Archive for the ‘Places’ Category

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A Dream?

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

This morning, I awoke at home at 5:15 AM as usual. I showered, exercised, and had breakfast, just like I do everyday. However, something was different…

I went to China in my dreams. I saw incredible sites. I ate unusual foods. I met incredible people and I was treated like an emperor.

Was it a dream? Or did I really go to China?

By the looks of the pile in the living room I must have gone somewhere.

* * * * * *

My life has changed forever. My heart has been touched by a wonderful group of teachers, school leaders, children and parents. I have new friends. I have a new family. I became part of their lives and they are a big part of mine.

I must now move forward building more bonds between Woodbridge and Heze, connecting more lives, fostering more friendships, and creating more links.

The Connecticut China Connection has become a living entity and I look forward to many years of communication, collaboration, and exchange.

Xie xie,
Rick Wood

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Flat Mr. C at Pizza Hut

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Though Flat Mr. C. has enjoyed his time in China, he wanted some food that reminded him of home.  After a long search for the Underground City of Beijing, with no luck, we all walked a long distance to find a Pizza Hut.  The pizza was almost as good as home but certainly not as good as Pepe’s pizza of New Haven!  In just a short time, Flat Mr. C and Mr. C. look to be enjoying a nice juicy hamburger in Chicago O’Hare airport.

mrcpizzahut

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Tracking Our Flights Home

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Did you track our flights to China?  Well if you didn’t here is your chance to track our flights back to the States.  You can use the site I found  called Flightstats.com to track the flights again.  You can even check flight information by sending a text to Google.  You can try to track our flights today using the flight information below.  I can’t wait to share all of my experiences with you in person.

Zaijian,

Mr. Crawford

Monday, April 20

Depart: Beijing Capital (PEK), Flight UA 0850, 4:10 PM
Arrive: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Same Day, Monday, April 20, 4:30 PM
Depart: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Flight UA 0320 6:00 PM
Arrive: Hartford Bradley (BDL), 9:09 PM

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Today’s Schedule 4/20 and More to Come

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Our whirl wind tour of China is coming to an end today.  This afternoon we will begin the long journey back to the States.  One last stop for lunch before the trip begins.  Late tonight we should be arriving back in Hartford.

Please stay tuned to the blog. Mr. Crawford and Mr. Wood both have many more posts in progress. Even though we are on the way home, we will be writing about our experiences with the schools, with children, with teachers, and much more. We each plan to share our overall impression of the trip and our visions for future work with our sister schools.

Thanks for joining us on this adventure. Each time you read the blog, we were inspired to continue writing.

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The Singing Stones at Qufu

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Listen carefully to the sound of the singing stones near the well in the old mansion on the site of Confucius’ home in Qufu.

And, yes, those are the stones making the ringing sound!

singingstones

Mr. C.

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Director General of Education of Binzhou

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Shortly after arriving in Binzhou, I was informed that the Director General of Binzhou, Mr. Zhang Mantang, wanted to have a meeting with me. During the meeting we discussed the importance of building a lasting relationship between our two districts and the need for both cultures to communicate in order to form a better understanding of one another. The Director General also wanted me to relay the invitation to Dr. Stella to come to Binzhou and meet with him, the school, and the students.

Near the end of the meeting, I was informed that the Director General was an accomplished and award winning Chinese brush writer. The Director General was very influenced and imitated the style and writing of the late Chairman Mao. After showing me some of his work, he decided he wanted to create one for Beecher Road School. The message he wrote is roughly translated to, “even though we are separated by seas, we are friends.” It is a wonderful and very true message.



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Lessons of Shoutian

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Upon arriving at Shoutian Yingcai Primary School, the students told me about the Emperor’s teacher, Shoution, whom the school is named after. Shoutian was a very wise man who taught the Emperor for many years. Throughout the school there are many signs detailing the lessons and wisdom of Shoutian.




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Roof Sculptures

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Throughout my travels in China, I have been fascinated with the ornaments on the tops of the roofs on the ancient Chinese buildings. Each sculpture is uniquely crafted and contains carefully detail even though it is sometimes fifty feet or higher from the ground. The number of sculptures on each building means the value and importance of the building. The more sculptures on the roof, the more important the building. From Wikipedia, “The sloping ridges of building roofs are decorated with a line of statuettes lead by a man riding a phoenix and followed by an imperial dragon. The number of statuettes represents the status of the building (a minor building might have 3 or 5. The Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10) the only building in the country to be permitted this in Imperial times. As a result, its 10th statuette, called a “Hangshi”, or “ranked tenth”, is also unique in the Forbidden City.”

Even the ends of the rows of tiles are uniquely decorated and stamped with symbols and faces.

Take a look at the gallery to see the many statues we saw on our journey.

Zaijian,

Mr. C.

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Teaching Technology

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

I was asked to teach a computer lesson in Zhao Han’s classroom. I introduced the students to the website for sharing pictures with the students at Beecher.

Instead of using a large screen for demonstration, Zhao Han has setup a computer that uses the students computer screens to display his screen.

The students viewed pictures uploaded by Beecher students and they sent comments. I introduced the way to upload photos, but we were out of time, so Zhao Han will assist them with this later.

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Today’s Schedule 4/19

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Today we will be traveling on the high speed train from Jinan back to Beijing.  After arriving back in Beijing we will have an evening to explore more of Beijing.

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Morning Tai Chi

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Here is a video from outside our hotel room of some people doing Tai Chi this morning.

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Heze Primary School Symbol

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

In this photo the symbol of Heze Primary School can be seen.

Exchanging Gifts

Exchanging Gifts

Students are like the flower and the sun.
Teachers use their hands to raise them up.

Mr. Wood

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