Our INTL* students are movie stars here. There's applause, smiles, and lots of people wanting to take a picture of us, be in a picture of us, or simply stand and be with us. When we post the photos, I am sure you'll be wondering who some of the people are in the pictures.
The Great Wall was...well, it was great by all meanings of the word. Truly amazing. The children hiked up to four towers. This is no small accomplishment as the paths were steep and well populated. It was truly seeing something out of the ordinary and an experience not be forgotten.
We had a very nice lunch. The children ordered for us within a certain budget. We had four groups ordering, and the food was yummy. The children did a lovely job. We had things like carmel pineapple, chicken stir fry, chicken cumin wings, young spinach, rice, soup, and various kinds of dumplings.
We saw the bird nest structure at the Olympic plaza. Huge- in a word. The children spent some time simply playing here. We had some relay races and other sporting things to do as a group.
The Chinese Acrobat show was quite good. It was sort of a blend of Cirque de Soleil, Circus Circus in Vegas, and Circus Vargas. The last act of 7 motorcycles running around a steel ball was mouth dropping.
Our students barely made it off the bus as we arrived "home" to get to our dinner. Most had fallen asleep on the bus. We managed a quick meal, showers, and lights out.
Tomorrow we will be leaving the King's Joy Hotel for more sight seeing and about 10pm we will board the night train for Ninjing. I'll blog the next time I'm in a room if the internet gods are kind.
We are having a wonderful time. The sky has turned a bit gloomy but not our spirits. The children are very fun, courteous, and good travelers.
Cheers, Mrs. Brooks
*In 2020, the International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) formally changed its name to Silicon Valley International School (INTL) to better reflect its bilingual programs, location, and international values.
