{"id":383,"date":"2013-09-01T18:38:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T11:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/?p=383"},"modified":"2013-09-01T18:42:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-01T11:42:45","slug":"bhsf-opening-ceremony-xidan-shopping-9113","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/?p=383","title":{"rendered":"BHSF Opening Ceremony & Xidan Shopping, 9\/1\/13"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we start September, it\u2019s surreal to realize where we are.\u00a0 One year ago, there is no way we would have imagined ourselves teaching around the world.\u00a0 It was such a pipe dream, and now it\u2019s reality.\u00a0 Teaching is teaching, but everywhere has it\u2019s own challenges.\u00a0 We\u2019re looking forward to the future.<\/p>\n

Today is \u201cOpening Ceremonies\u201d at the BHSF Main Campus.\u00a0 It\u2019s a BIG DEAL.\u00a0 We\u2019re supposed to be on the campus at 7:30am.\u00a0 The one-hour commute means early departure.\u00a0 Thankfully, the subway isn\u2019t crowded, and we get to sit for much of the trip.<\/p>\n

As we approach the campus, students are coming from everywhere.\u00a0 The street is congested and students are bailing out of their cars, and running toward the school gates.\u00a0 At the gate, students are allowed in, but parents are held out.\u00a0 Judy and I get in using my faculty ID.\u00a0 The ceremony is outside, on the field.\u00a0 A large stage is set up, and several thousand plastic stools are lined up for students and parents.\u00a0 Thankfully, the faculty gets chairs.\u00a0 After the students get in place, parents are admitted, and fill up the remaining stools at the back.<\/p>\n

\"Teamwork<\/a>

Teamwork Sculpture<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Middle<\/a>

Middle schoolers getting organized<\/p><\/div>\n

All the students are wearing their uniforms, and it\u2019s a pretty interesting sight when everyone is seated in their rows, feet together, hands on knees, and backs straight.\u00a0 There are over 2500 students, including the main campus, the international campus, and the middle school campus.\u00a0 The students have had some preliminary training and we are treated to two different groups demonstrating their marching and self-defense skills.\u00a0 I can\u2019t begin to give this a proper description.\u00a0 Hopefully I can figure out how to post some video.<\/p>\n

\"Flag-Raising\"<\/a>

Flag-Raising<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ceremony<\/a>

Ceremony starting up<\/p><\/div>\n

We are treated to speeches and introductions, most of them too long, especially when our mandarin is so inadequate.\u00a0 There is a flag-raising ceremony, and a rock version of the School Song we\u2019re treated to.\u00a0 This is everything I hoped for, and more.<\/p>\n

At the conclusion, we walk back to the subway, and ride to Xidan (pronounced she-don) station.\u00a0 There\u2019s supposed to be food and shopping.\u00a0 We find both.\u00a0 We end up eating twice before we leave.\u00a0 We passed on the bullfrog and duckblood, but enjoyed some very spicy vegetable dishes in \u201cThe Spicy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 They have their own version of jalapenos here.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be better off when we learn to recognize them before<\/span> we eat them.<\/p>\n

\"Starved!<\/a>

Starved! Can you tell?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Our<\/a>

Our destination, some shopping and food<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"Orange<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
Orange tea<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"One<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
One pea at a time<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\"Spicy<\/a>

Spicy vegetable!!!!! I mean spicy!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Spices<\/a>

Spices for sale.<\/p><\/div>\n

We are worn out when we decide to head home, and opt for a taxi over the subway.\u00a0 We\u2019re on the opposite side of Beijing from our apartment, so I\u2019m a little worried about the length of the trip.\u00a0 Judy practices her \u201ctaxi talk\u201d, and it works! \u00a0We\u2019re home 40 minutes later.\u00a0 She again proves her value!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we start September, it\u2019s surreal to realize where we are.\u00a0 One year ago, there is no way we would have imagined ourselves teaching around the world.\u00a0 It was such a pipe dream, and now it\u2019s reality.\u00a0 Teaching is teaching, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=383"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}