Touchdown!

Mr. Lidong and Mr. Alex - Beijing Normal graduate students

Peking Duck

Peking Duck being prepared

After 18 hours of travel time, we made it in to Beijing today at 3 p.m. We quickly cleared customs and found a taxi. The driver read the address from the note cards made by a student’s mother. The drive was bit harrowing, but we made it in one piece. There was 3-4 inches of rainwater on the roads and it made driving a bit tricky!

We checked in and after a quick nap, met Mr. Lidong and Mr. Alex. We were put in to contact with these Beijing graduate students and math teachers through the University of Houston. After communicating for months by e-mail, it was nice to finally meet face to face. We talked about the differences between the Chinese and U.S. math education systems. While different, there were a surprising number of commonalities between the systems.

We enjoyed Peking Duck at a local restaurant, Da Dong and then wrapped up the night with a green bean ice cream and leechy fruit served on ice. Tomorrow, we are headed to Beijing Normal University to participate in a lesson study and continue to talk with Mr. Lidong and Mr. Alex.