Tim's blog

Heading home

Tim — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:11:32 -0600

March 20, 2008

Thursday afternoon, Beijing airport (again), this time on my way home.This morning we visited Beijing Normal University, which is the top-ranked teacher education university in China. I have been looking forward to this visit, as I also got to visit the School of Educational Administration and meet people involved in the National Training Centre for Primary School Principals.

Some reflective moments

Tim — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:41:19 -0600

March 19, 2008

I am on the plane flying back to Beijing, with two and a half hours to mull over what we’ve achieved on this trip. The seats are very crammed and the laptop is difficult to read as the guy in front of me has his seat back down into my lap. We’ve just been served some mushrooms and rice for lunch, together with a foil packet of something cold and squelchy made by the Chongqing Fish Well Preserved Vegetable (Group) Company … I’m not sure I want to know what’s in it!

24 hours in China

Tim — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:37:55 -0600

March 17, 2008

First, I’d like to thank all those who’ve written about this trip – it’s good to know that someone, somewhere, is reading this blog! Here are the answers to your questions:

Pandas and Xian

Tim — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:24:19 -0600

March 16, 2008

We have spent the weekend focused on travel and tourism, with Saturday morning in Chengdu and the afternoon flying to Xian, then Sunday in that ancient capital.

In addition to our partner universities, which we had visited on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,Giant Pandas: Family picnics are a popular activity for Chinese families at Xian's Giant Panda research station. Chengdu is home to the world famous Giant Panda research station. Located only a short drive out of the city, this institute has the largest number of captive giant pandas in the world, and it was great fun to go and see them. Not that they did very much. They apparently spend most of their lives eating, sleeping and every so often going for a wander to meet a panda of the opposite sex. The ones we saw were sticking to the first two activities, which was a good job as a picnic in the panda park seems like a major Saturday morning event for many Chengdu families!

The human touch

Tim — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:12:06 -0600

March 14, 2008

So far we have visited seven institutions and a couple of things have stood out for me. First, I’ve noticed how people are much more focused on the details than we might be in Calgary.

Day Three - Chengdu

Tim — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:17:46 -0600

March 13, 2008

Our second day in Beijing was much as the first – incessant traffic, a pervasive haze of pollution, and incredible hospitality. Apart from sitting in traffic, it seems the next major exercise is being hosted to a lavish lunch or dinner. Sometimes I wonder how we manage to meet in between the eatings!

First time in Beijing

Tim — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0600

It’s been a busy 48 hours. We eventually arrived into Beijing around 4.00 pm on Monday, and after fighting the late afternoon gridlock traffic for an hour or so we were in the hotel by six. Apparently we drove past Tiannamen Square, but it was lost in the brown haze of pollution that seems to blanket the city. I did see a photograph of Chairman Mao as we came past his mausoleum, though.