Teacher's note #1

From Dingman Yu (Friday 9 PM in Minneapolis)

I had problems finding the right 3G data card for my iPad and wifi is not available in the hotel. As a result we could not update you on our progress in China. When you read this, we should have solved the problem and will send you daily emails to keep you updated.

Day 1: From Minneapolis to Chicago, we had to sit in the plane for more than an hour because the pilot was flying from Texas on another flight and he was late. We had no problems with the connecting flight as the the board gate was located right next to where we had landed in Chicago. The flight was not totally full so the kids could switch their seats around. The flight was uneventful.

We got toBeijing just before midnight and were greeted by our local tourist guide, Sarah. We checked into the hotel hungry but it was too late for us to get anything.

We had a few hours to sleep before the morning wake up call sounded off. We went downstairs to have breakfast. It was in buffet style with a lot of options. Then we changed money at the lobby. Then we left the hotel for Beijing Royal School out in the northern suburban area. Our coach bus was very comfy with seats up to 50 passengers. The daytime ride through Beijing streets revealed a vibrant city scene decidedly different from the one the night before with a lot more traffic. Upon arriving in school, the staff showed us around school: classrooms, labs, and the library. We had lunch in the school cafeteria, nothing fancy, but enough to feed everyone. After lunch we toured the Chinese Herb Medicine Museum located inside a residential complex which was developed by the ownber-principal of BRS years back. From 2:00 to 4:00 we sat in for the school's graduation ceremony which was similar to ours except there were a lot more speeches from students and parents some of whom used English in addressing the audience. For dinner most kids went with some of the Chinese students who attended South last year. The weather today was not bad at all. It was cloudy and breezy at night.

June 18

As I am typing up, we are on our way to the Summer Palace. The weather will be a few degrees higher than yesterday. More details to follow.

I