We spent about a week in Beijing in training for our program.  We met with old friends from the program, and we met new friends in the members of our team. I tried to contact my former students, but to no avail.

We took that large red bag over to the headquarters of the program for storage until end of summer.  We repacked the four boxes we had shipped there, discarding some stuff, and consolidating into three plastic bins to carry home on the plane at end of summer.  When we packed for the last leg, my duffel was still over weight, so I discarded my towels and washcloth.  China has a strict weight limit in country, but when we return to USA, we’ll be allowed almost twice as much luggage.  On the flight from HK to Beijing, we paid about $100 for our extra baggage.  Well, it’s a move, not just a trip.

In Beijing we attended a Chinese church service.  A person stood at the door with a little counter such as we used to use in the grocery store, and counted the people going in.  When the hall was full, no more could come in.  I think there were three services held at that place, and people stood in line for at least half an hour to be sure to get in.  Everything was orderly and on the “traditional” side.  I didn’t recognize any of the songs, nor did we understand any of the language.  However, husband accurately guessed the text of the sermon by the presence of the punctuation marks.  We are English teachers, after all.   And we could tell by the form of certain things, what they were.

On 4th of July, we had a large group picnic and a time of singing patriotic songs at the headquarters of our organization.  Beijing has put limits on fireworks, so we neither heard nor saw any.  From our time in Huanggang I can say I have heard all the fireworks I ever need to hear, but I did notice the absence on that special day.

The training was intense, many hours of getting familiar with the new curriculum, and with the new section on “mentoring” a significant part of our summer work.

Thanks to all our mentors past and present.  We wouldn’t be here without them.