Well, the big pull for me to the orientation was to get the itinerary. I've been dying to know where we will be going, and was THRILLED to find out that we were going to places other than Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing. I admit to being a little bummed that there is no time for Hong Kong Disneyland (a girl can dream), but there are SOOOOOO many fun things to do that the disappointment quickly left. I'm extremely lucky to be going on this trip, and no Disney park is going to stand in my way, darn it!
The orientation was a lot of fun. I met all of the trip participants, and I think that we are going to be a good group. My roommate for the night Mona was a blast, and I am sure that we will have fun in China. We had lectures about the Great Wall, education in China, a brief (very brief) introduction to Chinese, a look at Chinese history, and some videoconferencing with people in Xi'an and Shenzhen. We had a group dinner at the Chow Bar in Bloomington, which has some SERIOUSLY good Chinese food. I'm not a huge tofu eater, but the Szechuan tofu there was killer! I also grabbed a bubble tea (you have to try it). We watched a movie Saturday night called Please Vote for Me, which was about a democratic election held in the second grade in China for class monitor. Very enlightening. Sunday we took our luggage on a tour of the Student Union to see how weel we could manage our luggage. I consider myself a packing pro now, so it was no problem at all. We also got some packing tips and an introduction to our curriculum project.
It was a fun weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to leaving! I've bought my plane ticket to Chicago, secured my seats on that flight and the ones to/from China, and have nothing to do now but wait!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Itinerary
Read it and revel in my happiness...this trip is going to kick some serious booty. This is all tentative, of course, but gives a pretty decent idea of what I will be up to!
June 12 Chicago
Depart for Chicago and attend pre-departure orientation. Spend the night at the fab Hilton Chicago O’Hare. Group dinner with my trip peeps.
June 13 Chicago to Hong Kong
Nothing says fun like ~15.5 hours on a plane! Long endurance baby!
June 14 Hong Kong
Arrive in Hong Kong via time travel. Suddenly, it’s Monday!
June 15 Hong Kong
Sightseeing – check out Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, Aberdeen
Fishing Village, and the Giant Buddha
June 16 Bus to Shenzhen, fly to Giulin
Visit to the Planning Building, Xiasha Urban Village, the Central Business District, Overseas China Town, Dafen Oil Painting Village, and Dongmen
June 17 Giulin
Longji Terraced Field (yes!!!) and the Zhang and Yao Minority Villages
June 18 Giulin to Yangshuo
Boat cruise, West Street, and a school visit
June 19 Yangshuo to Giulin (by bus), fly to Nanjing
Check out the Xingping fishing village
June 20 Nanjing to Suzhou by bus
Gate of China, Memorial Hall to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River
June 21 Suzhou
Lingering Garden, local tea house and folk music, Silk Institute Museum, paddle-wood-boat tour (any bets on me falling out of the boat?), silk factory and a silk fashion show, Guan-qian Street
June 22 Suzhou to Shanghai by bus
Shanghai Museum, Bund, Ming Dynasty Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road, Night cruise in the Huangpu River
June 23 Shanghai
2010 Shanghai World Expo, baby!
June 24 Shanghai
School visit in the morning, free day in the afternoon! First free day of the trip…what to do, what to do…
June 25 Shanghai to Xi’an via plane
School visit in Xi’an, Ancient City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Mosque, Imperial Dumpling Banquet Dinner, Traditional Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show
June 26 Xi’an
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum (I could pee my pants in excitement about this), Hing Jia village, Noodle-making performance, art ceramics factory
June 27 Xi’an
Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum and another free afternoon
June 28 Xi’an to Beijing by plane
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Peking roast duck banquet dinner
June 29 Beijing
Temple of Heaven, practice taichi, Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Hot pot dinner
June 30 Beijing
Largest jade center of Asia, Great Wall (!!!), Ming Tombs/Changling Exhibition Hall, farewell dinner
July 1 Beijing
Free study day (AKA get last minute shopping done!)
July 2 Flying home
This time, only around 13.5 hours! It’s a miracle!
June 12 Chicago
Depart for Chicago and attend pre-departure orientation. Spend the night at the fab Hilton Chicago O’Hare. Group dinner with my trip peeps.
June 13 Chicago to Hong Kong
Nothing says fun like ~15.5 hours on a plane! Long endurance baby!
June 14 Hong Kong
Arrive in Hong Kong via time travel. Suddenly, it’s Monday!
June 15 Hong Kong
Sightseeing – check out Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, Aberdeen
Fishing Village, and the Giant Buddha
June 16 Bus to Shenzhen, fly to Giulin
Visit to the Planning Building, Xiasha Urban Village, the Central Business District, Overseas China Town, Dafen Oil Painting Village, and Dongmen
June 17 Giulin
Longji Terraced Field (yes!!!) and the Zhang and Yao Minority Villages
June 18 Giulin to Yangshuo
Boat cruise, West Street, and a school visit
June 19 Yangshuo to Giulin (by bus), fly to Nanjing
Check out the Xingping fishing village
June 20 Nanjing to Suzhou by bus
Gate of China, Memorial Hall to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River
June 21 Suzhou
Lingering Garden, local tea house and folk music, Silk Institute Museum, paddle-wood-boat tour (any bets on me falling out of the boat?), silk factory and a silk fashion show, Guan-qian Street
June 22 Suzhou to Shanghai by bus
Shanghai Museum, Bund, Ming Dynasty Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road, Night cruise in the Huangpu River
June 23 Shanghai
2010 Shanghai World Expo, baby!
June 24 Shanghai
School visit in the morning, free day in the afternoon! First free day of the trip…what to do, what to do…
June 25 Shanghai to Xi’an via plane
School visit in Xi’an, Ancient City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Mosque, Imperial Dumpling Banquet Dinner, Traditional Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show
June 26 Xi’an
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum (I could pee my pants in excitement about this), Hing Jia village, Noodle-making performance, art ceramics factory
June 27 Xi’an
Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum and another free afternoon
June 28 Xi’an to Beijing by plane
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Peking roast duck banquet dinner
June 29 Beijing
Temple of Heaven, practice taichi, Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Hot pot dinner
June 30 Beijing
Largest jade center of Asia, Great Wall (!!!), Ming Tombs/Changling Exhibition Hall, farewell dinner
July 1 Beijing
Free study day (AKA get last minute shopping done!)
July 2 Flying home
This time, only around 13.5 hours! It’s a miracle!
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