2019 China Trip - July 10-25

Saturday July 13 - We took a different route to the subway station, and found two adjacent places to purchase breakfast. Fresh fruit and baked goods, some prepared while we stood and watched. Once again served in clear plastic bags, once again inexpensive, and fresh as could be. Then off to the day’s sights.  First stop was Summer Palace, in the Northwest part of the city. Good exercise, with some steeper boulder climbing.  We mistakenly thought we entered at the east gate, which came back to haunt us a bit later. We had given instructions at the beginning that it would be okay to separate into small groups, and agreed to meet at the large marble dragon boat at noon and we would arrange a boat ride.  However, not all instructions were received, as at the agreed time, Zoe and Jack headed to meet us at the gate through which we entered. The remaining 10 agreed to meet them after the boat ride.  Unfortunately we headed to the east gate. All’s well that end...

Hi, all - Things are going very well at camp.  The student teachers are doing a great job with the campers.  Heartwarming to see.  So excited for today's (Friday's) closing program; the songs will be tearjerkers, especially with the combined voices for the first time. Unfortunately I am once again having issues accessing the blog from my laptop.  I will post updates when I get access again, likely over the weekend sometime. Failing that I will send shorter updates from my phone. All is well, Clay

Friday, July 12 - This was the first of our days of sightseeing, and we packed it in.  We first stopped at a hole-in-the-wall breakfast place where folks ordered some combination of bite-sized steamed pork buns, hard boiled tea eggs, and some sort of fritter-like thing, all served to us in clear plastic bags.  Quick stop at a convenience store to stock up on bottled waters for a day of serious walking. We were thankful to see the Forbidden City, Zhongshan Park, Tiananmen Square, and the National Museum of China. A few highlights from these: Forbidden City - The sunscreen went on early and generously.  We came across the first of many Chinese people very eager to take pictures with Americans.  Abby Raasch seemed to garner special attention given her height and long blonde hair.  Above: the two Abbys in fairly typical poses with a fan. Zhongshan Park - Trees with identification tags (wisteria and pinus bungeana among the most beautiful and memora...

Welcome to the SLCA 2019 China Trip Blog!! My name is Clay Raasch, and I hope to offer you a daily journal of our activities, with a few pictures sprinkled in, mostly taken by my daughter Abby, who served as team photographer (which is why she is absent from most of the pictures you'll see). After more than our share of technological challenges, we're ready to publish our first blog post. I will post one day at a time, although I may post a few of these more frequently than daily, as I attempt to catch you up on our first several days. We will likely add more pictures at a later time. Thanksgiving in July has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? So that will be the theme of my narrative of our trip to China.  Abby Kom, Abby Raasch, Caleb Little, Emily Wolfram, Jack Duclos, Lauren Myrlie, Maren Steffen Nicole Mitzner, Seon Dittman, Zoe Birkholz, Ms. Kristin Lehmann, Clay Raasch Day 1, Wed/Thurs, July 10-11 - Here’s a brief chronology of a very long and hectic fir...