizable. The eggplant there was very good!

After that, we were all exhausted. The Internet in my room was down so I will have to post this later.

Tuesday and the Great Wall

Today we started with an in-country briefing. Local guides gave us information about the geography of China including all the provinces, major cities and special holdings of China (like Tibet). We then got a BRIEF history of China from Confucius all the way through Chairman Mao and the new China. The guides are very careful about what they say about the government and their country. It would be interesting to know what they really think about the current government but since they have never known any other kind of government, it would probably make no difference.

Our guides also gave us some information about Beijing and Guiyang, the city we will visit for the bulk of our trip. The school we are visiting on Friday is in a rural area where the average income is only $64 per year. I cannot even imagine what that must be like.
We also learned some cultural do’s and don’ts including the kinds of gifts that are OK to give. For example, green hats should not be given to men as it means their wife has had an affair. Also, clocks are never given as gifts because it reminds the person of their own death and is seen as bad luck. Our delegation met as a group after this briefing to more fully introduce ourselves and to discuss how the meetings will go later in the week at the conference.

Our next stop was lunch and a bit of shopping at the Friendship Store which is close to the section of the Great Wall we were going to visit. The lunch was great! We did not have to eat anything that was too weird. I did not buy much at the store but some people went a bit crazy!



Finally, we were on our way to the Wall for 2 hours of climbing.
It was tough going as the steps were very uneven and steep. But, what a great view and a wonderful feeling to realize that I was climbing up the Great Wall. It's another one of those things that you have learned about all of your life and then suddenly, there it is!! Wow. Let me just say it again, WOW!!



As we got to the top of one section and came down the other side, there was, of course, a souvenir shop with t-shirts, certificates, and a hero card all stating that “I climbed the Great Wall”. I opted for a $7 piece of metal that has a relief of the great wall and says I climbed it in English and Chinese. They engraved my name and the date on the other side. It is really kind of cool and I will keep it in my office. I hope those people don’t climb up there everyday to go to work. Hopefully they have an alternate way that is a bit easier. The views from this area were also very good. I can see why the wall worked to help keep enemies out. I would have hated being a soldier defending this section.




Coming down the steps was harder in some ways because of the uneven steps. I could breathe easier going down but the knees felt it a little bit. As I was coming down several people stopped to talk to me. One gentleman from Indonesia asked to take a picture with me which I did and then he wanted my picture with a Mongolian man who was also there. I did that too. It is kind of weird being stared at all the time.

After our exhausting climb, we went to a Beijing duck dinner. I have never really liked duck before but this was really good. It did not have that gamey flavor that I have always tasted in the past. We had lots of things to go with it. We had lemon chicken and all kinds of vegetables. One of the dishes was fried roast duck with scorpions. Yes, scorpions.

I think if I had not seen all the legs, I would have been able to try them but the legs really turned me off. Several people at my table tried them and said they were just crunchy and had no real flavor. I’ll never know.

On our way back to the hotel, we drove around Tiananmen square. It was closed for the evening but at least I can say I got to see it. The picture of Chairman Mao is still on one of the gates gazing out over the whole of the square. There are some government buildings around it and of course, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. Our guide told us that people still go visit him, out of respect. He said that even though he started the cultural revolution, the people have now forgiven him and pay their respects.




What a packed and exhausting day. Tomorrow, we fly to Guiyang in the Guizhou province for our forum on education.

Arrival (Finally!)

First, let me say that we have very little time to do anything other than the activities that are planned for us. I had no time to get on the Internet in Beijing so these entries will be a little late.

Upon arrival in Beijing, we were met at the airport and taken to the hotel. Our luggage was brought to us shortly and we then had our opening dinner. We met the other people in our delegation but the dinner was informal and we did not do anything important or formal, it was just a “get to know you” dinner. The food was good and was a mixture of Chinese and Western food. Then we all went off to our rooms for a well deserved rest. I had no roommate and was very excited about this but alas, it was not to be. About 10:30 I was awakened by the bell boy trying to open the door with his key. It would not open so I looked out the peep hole and opened the door. It was my roomie! Her name is Cheryl and she is an instructor at a University in California. We visited a little and then we were both so exhausted that we just passed out!

So far, everything has been great and I am looking forward to a big day on Tuesday!

Travel Day 1

China, here I come!! I have not really been keyed up about this trip like I was for my other ones this year but now I am getting excited since I have acutally started the travel portion of the trip. I think it will be very exciting and everyone I have talked to thinks so too.

Well, really, today was just a travel day to San Fransisco. My international flight to China leaves at 11:00am tomorrow. There is NO WAY to fly from Amarillo to San Fran by 11:00am on a Sunday so here I am in the business center of the Crowne Plaza hotel close to the airport. I am using the business center computer to avoid the $9.95 Internet fee. So far it has worked. I have been in here for an hour grading online papers and "stuff like that". I took a nap earlier and then watched the travel dude on PBS (Rick Steves, I think?). He was in Athens, Delphi and then on the Pelopponese in Greece. It brought back great memories. They would show something and I could say, hey, I have been there!! What a great feeling.

I think I am done grading and need some dinner and a good night's sleep. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I will try to post again when I get to China depending on the Internet availability, etc.

Travel On!