Xi'+An+to+Shanghai

Xi’An to Shanghai

(Shutterfly's been down a while today, but I've now added our [|travel day photos] to the site...)

Today has really been just a travel day. The kids stayed out a bit wandering the shopping stalls behind the main street after we all stopped together for Haagen Daz ice cream following a very satisfying hot pot dinner. We said goodbye to Theresa at the hotel (Theresa, you are awesome! You have been so friendly, so helpful, so engaging throughout our stay. If you ever make it America, we hope you’ll come to Boston and seek us out.) 

Carmelle finished her post as we drove to the airport. We checked the Bruins score throughout the ride and played a few rounds of “contact” (the game of choice for long drives). We worried that our luggage, collectively, would be too heavy, but when it finally arrived by separate van, we were relieved to be underweight and not have to pay fines. We were disappointed, though, to learn of the Bruins’ last minute loss in the opening Stanley Cup game. We’d hoped for a better outcome considering it had been a 0-0 tie until so late in the 3rd period. Our take-off was slightly delayed (air traffic) but the flight was largely uneventful. Some kids slept; others read or played games; Katie spent a lot of time on her journal but still has made it only to our adventures on the Great Wall; I got some necessary grading done.

The Pudong airport goes on forever. We had to stop early on our trek to baggage claim for a collective purchase of Magnum ice cream bars, a treat we’ve come to crave when we can find a supply. Baggage claim was quick and accessible, far better than any Boston Logan experience!

The weather today is overcast, warm but not hot, quite humid. There’s not much of a skyline to see as we drive in our large coach van to the school. I can tell that the kids are a little anxious about what’s to come. We have a schedule for the next few days. Friday is the only full day they will spend at Shanghai’s WeiYu school. There will be a reception when we arrive early this evening; they will meet their hosts and have dinner. Tomorrow, after breakfast, they’ll spend most of the morning in classes with their host students, have a little free time in the afternoon, and go home with their hosts that afternoon.

I’m hoping our Thayer students will record their weekend experiences so they can post what they’ve done when they have access to my computer next week. Even better, they may be able to post if they have internet access over the course of the weekend. In the meantime, you may be stuck with my adventures in Shanghai for the next few days. I’m really not sure what I’m going to do yet (though I did find an add in the //Shanghai Daily// for a local sports bar that promises to televise the Stanley Cup games, so I may find my way there Sunday morning).