Day One- Sunday October 15, 2006

Hi everyone. The plane flight was VERY long--14 hours. I arrived in Beijing at 1:45 pm China time which is exactly 12 hours ahead of Boston time- so it felt like 1:45 am for me. I have been so impressed with how polite and helpful people are here in China. The airport- unlike Logan- is well organized and efficient. Today- Sunday we had a special invitation to attend the 25th anniversary of the National Association of Educational Exchange in China. Education here is well respected and the event is considered very special. China would like to do more exchange with other countries to learn how other countries approach teaching and learning. There were so many people at the event---hundreds and hundreds of buses. However, only 200 or so people were allowed inside of the Great Hall--which is like our White House. Our delegation- which has principals from 14 different countries were allowed to be in the picture with the special Chinese delegation. I have included a few pictures of the Great Hall and event.

The hotel room is simple but efficient with all the needed amenities. I have included a picture looking out from the hotel. We are staying about 1 hour south of Beijing in an industrial area. By the way---the food is awesome. Lots of vegetables and soup---little meat--which is fine with me:)