Last letter home

We started today by visiting a museum here in Tianjin. It was filled with lots of artifacts from Chinese history. It also included three masterpieces. One of the masterpieces was a very large painting on silk. The second was a bronze pot that was over 3000 years old. The third was a priceless piece of porcelain that was hand picked by the emperor. Before leaving the museum, the kids ate some ice cream. They were very happy to find out that Chinese ice cream is not much different from American ice cream. They have bought it at several places we have visited.

After a short rest at the hotel, the kids got dressed in their formal performance uniforms and we headed for Tianjin University. It is one of the largest universities in the area. After tuning instruments and rehearsing for a short time, we ate dinner in the Tianjin University student cafeteria. The students at this university were so welcoming. They loved meeting us and practicing their English. It was also very enjoyable to learn about them and what they were studying. One of the students I spoke with told me that she had a friend that was attending TAMU and wanted to know if I was familiar with that university. It was fun to tell her that I had graduated from Texas A&M and knew it well. The final performance from the students was great and well received by the audience. The auditorium was full but the stage was very hot from the lights. I could see some of them sweating. I guess that is the price of being a super star. Many important people from the university were in attendance including the vice president. The vice president of the university and Dr. Thurman had a gift exchange at the end of the concert. She gave him a Sartartia t-shirt. He gave her a small statue with the outline of the university. Crystal Phloman was a big hit again. She is such a talented fiddlist. She is also a great entertainer and the audience loved her.

This will be my last email as it is getting close to the time for us to travel home. Our schedule is packed and the internet service has been difficult to use. We will attend a martial arts performance tomorrow as well as some type of demonstration on art. We will also get our last chance to do some souvenir shopping. We will head back to Beijing Friday morning, eat lunch and then head to the airport. This trip has been a wonderful experience by all. We have been so fortunate because no one has gotten injured or sick. We learned about the history of China while visiting some historical landmarks. We learned how to eat with chopsticks while eating authentic Chinese food. Some of your children would pay just about anything for a McDonalds hamburger right now. But most importantly, we made new friends. It was so much fun to watch our kids interact with other people. There was usually a lot of confusion on what was being said but there was always lots of smiles while trying to get the conversation figured out. Our children have been awesome ambassadors for our school and country. We look forward to coming home. I want some pizza!

Letter sent on June 7

We woke up early yesterday morning and loaded all our luggage, instruments and souvenirs on the bus. Before leaving Beijing, we hit one more historical tourist stop, the Summer Palace. After eating lunch at the Summer Palace, we loaded back on to the buses and headed toward Tianjin. It was about a three hour drive.

Our first stop in Tianjin was at the Tianjin Youth Center. As we entered the building, a small group of band students were playing for us. Kids and Adults attend this center after school and on weekends to take various types of classes from martial arts, woodworking, arts & crafts, music and English. We were taken on a tour of the center. We also had a cultural exchange with some students of the center that ranged in age from 4-11. We were treated to a short program during the cultural exchange. We got to listen to a small orchestra of about 12 students play. They were young and played beautifully. Then, several of the students entertained us by showing off their English skills by singing and reciting poems and stories in English. Crystal Phloman played her violin and organized our students and the youth center kids into some fun dancing. Before leaving, our students gave their new friends some small tokens.

After making new friends at the Tianjin Youth Center, we checked into the Aster Hotel. Little did we know that the hotel we would be staying at would have an incredible history. The hotel was originally established in 1863. In the early 1900’s, an elevator was added. This elevator was the first one in all of China. The elevator still exists next to the new elevator. It is no longer used but the kids really enjoyed looking at it. The hotel has two wings. One is the older original section and the newer section. I got unlucky and am staying in the new part. I would have enjoyed staying in the older section. However, a few students said that they were unlucky because they have to stay in the old section because they thought the old section had ghosts. My daughter, Casey, said that it was fun walking around in the hallways of the old section because it was like being in an old movie. The hotel is like a museum. It has signs along every wall and floor giving the history of the hotel and all the very important people who have stayed at the hotel. There is even a stairway that leads to the roof. Don’t worry moms…the kids can’t get on the roof. There is another stairway that is very dark that leads to a locked door that goes who knows where. Some of the kids were afraid to go up the stairs so I went for them. I named the stairway the crooked, creepy stairs because it is kind of creepy because it is dark and crooked because the stairs get slightly more crooked as you walk up them. I haven’t seen it yet, but the kids have said that Mrs. Jezek got a room with a cool balcony.

