Group Report #2 6/18 Tiananmen Square

[Hi, folks: I am not able to download the images separately as they are arriving as a single file, but I hope we can solve that problem soon.'

Tiananmen Square

Today we went to the Summer Palace in the morning and the Forbidden City plus Tiananmen Square in the afternoon. After dinner we went to the acrobatics show which was amazing. Jack Grover will tell in detail what happened today. I will have the pictures do the story-telling.

Leejay is enjoying his visit to the Forbidden City.

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

[interlude] watch the Decorah eagles "branching" before they fledge

My first international travel experience was also the first time I was separated from my family; I spent a summer in Mexico with a host family when I was between my Junior and Senior years in high school. I was 15 and it was 1972. My mother saved the letters I wrote home, and I still have a few of the pictures I took.

While we await news from our fledglings, I thought I'd share some news about the Bald Eagle family we can view by camera from Decorah Iowa. The eagle cam has allowed people to watch as three eggs hatched and the three baby eaglets have grown into juvenile eagles (juvies), with their black feathers. They are now in a stage called "branching": although they can't fly yet, they have been flapping their wings, hopping, and now they have finally hopped off the nest onto a branch. When their primary feathers are ready, they will attempt their first flight, or "fledge." The three youngsters are almost as big as their parents.
I just spent some peaceful time watching them; here's a video clip from today of the three kids with their dad, practicing their hops and probably begging for food:

How far away? and a few other questions

	北京

Beijing means "Northern Capital." People from all over China and all over the world have made their homes here.




The best street food in Beijing from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Fossil remains of pre-homo sapiens hominids (which may or may not be our direct ancestors) date back to at least 250,000 years ago ("Peking Man" or "homo erectus pekinensis"), with more recent fossil finds dating back much earlier.  

Today, the population is estimated at 20 million, with the influx of many migrants; since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the city has exanded greatly, especially in the last two decades.  However, Shanghai is the most populous city in China.


How far away is Beijing?
The straight line distance between Minneapolis and Beijing is approximately 6298 miles or 10,136 kilometers. Minneapolis is farther north than Beijing, but not by much.

What time is it there? What is the time difference between China and Minneapolis? I'm confused!
All of mainland China is on "China Standard Time" and does not use Daylight Savings Time. What is the time difference between CST and Minneapolis time right now? Add 13 hours (see the widget on the right side of this blog for current date and time).

What is a dollar worth in Chinese currency?

The currency in China is called Renminbi (RMB) and is issued by the national bank — the People's Bank of China. The units of Renminbi are Yuan, Jiao and Fen.  Ten Fen (like cents) is one Jiao (like a dime) and Ten Jiao is one Yuan (the basic unit).  The abbreviation of Renminbi is RMB or CNY with its symbol of ￥. Colloquially, Chinese people often say Kuai and Mao instead of Yuan and Jiao.

The exchange rate right now is about 6.5 yuan to the U.S. dollar.  1 yuan is about 15 cents, so 10 yuan is about $1.50 and 100 yuan is about $15.00. 

This ad for a language school combines sights of daily life in Beijing with characters and pinyin for basic vocabulary.

EF - Live The Language - Beijing from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.