Today is our last full day in Yanji. We are departing for the Yanji Airport at 6:30 a.m. local to fly to Beijing where we will catch our flight to Hong Kong on July 17. Two gals will be leaving our group as they will not be traveling to Hong Kong. Terri will be visiting friends in China and Kara will be leaving on her honeymoon. They have been such a wonderful addition to our group. Terri is a media specialist from Iowa and Kara a teacher from Atlanta. Conversation with Terri was always great. She is a very knowledgeable person. I got to know Terri on the Great Wall. I will miss her calm personality. Kara is the group's "namer." She creates interesting names for our Chinese experiences. My favorite: BYOP. Bring your own Paper. In China, most public toilets do not have toilet paper so Kara would often reference those using the restroom after her BYOP as needed. Best of luck to Kara and her husband as they travel on their honeymoon. Kara was also the person who helped me perfect the art of squatting.
Today we visited two schools. One was a primary school that taught in Chinese. The other a high school that taught in Korean. We were able to get additional information about how language is taught in China. We concluded those meetings with our farewell luncheon to the people of Yanji, particularly of Yanbian University. The best part was the entertainment. Many people tooks turns singing and reciting poetry. And of course, wine was flowing. Simon, one of our Chinese guests, loves to enjoy wine.
We have made many good friends in Yanji, a smaller community that has allowed that to be successful. As we traveled to each city, we learned something different about each region and gained new friendships. Bright and early tomorrow we will be leaving for Beijing. From Beijing we will be traveling to Hong Kong. I am excited to see how much Western lifestyles have influenced Hong Kong.
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