Day 1-2 Portland to Suzhou 4/15-16

Beginning our journey at PDX 4:00am April 15, 2009

We've arrived!! After having lost and found a passport and being caught by the fashion police in Vancouver, BC we settled into our seats aboard Air Canada Flight AC25 for the short hop to Shanghai. More than 12 hours and countless movies later we landed in Shanghai sailing through customs. All bags and students were accounted for as we boarded the bus to Suzhou.



We just returned from dinner at a restaurant adjacent to the Scholar's Inn our home for the next three days. The meal consisted of a variety of dishes including, shredded potatoes, eggplant (which Mitchell tasted and lived to tell about), lamb and beef skewers, many vegetables, and yes, white rice.

That's about all I can do tonight as it is now 9:42pm Thursday evening 4/16/09 which is 6:42 am PDT the same day. I've been up pretty much since Tuesday morning at 6:30 with naps in my own bed, on planes and on the bus.

Good night from Suzhou.

Last minute thoughts

Hi,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I will try to write and post pictures as often as I can while in Suzhou. Our schedule will keep us pretty busy so if I'm not too tired at the end of the day I will try to get something sent. Feel free to leave comments and I will pass them along to the students/kids/teens when I see them.

Here are some things I am packing that you might want to consider for your child,

• sunscreen
• small note pad
• hand sanitizer
• waterproof backpack cover (like a giant shower cap). Available at REI. This will keep contents dry in the event of a shower.
• zip lock bags
• address labels for postcards home and to family
• thumb/zip drive to download music on to from host family/friends

I am very honored that the class chose me as a chaperone and I look forward to sharing this experience with them and you.

Bye for now.

Here is the "Huang" Family (Angela Knierim, Jet Lathrop, Lisa Erovick, and Kelvin Close-Kung) playing it up during the Fubonn field study field trip April, 3, 2009.

China Research Residency '09

On April 15, 2009 the 8th grade Mandarin Immersion class from Hosford Middle School in Portland, Oregon will embark on a two-week research residency in Suzhou, China. This is the culmination of nine years of Mandarin study which began for most students at Woodstock Elementary in 2000. You can learn more about Portland Public School's Mandarin Immersion Program by visiting the parent group website, shurenofportland.org/rr.