The School tour went extremely well for all of us. It didn't look that way at first but we all put our heads together and split the class in two. One group moved to another classroom and then we taught our lessons. I started in our group with an ESL lesson and some handouts about American Slang and I gave the book and some of my ESL manipulatives to various students in the class. I also gave a VENICE BEACH tee shirt to one of the Teachers to give to a selected student. I was really proud of our group's teaching abilities and we left feeling very good about the experience. I have attached a photo of Joe with students as he presented his student photo contest and one of Katherine with her group of students.

Here is a photo of the massive building in Chongqing and one of Venus and Gustavo walking

I liked being able to teach the students something about the Dodgers and very grateful to my group for helping sing "Take Me out to the Ballgame." I think all of the presentations were very good and were well-received, especially Joe's. The kids really liked getting up and interacting with him and each other as they picked the best photo. They also really liked getting to keep their favorite photos.

Afterward, I talked with a girl named Taleen who said she was studying for the TOEFL so she could eventually come study in the U.S. She told me that it was very hard to find info about study abroad and American universities on the internet. I gave her my email in case she wanted to contact me down the road.

I've been reading more about international exchange programs, and I am disturbed by how shady some of them are. I wish American schools could set up exchange programs with Chinese schools and cut out the middlemen who often charge exorbitant rates, do little to prepare the student for the sojourn, and fail to keep promises on both ends. I know some American schools have started virtual exchange programs, but these are severely limited by internet access. It is so important for our students on both continents to foster global relations.

I'll keep working on the 50 states song, but meanwhile, here is an important refreshing moment in Chongqing.

Mary, thanks for the pic!! Ths school visit was great. I was able to talk to a student about some books for the SAT and how to apply to college. I was also able to watch Joe as he explained his pictures that his students had taken. I enjoyed the reactions to the photos and their reasoning for which one was the best. Of course, singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was just totally fun.

This day was so much fun! At first, we weren't sure how the mini-lessons would work out, but our groups quickly divvied up the time and got down to business. The star of our group was Joe -- the students *loved* his lesson on photography. It was wonderful to see how he used his own students' work from California to inspire and excite the kids in China.

Afterward, we talked with the teachers, and I was able to share a gift from my own school. Over our long school breaks, my students can receive extra credit for sending in a postcard from anywhere they travel -- places as close as Los Angeles or as far as Iceland. Before the trip, I'd gone through the old cards and pulled out everything with a great photo of the US. During the school visit, I gave the big pile of cards to the Chinese teachers. They seemed excited to see the photos from all across America, not to mention the students' messages and the variety of stamps. We may live in a digital world, but there is still a lot to be said for paper mail!

To touch on Robin's post, I had an experience this year that made me realize just what a huge business it is to bring Chinese students on exchanges to the US. When I recently flew to Asia, virtually my entire plane was filled with Chinese middle and high school students returning home from American summer camps. They were in large groups -- probably close to 200 kids. I chatted for a while with the 2 who sat closest to me, and they showed me that they even had been assigned homework to describe the camp experience. It's hard to imagine entire planeloads-full of American students making the reverse journey.

Also, to answer the question about the artist we visited: her name was Pan Xiaoling (it was on the paper that came with my painting). I'm not sure about the town, but we went there with James. It may also be on the paperwork that was with the paintings.