Thursday, April 17, 2008
This fourth day in Jinan was reserved for showing me some of the city’s tourist attractions. However, Mr. Han was especially interested in showing me the school where he worked, and he made arrangements for a tour of the Shandong Experimental High School too.
Two teachers from the Jinan Middle School #12 picked me up at the hotel at 8:00AM. The driver, Mr. Chu, was a physical education teacher. The other teacher, Mrs. Jing, served as my interpreter and was an English teacher. We drove about twenty minutes across town to the Shandong Experimental High School and entered its gate. Students were arriving as we pulled in and most were wearing blue and white school uniforms similar to those worn by the middle school students. Almost all students came with backpacks and were dropped off by parents or by public transportation. Mr. Han was waiting for us outside the main building and looked very official in a dark suit and tie. I found out that Mr. Han was not actually a senior math teacher, but a “Dean” at the school and his main responsibility was observing and evaluating teachers. The campus was very beautiful. One building was completely covered in ivy. Flowers were everywhere. I learned that about only twenty students a year from the Jinan Middle School #12 do well enough on the ninth grade exam and attend this high school, the most rigorous and prestigious in the Shandong Providence. Mr. Han next introduced me to the school’s principal, Mr.Liu Kun. Mr. Liu was extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. We took pictures in the school’s large conference room and then he gave us a tour of the campus. This school had a large gymnasium and Mr. Liu quickly challenged me to shoot a few free-throw shots on the basketball court…and then we engaged in a friendly game of ping-pong. There were many photos taken and our friendly competition drew a small crowd! I also saw the two Derby High School teachers from the Connecticut delegation, Linda Green and Anthony Gargano, in the gym. Our small delegation then toured the library, some science classrooms, and some regular classrooms while students in the junior year were taking a special science examination. The morning visit ended with more photos, and a warm good-bye to Mr. Han and Mr. Liu. I told them both that I hope to see them again in Connecticut.
Mr. Chu drove us back downtown to the city square to visit the Baotu Springs, natural water springs that one of Jinan’s most famous tourist attractions. We paid an entrance fee of 40 yuan (just over $5) and took a relaxing tour of the springs and the park. There were beautiful trees, scrubs, waterways, and tasteful Chinese buildings all around. The temperature was delightful too, and many people were there to visit or to relax. Next we drove to a beautiful large lake named, Damiang Lake (sounded like Diamond Lake to me). We walked for a long while along the lake and then took one of the several boats to an island in the middle of the lake. This park, a short ride from the center of Jinan, was not crowed at all. The sun was trying to break through the smoggy air, there was a nice breeze, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. I actually felt like I was on a day of “spring recess vacation.”
For lunch we returned to center city Jinan and had the most amazing buffet lunch at the same hotel that we had stayed in on Sunday evening. The spread of food was so spectacular that I started to video-tape the food…that is until one of the employees kindly asked me to stop. After lunch we drove outside of town to see the Yellow River. The Yellow River really looked like it should have been called the muddy river. Spring in Jinan is the dry season so the river was rather low, maybe one hundred yards wide. However in the summer the rains come and the river regularly floods, even over the large retaining banks that they have built along it. As we returned to the city Mr. Chu and Mrs. Jing asked if I wanted to visit the city’s zoo. Since I was going to the principal’s home for dinner, I opted for returning to the hotel to rest and freshen up.
I had dinner at the home of principal Zhang. Mr. Zhang’s wife, Mr. Chu (PE teacher and designated driver for the day), and Mr. Chu’s wife joined us. Mr. Chu and his wife live in the same building, just a floor below. The apartment/condo like building had about six floors and the principal live in a modern, two-level, three bedroom condo with two bathrooms. His wife had taken the afternoon off of work to prepare the evening’s meal and it was delicious. After dinner, before I returned to the hotel, we watched a Chinese version of American Idol. One nice thing about Chinese television, there are no commercials!
This fourth day in Jinan was reserved for showing me some of the city’s tourist attractions. However, Mr. Han was especially interested in showing me the school where he worked, and he made arrangements for a tour of the Shandong Experimental High School too.
Two teachers from the Jinan Middle School #12 picked me up at the hotel at 8:00AM. The driver, Mr. Chu, was a physical education teacher. The other teacher, Mrs. Jing, served as my interpreter and was an English teacher. We drove about twenty minutes across town to the Shandong Experimental High School and entered its gate. Students were arriving as we pulled in and most were wearing blue and white school uniforms similar to those worn by the middle school students. Almost all students came with backpacks and were dropped off by parents or by public transportation. Mr. Han was waiting for us outside the main building and looked very official in a dark suit and tie. I found out that Mr. Han was not actually a senior math teacher, but a “Dean” at the school and his main responsibility was observing and evaluating teachers. The campus was very beautiful. One building was completely covered in ivy. Flowers were everywhere. I learned that about only twenty students a year from the Jinan Middle School #12 do well enough on the ninth grade exam and attend this high school, the most rigorous and prestigious in the Shandong Providence. Mr. Han next introduced me to the school’s principal, Mr.Liu Kun. Mr. Liu was extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. We took pictures in the school’s large conference room and then he gave us a tour of the campus. This school had a large gymnasium and Mr. Liu quickly challenged me to shoot a few free-throw shots on the basketball court…and then we engaged in a friendly game of ping-pong. There were many photos taken and our friendly competition drew a small crowd! I also saw the two Derby High School teachers from the Connecticut delegation, Linda Green and Anthony Gargano, in the gym. Our small delegation then toured the library, some science classrooms, and some regular classrooms while students in the junior year were taking a special science examination. The morning visit ended with more photos, and a warm good-bye to Mr. Han and Mr. Liu. I told them both that I hope to see them again in Connecticut.
Mr. Chu drove us back downtown to the city square to visit the Baotu Springs, natural water springs that one of Jinan’s most famous tourist attractions. We paid an entrance fee of 40 yuan (just over $5) and took a relaxing tour of the springs and the park. There were beautiful trees, scrubs, waterways, and tasteful Chinese buildings all around. The temperature was delightful too, and many people were there to visit or to relax. Next we drove to a beautiful large lake named, Damiang Lake (sounded like Diamond Lake to me). We walked for a long while along the lake and then took one of the several boats to an island in the middle of the lake. This park, a short ride from the center of Jinan, was not crowed at all. The sun was trying to break through the smoggy air, there was a nice breeze, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. I actually felt like I was on a day of “spring recess vacation.”
For lunch we returned to center city Jinan and had the most amazing buffet lunch at the same hotel that we had stayed in on Sunday evening. The spread of food was so spectacular that I started to video-tape the food…that is until one of the employees kindly asked me to stop. After lunch we drove outside of town to see the Yellow River. The Yellow River really looked like it should have been called the muddy river. Spring in Jinan is the dry season so the river was rather low, maybe one hundred yards wide. However in the summer the rains come and the river regularly floods, even over the large retaining banks that they have built along it. As we returned to the city Mr. Chu and Mrs. Jing asked if I wanted to visit the city’s zoo. Since I was going to the principal’s home for dinner, I opted for returning to the hotel to rest and freshen up.
I had dinner at the home of principal Zhang. Mr. Zhang’s wife, Mr. Chu (PE teacher and designated driver for the day), and Mr. Chu’s wife joined us. Mr. Chu and his wife live in the same building, just a floor below. The apartment/condo like building had about six floors and the principal live in a modern, two-level, three bedroom condo with two bathrooms. His wife had taken the afternoon off of work to prepare the evening’s meal and it was delicious. After dinner, before I returned to the hotel, we watched a Chinese version of American Idol. One nice thing about Chinese television, there are no commercials!
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