Mr. Wood and Mr. Crawford have arrived in Chicago after a short two hour flight. Time for a walk, stretch, a little food then the long flight to Beijing.
Archive for the ‘Preparation’ Category
Arrived in Chicago
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009Track Our Flight
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009Did you know that you could track the arrival and departures of airline flights online? I found a site called Flightstats.com that tracks airline flights. You can even check flight information by sending a text to Google. You can try and track our flights today and on our return trip. I’ll post our return trip information later.
Wednesday, April 8th
Depart: Hartford Bradley (BDL), Flight UA 0895, 9:14 AM
Arrive: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), 10:40 AM
Depart: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Flight UA 0851, 12:41 PM
Arrive: Beijing Capital (PEK), Next Day, Thursday, April 9, 3:15 PM
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Flat Mr. Crawford
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009Last year as part of Mrs. White’s trip to visit our sister school she brought along a “flat Nancy” to document her travels. Last year I was also given a “flat Mr. C” and now he will be also going on the adventure with us. The “flat” adventures all started with the children’s book Flat Stanley published in 1964. Many students have participated in the flat Stanley project started by Dale Hubert in 1995 in Canada. Find out how you can start your own flat Stanley adventure here and follow along as “flat Mr. C” travels to China. Follow Flat Mr. C in the Flat Mr. Crawford gallery
Xiexie,
Mr. Crawford
Packing! Packing! Packing!
Sunday, April 5th, 2009Just 3 days to go. It seems like I’ve been preparing for this trip for a very long time and that I ought to be all ready to go.
Well, there is more stuff than I could imagine in one pile next to a nearly full suitcase. Now what?
Our suitcases cannot weigh more than 50 pounds each and we are limited to two. I had hoped to carry just one suitcase.
What do I have?
- Gifts for students - 6 pounds
- Gifts for teachers and school officials - 8 pounds
- Snacks - 5 pounds
- Electronic equipment that I won’t carry-on - 4 pounds
- Suitcase - 4 pounds
- Toothbrush, tooth paste, soap, shampoo… - 2 pounds
So how much is that?
Oops! I forgot the clothes! 
Mr. Wood
The 3-1-1 Rule By TSA
Saturday, April 4th, 2009In just a few short days, Mr. Wood and I will begin our travels. I am spending the weekend packing and preparing my carry-on luggage. I went to the Transportation Security Administrations website to get some information on what I can and can not bring with me on the plane. The Transportation Security Administration, better known as the TSA, screens passengers for permitted and non-permitted items when traveling on an airplane. To speed up the time it takes to check a passenger and his or her carry-on luggage, they devised the 3-1-1 rule for liquid carry-ons.
On their website they also have other helpful suggestions on how to reduce the time you spend in lines getting screened.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Weather in China
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009One of the most frequent questions I have been asked about our trip is, “what is the weather going to be like when you are in China?” From my research it seems that the weather will be very similar to ours in Connecticut at this time of year. Thanks to the internet I am able to even find a 10 day forecast for the major cities of Beijing and Jinan.
If you would like to follow along here are some sites that you can use to check the weather in China.
WeatherUnderground - Jinan , Beijing
Weather.com Beijing
Hopefully this will help me pack the right clothes!
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Electricity Problem Solved
Friday, March 20th, 2009A few days ago, I wrote about the different types of plugs and outlets that we might find in China.
I have found a compact converter that allows me to plug my MacBook in one end and the other end can be adjusted to plug into any of the types of outlets that I may find in China. This is just one of many different types from many different companies.
Click here to see the converter.
I’m glad I’ll be able to charge my MacBook so I can continue the blog while traveling.
Mr. Wood
Electricity Problem
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009In the world today, we are so totally dependent on electricity that we don’t even think about it. I’ve traveled abroad before, so I know that not all countries use the same shaped plugs and outlets for electricity. Also, most countries use 240 volt electricity. In the USA, we are accustomed to using 110 - 120 volts.
Click here to see what a plug and outlet look like in the US.
In China, there are three different types of plugs and outlets in use. The first one (Type A) looks like the North American plug with only two prongs. But it is 240 volts.
I discovered that the adapter for my MacBook has two prongs and will work in either 120 volts or 240 volts. (That was lucky!)
The most common type plug is Type I (Australian).
Click here to see Type I plug.
And not very common where we are going is Type G (British). It is found closer to Hong Kong. (Do you know why it might be more common in Hong Kong?)
So here’s the problem….
My MacBook can use 240 volts like I will find in China. But, what do I do if the outlets are Type G or I?
I share my solution in another post.
Thanks to Steve Kropla’s Help for World Travelers for the information and pictures that helped me understand all this.
Mr. Wood
iTunes Podcasts
Monday, March 2nd, 2009nǐ hǎo!
In order to start learning some useful phrases in Chinese, I started searching for free podcasts to listen to on my iPod. I figured with a few weeks of preparation and a considerable of time stuck in a car commuting each day, I could pick up a few useful phrases to help Mr. Wood and myself while in China. Not to mention the 13 hour plane flight!
I began with a search of podcasts that were available free in the podcast section of the iTunes store.
I am listening to two so far and have found them enjoyable.
Learn Chinese- Chinesepod.com 
Mandarin Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk
Hopefully these podcasts will help me learn some new words and phrases!
zàijiàn
Mr. Crawford
Another Connecticut China Connection
Monday, March 2nd, 2009I made an interesting discovery today while doing some more research for our trip to China,
The Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in Washington is located on Connecticut Avenue.
There seem to be many connections between Connecticut and China. 
Mr. Wood
Find Us On The Map
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009nǐ hǎo! After reading Mr. Wood’s post on how big China is, I wondered what our travels might look on a map. Using Google maps and Google Earth I created a map of our travel plans while in China. When you look at the map you can see just how far we are traveling! Check out the map here . I’ll post the Google Earth file in a future post. Xièxie ~ Mr. Crawford
Passport
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009It wasn’t until recently that I had thought about the need for an up-to-date passport, but now I have one. I first had to search to find my old passport, which expired ten years ago, and research what I needed to do to get a current passport. After searching the Internet I found the United States Department of State had a website dedicated to assisting U.S. citizens in obtaining and renewing a passport. The directions were fairly simply, I needed two current passport photos, one form of photo identification, a passport form, and a check to pay for the processing the forms. In my case I also needed my expired passport book. I had the pictures taken a local CVS store and I was able to do the rest at the Amity Post Office. I also had my passport book expedited because I needed it quickly to secure airline tickets and a travel visa. In the end, I received my new passport book in about ten days. One thing checked off the list!
There is also a new form of identification for people traveling by land or sea to other countries in North America called the U.S. Passport Card. All the information you might need about passport books and passport cards can be found at http://travel.state.gov/passport
Mr. Crawford