Many of our friends and family members have heard the backstory of our China trip, but because you will need to know why we went, I’m going to repeat it. The story began in October 2017, when I accompanied Nick to his 50 year college reunion at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). Continue reading China, 2018 – Introduction →

First Stop: San Francisco

Our alarm clock rang at 5 AM,  and we immediately sprang into action. Nick said that a million people are in the air at any given  time.  I hoped they weren’t all on their way to JFK Airport, considering that this was the middle  day of Memorial Day Weekend. Continue reading Day 1 – Sunday, May 27, 2018 →

We awoke to a sunny San Francisco morning. Soon we discovered that my Fitbit charging cable  had been left at home. We walked to two Walgreens stores, and  then to a Target. It was at Target that we found a charging cable that fit my Fitbit.

Nicholas was taking the train to meet us on Market Street. There was a mall there that we had never entered before, but we learned that it’s one of Nicholas’ favorites, Continue reading China, Day 2 – May 28, 2018 →

We enjoyed the breakfast that was served  at our B & B, The White Swan. One of the reasons we  like this B & B  and its sister B & B, Golden Gate Hotel, so much is that we love chatting with the other guests. We discovered that we were the only Americans at breakfast today. Continue reading China, Day 3 – May 29, 2018 →

I always wear two watches when we travel. One is my traditional Boccia watch. It is set to the time back home. I didn’t need to reset it, because Hong Kong and Connecticut are 12 hours apart. I also wear a Fitbit. In addition to telling me the time, it keeps a record of the steps I take each day, and also of how much sleep I get. When we crossed the International Dateline and “lost” a day, the Fitbit got confused. Nick was able to straighten it out. Continue reading Day 4 – May 30, 2018 →

Time for breakfast, and that means dim sum. We asked the concierge for a recommendation, and he provided one, with  a map. Finding our way to the restaurant was part of our adventure, even with a map.  When we arrived, we were certain that this would be authentic Hong Kong food, because the menu had no English on it at all. Continue reading Day 5 – May 31, 2018 →

This would be our final day in Hong Kong. There was so much more to see and do. However, we would have to contend with the same weather forecast as yesterday: hazy, hot and humid. We decided to stay close to our hotel by going to the Hong Kong Museum of History, which was within walking distance. Continue reading Day 6 – June 1, 2018 →

We awoke at 4 AM and were in the hotel lobby, ready for our cab to the airport by 4:30 AM. We weren’t tired; we were excited to think about the schools we would be visiting in China! All airport procedures went smoothly.  At our gate, we met a young  American woman who had taken time off from her job to backpack through Southeast  Asia. Our son has the same adventurous spirit, having done that a few years back. We conversed happily until boarding time. Continue reading China, Day 7 – June 2, 2018 →

In the morning, the room that  housed our dinner buffet the night before became the room that  now housed our breakfast buffet.  At home, Nick typically eats a very small breakfast (truth be told, a few pieces of chocolate).  My breakfast is oatmeal in the  winter,  and my cousin Janet’s recipe for zucchini, flax and banana muffins in the summer. Continue reading China, Day 8 – June 3, 2018 →

This would be our first day at the preschool in Gu’an! We were picked up by Yaya, a teacher at the school and our local driver.  The school was a few miles from our residence,  and we were met there by Arla. The school’s entrance gate is majestic and imposing! The preschool is called a kindergarten, while at home,  children go to kindergarten after they finish preschool. Continue reading China, Day 9 – June 4, 2018 →

We were picked up at 8:10 AM and brought to our “office” at the kindergarten.  Arla has tried to find things we would enjoy eating and drinking. She  had asked if we would like coffee, but we aren’t coffee drinkers, so they ordered milk for us. I was touched by their efforts! It came in a plastic pouch, like Capri Sun juice drinks.  The rest of our breakfast consisted of vegetables, chicken and celery,  a bean paste filled bun,  something we could not identify but tried nonetheless, and rice porridge. We enjoyed our meal. Our main concern was that the temperature outside was predicted to be 106° F. Continue reading China Day 10 – June 5, 2018 →

We were picked up for breakfast at 8:30 AM. Breakfast consisted of a packet of milk, pumpkin strips, dried fruit, and a bun. We finished everything!

