Tuesday October 17, 2006

I cant describe how many bicycles there are on the roads here. There are thousands of people riding bicycles every day. Unfortunately because of all of the factories and overcrowded conditions in Beijing--there is also a tremendous amount of pollution. It does not clear up in the morning until after 11 am--much like the West Coast of the US. Today was another amazing day of talks. One professor in particular David Hopkins impressed me very much with his thoughts of systems leadership---it gave me some things to think about for back in Boston.

We actually eat three meals a day here. For breakfast, I generally have some vegetables, fruit, and soup--sometimes an egg. For lunch, it is a mixture of rice, some meat dishes, vegetables and soup. Dinner varies---but always includes some delicious dishes of vegetable and meat mixtures. The food is bright in color--great to taste--and light to eat. I have not felt hungry or full--just right.

Tonight we went to a special cultural event put on by a middle school choir with dancers. The kids were amazing. They played instruments, sang beautifully, and danced in ways that were breathtaking. Tomorrow is the final formal day of conference and once again I have to present and am nervous. I feel blessed to have made connections with so many people here. They are so impressed with everyone back at TBA. A big piece of my presentation was about school and our amazing staff and kids. I have so many school leaders who want our kids and their kids to correspond and meet--and the same at teacher level.

I am including pictures from the night event and some of the awesome leaders at the conference.