Preparing and packing!

In just 11 days, a group of 13 educators will be traveling to China as part of a 2-week Primary Source educational study tour. The group of educators will be accompanied by tour leaders Carolyn Platt and Aloe Rioux, and me. My name is Maggie Kaiser and I am a Program Coordinator at Primary Source. Throughout our trip, I will be updating this blog with pictures and stories on behalf of all trip participants to update family, friends, colleagues, and students about the places we see and the people we meet. On several occasions, tour participants will be asked to contribute their own thoughts, impressions, and discoveries as guest bloggers - stay tuned!

All educators traveling to China have completed a five-day seminar series or summer institute on the history, culture, and peoples of China. Tour participants Jonathan T. and Mark Q. (left) enjoyed a lunch of Chinese food on the last day of the course.

Our group will depart from Boston very early on Friday, April 10. We will begin our journey in Shanghai where we will visit the Xi’angming High School, the Lu Xun Park, and the Shanghai Museum. Next, we will fly to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors, visit an art school, and take an excursion to rural Pangliu Village. We will conclude our trip with a week in Beijing. Much of our time there will be spent teaching and learning at the Dandelion School, a school for the children of migrant workers. Tour participants have been busily preparing lessons that they will teach to 8th grade students at the school. When we depart from China on Saturday, April 25, we will have seen, heard, and learned a great deal. We look forward to sharing our adventure with you!