Yesterday we had shown the books we make using a sheet of copier paper. Today we were going to teach the teachers how to make them. Nick wanted to practice in advance, and the process came back to us easily. Continue reading China, Day 11 – June 6, 2018 →

In the morning, we prepared our next presentation. We would show videos Nick had taken of two specialists at our school. One video is called “Miss Val Runs a Gym Class,” and the other is “Miss Veronica and the Hedgehog.” Continue reading China, Day 12 – June 7, 2018 →

We learned that a new intern had arrived at our residence.  Like Julian, Eric  was a college student  who was studying Chinese. Julian and Eric traveled to and from the school on the school bus that transported about twenty children. Continue reading China, Day 13 – June 8, 2018 →

It was Saturday. We were going on a field trip to the Temple of Heaven, a stunning collection of halls and altars to which emperors went to pray, that is surrounded by a lovely park. We were very happy that Julian and Eric were joining us. Our driver was Liang, who brought along a friend and the friend’s son. Continue reading China, Day 14 – June 9, 2018 →

Today, Nick and I went  to the Great Wall, which is, of course, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most popular Wonders of the World. We were picked up for the drive to Beijing by Liang. Once in Beijing, William, our guide at The Summer Palace and Tienanmen Square, met us, along with his wife. They drove us to the Great Wall. Continue reading China, Day 15 – June 10, 2018 →

We awoke at 4 AM, but because we had gone to bed at 8 PM, we had eight hours of sleep and felt refreshed. We spent the early hours sending messages to family and friends. Later at the school, our breakfast was rice in broth, two buns, and a tofu/seaweed combination. The snack was cookies and yogurt. Continue reading China, Day 16 – June 11, 2018 →

Today we were going to the other  Pleasant Preschool, which is in Langfang, about an hour from Gu’an. It is situated  in a city, among rows of restaurants and businesses. In the lobby, we were greeted by Candy, a teacher at the school and our contact person with whom we had been corresponding. This school had fewer students than the one in Gu’an, so of course the staff was smaller. Candy began to take us on a tour of the school. Continue reading China, Day 17 – June 12, 2018 →

Several years ago, while trying to lift a student, I felt a pain in my lower back. That was the beginning of a problem that  has popped up occasionally,  for years. I always travel with my medication and heat packs, and typically, I feel better within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. During the night I felt the familiar lower back twinge, so a I applied my heat pack and took my medication immediately, hoping for the best. Continue reading China, Day 18 – June 13, 2018 →

On Thursday,  my back was much improved. We returned to the Gu’an preschool. We had no meetings that day. We discovered that Friday would be a very important day, and the staff was focused on preparing for it. Continue reading China, Day 19 – June 14, 2018 →

Now my back was  completely normal.  As I mentioned, today was to be a special day at the preschool. This was the weekend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which  commemorates a Chinese poet who lived more than 2,000 years ago. It is a cultural festival as well as  a public holiday. It was also Fathers’ Day weekend. Today, the children’s fathers had been invited to visit the school. In some cases, mothers attended, and in other cases, both parents, but every child had a parent present. Continue reading China, Day 20 – June 15, 2018 →

On Saturday , we were going to the Forbidden City.  a palace complex in central Beijing.  Containing more than 900 buildings, it was the home of emperors and their households from 1420 to 1912. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having the largest collection of preserved wooden structures in the  world. It was given its name because ordinary people were forbidden to enter it.  Today there can be up to 80,000 entrants each day.
Continue reading China, Day 21 – June 16, 2018 →

Liang, the driver who had picked us up at the airport two weeks ago, would be driving us to the airport today. Julian and Eric woke up early to help us with our luggage, and to say good-bye. Liang took us out for breakfast. He ordered twelve dumplings, fried bread, chicken soup, and more. Even though we knew that if we didn’t eat everything, he would think we didn’t like it and order more, we were too excited to  eat too much. Continue reading China, Day 22 – June 17, 2018 →