Today, we will visit a museum and then play our final concert in the evening. I will not be able to post any more pictures because the internet service at this hotel is so slow that it would take hours to upload my pictures. I will load them as soon as I get home.

Letter sent on June 5

Today was another busy day from start to finish. We began the day by visiting the Temple of Heaven followed by a visit to a Pearl Factory. The main event of the day was their formal performance at the National Library of China Concert Hall. I believe the National Library of China is the second largest library in the world. The Concert Hall's acoustics were incredible and is said to be the best in the entire country. Playing a concert in the Commons of Sartartia can't even come close to how beautiful they sounded tonight. I wish I could share more but it is already midnight. I have stayed up too late packing. We are leaving this hotel and Beijing tomorrow for Tianjin. Before leaving Beijing we will visit the Summer Palace. The drive to Tianjin takes about three hours. Before checking onto the hotel, the students will get to have a cultural exchange with some students in a school here in China.

Second letter sent home on June 4

Parents,
We have had another amazing day! The kids played beautifully on top of the Great Wall! You would be so proud. There were lots of pictures taken and plenty of video too. It may take us awhile to compile everything but I think we can do it.

The Blog has been very difficult to access. I finally was able to add to the blog but then the photo never showed up. I have attached the group photo that I tried to put on the blog. I have also attached a photo of the sudents at the end of their performance on the Great Wall.

Today we went to the Great Wall, Cloisonne Factory, Jade Factory and Ming Tomb. It was a full day from start to finish. The performance on the Great Wall was spectacular. Many visitors to the wall stopped to watch them perform. After the performance, they got the opportunity to hike up the wall. It is said that you are not a true warrior until you have hiked the Great Wall. Our students are now warriers. Mrs. Victor, Mrs. Jezek and Dr. Thurman have some tired and shaky legs but they are warriors too.

Many of you may not have known that our percussion box did not make it on the trip. The box went on its own trip. We were all very sad at the thought of not having any of our students have the opportunity to play while in China. With the help of our travel agent, we were able to rent the equipment. But, guess what? When we arrived home tonight, our percussion box was sitting in the hotel lobby. It was great to see the excitment by all upon hearing the great news.

While visiting the Jade Factory, we had a minor accident that turned out to be quite an experience for the kids. One of the students was taking a picure of a very expensive jade sculpture. As the picture was being taken, the student's backpack hit a vase and knocked it to the floor. The student felt horrible. And yes, there were lots of tears. I even cried watching this student be so upset. The vase had a price tag on it of $1500 US dollars. Boy, did we panic over the thought of having to pay for that. Your children were so wonderful. They wanted to put their money together to help this student. Rebecca, our travel guide, talked to the manager of the store and he told her that we would not have to pay for it. But, your children still felt responsible and that they needed to do something. They collected money anyway in a chinese straw hat that was purchased in the market and presented it to the manager. He appreciated their gesture and reached into the hat and only took $1 and told the students they could keep the rest. What an amazing experience. Our children are truly wonderful. They often do amazing things when we least expect it.

One of the highlights of the trip has been the shopping. The kids are having a blast bargaining for souvenirs. It is also fun to talk to them at lunch and dinner over prices we have paid for the same items. I have made a few purchases and have been very proud of myself over my bargaining skills. Then, I find out later that the students got a better price than me. It has almost been like a competition to see who can get the best price on certain items, especially the not so real Rolex watches.

For now, I will just continue to post pictures to my smugmug.com webpage. I apologize for the blog not working the way we wish but I will continue to try to resolve the problems. We are going to the Temple of Heaven tomorrow as well as a pearl factory followed by their formal performance in the evening. Again, I just want to say how proud I am of your children. They continue to be excellent representatives for our school and country. Thank you for all that you did to make sure they were able to attend this trip. We have more places to see and performances to play, but I am certain that today was an experience of a lifetime that they will carry with them forever.

