Friday, April 17, 2009

Day 13 in China -- our last official day here!

Hi everyone ... well our trip here in China has officially come to a close.  It's close to 8pm on Friday, April 17 here and we had a wonderfully relaxing day in Beijing.  We left Jinan around 7am this morning, arriving in Beijing around 10:15am.  We were so excited to see our friend, Bing, waiting for us!  He quickly wisked us away to our hotel, where we spent an hour resting, before we were off to lunch and the Silk Market.  Today was the day all of the shoppers in our group was waiting for -- there were a ton of great deals at the Silk Market (if you were savvy enough to bargain, which all of our students were!)  So expect some nice gifts upon their return! :)

We went to dinner and are now back in the hotel, resting up for our day of traveling tomorrow.  The kids are sleeping in a bit later tomorrow morning (their wake-up call is at 8:45am), and we'll leave the hotel around 10am, before heading out to the Antique Market for an hour.  Then it's lunch and the airport.  Our flight is leaving around 6:30pm tomorrow and with the flight and quick layover in Washington, D.C., we are expected home after 11pm tomorrow night.

Before I close tonight, I want to mention what a pleasure it has been for me to share this experience with the students.  This has been an amazing journey and I'm excited to share all of the things I have learned with my students when I get back home.  Thank you for following along and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!  The kids are ready to come home ... so be prepared for a group of students who will be grateful for their families and friends, not to mention their beds and kitchens too! :)

Take care and wan an :)
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 17, 2009 at 7:05 AM

    Ms. Gembala, Thank you so much for sharing the journey with us online. I think, at least for me, it was great to see how my daughter was doing everyday. It was wonderful to see all the fantastic places that you went. I think this will be an experience she will remember her whole life. Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing all of you tomorrow too!

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  2. krazysApril 17, 2009 at 7:32 AM

    I "second" everything that Jackie mentioned above!! I so looked forward to viewing the blog each day.... keeping updated on how Shawn was doing and what awesome things he had the opportunity to do each day!

    We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!! Have a safe trip home! A million thanks for all that you have done!!

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  3. DorienApril 17, 2009 at 8:37 AM

    Ms Gembala: This blog was more than we could have asked for, it would have been so much harder to have to miss Jan for 2 weeks if you would not have made this effort every day! We are really looking forward to all the additional stories knowing that you had such a fantastic time. Have a safe trip home and see you tomorrow at Bradley! Thanks again from all BvO's.

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  4. Ms. GembalaApril 17, 2009 at 5:24 PM

    Hi all!! It was certainly my pleasure!! I looked forward each night to writing the day's activities -- it's been a terrific way for me to keep a record of our adventure. Thanks so much for following along!!

    See you in just a few hours now! :)

    ~ Jen Gembala

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