Cheryl Carswell

Hey everyone! We had a great time in China. Unfortunately, I couldn't update the blog while in China. I was never able to log on and when I was able to log on, I couldn't upload any pictures. I am going to post all the letters I sent home to the parents. I would love to hear some comments from the students on the trip.

Here is the first email sent home upon our arrival:


Parents,
I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know we arrived safely. It was a long plane ride. Even though the students were exhausted they were awesome! We went to our Duck Dinner last night. The food was great! The students were exhausted. Some of them couldn't hold their heads up any longer and we actually had a few fall asleep at the table.

We are off for some sight seeing today which includes the zoo. We will end the day with an acrobatic show. Our first performance will be tomorrow.

Cheryl Carswell

Heading to Tianjin

We woke up early yesterday morning and loaded all our luggage, instruments and souvenirs on the bus. Before leaving Beijing, we hit one more historical tourist stop, the Summer Palace. After eating lunch at the Summer Palace, we loaded back on to the buses and headed toward Tianjin. It was about a three hour drive.

Our first stop in Tianjin was at the Tianjin Youth Center. As we entered the building, a small group of band students were playing for us. Kids and Adults attend this center after school and on weekends to take various types of classes from martial arts, woodworking, arts & crafts, music and English. We were taken on a tour of the center. We also had a cultural exchange with some students of the center that ranged in age from 4-11. We were treated to a short program during the cultural exchange. We got to listen to a small orchestra of about 12 students play. They were young and played beautifully. Then, several of the students entertained us by showing off their English skills by singing and reciting poems and stories in English. Crystal Phloman played her violin and organized our students and the youth center kids into some fun dancing. Before leaving, our students gave their new friends some small tokens.

After making new friends at the Tianjin Youth Center, we checked into the Aster Hotel. Little did we know that the hotel we would be staying at would have an incredible history. The hotel was originally established in 1863. In the early 1900’s, an elevator was added. This elevator was the first one in all of China. The elevator still exists next to the new elevator. It is no longer used but the kids really enjoyed looking at it. The hotel has two wings. One is the older original section and the newer section. I got unlucky and am staying in the new part. I would have enjoyed staying in the older section. However, a few students said that they were unlucky because they have to stay in the old section because they thought the old section had ghosts. My daughter, Casey, said that it was fun walking around in the hallways of the old section because it was like being in an old movie. The hotel is like a museum. It has signs along every wall and floor giving the history of the hotel and all the very important people who have stayed at the hotel. There is even a stairway that leads to the roof. Don’t worry moms…the kids can’t get on the roof. There is another stairway that is very dark that leads to a locked door that goes who knows where. Some of the kids were afraid to go up the stairs so I went for them. I named the stairway the crooked, creepy stairs because it is kind of creepy because it is dark and crooked because the stairs get slightly more crooked as you walk up them. I haven’t seen it yet, but the kids have said that Mrs. Jezek got a room with a cool balcony.

Today, we will visit a museum and then play our final concert in the evening. I will not be able to post any more pictures because the internet service at this hotel is so slow that it would take hours to upload my pictures. I will load them as soon as I get home.

Tian'anmen Square Group Photo

We had a very busy day yesterday. We visited the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, and Beijing Zoo. We ended the day by seeing an acrobatic show.

I am so excited that I am finally able to get back on the blog website from China. We are leaving the hotel at 7:30 this morning for the Great Wall and will not return until 9:00 this evening so it will be late before we add more to the blog. There is no rest for the weary.

I know that all of parents would be so proud of your children. They are incredible representatives of Sartartia and the US.

Cheryl Carswell

Good Luck from the SMS Faculty and Staff

The Faculty and Staff of Sartartia Middle School would like to wish you the best of luck while traveling to China. We are very proud of you!

China or Bust!

Thirteen more days until we leave for China. After tonight's concert, I am even more excited! I am always so amazed at the talented students we have at Sartartia. This is the first post in a blog that I will be trying with the students in China. I would like to get a few of them to write about the activities of the day as well as attach a few photos. If we are not successful, we will just stick with trying to email updates home.