The title above means “I am going to Shanghai tomorrow.” Today was our last day of Mandarin class for the first group of students. We are leaving Beijing really early in the morning to travel to Shanghai on a fast train. Our last week with this group of students will include a long weekend in the financial capital of China (Shanghai) and then 4 days in a rural area outside of Beijing (Fangshan). Then, I’ll have a short break before the next group of students arrives.
Today, we climbed to the top of the hill at the Summer Palace, and looked out over the city. As you can see in the photograph, Beijing is full of ancient history, but you can see the modern city skyline in the background. I’ve really enjoyed my time here and look forward to returning after this brief journey. After just a bit more than 2 weeks in China and 20 hours of Mandarin instruction, I’m impressed with how much I’ve learned. I can actually communicate with basic sentences, and understand some key words. Since I’ve already stayed up late packing, I’ll end by sharing a short video showing the beginner class at our last session today. Before this month, none of us had ever taken a Mandarin class. And check us out now!
Categories: China
Innovation on Earth 
Wow!! You’re a fast learner at Mandarin Ms. Krakauer!!
I like the title of this post, too! It’s correct!!
Was learning Mandarin tough? Or was it relatively easy? From the video, the students were really good at it!!
I’m excited to see your adventures in the rural areas, what do you think you’ll see? And what do you think you’ll see in Shanghai? Do you think it will be like Beijing? Or somewhat different?
The view must have been spectacular at the Summer Palace! What else did you do there?
I wish you safe travels and good night’s sleep!!
😉 ~ Anna
It sounds like fun!!!!!
you are so cool Ms.Krakauer! I can not wait to start 5th grade!
It is so amazing to see how China changed from the small (but beautiful) huts and houses… and the occasional castle 😀 to a huge thriving city! Have you seen any of the old fashioned houses, they are so architecturally pretty. I actually went inside one. It had been taken down from China and reconstructed here, at the Peabody Essex Museum. It was purely amazing! Plus, I got to lean a ton about its history. Here are some pics: ( copy entire thing and paste into new tab)
PLEASE GO HERE AND CLICK “EXPLORE HOUSE”!!!!!!!
http://www.pem.org/sites/yinyutang/
Here are some pics: ( copy entire thing and paste into new tab)
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ938rGbpGSh6_qeQlwRRu1TLc4_tIUNFZWNeL5a7MJ3ifhv8inAA
This one is very nice, it shows different parts of the house:
i wish i knew how to speak chinese!
it’s amazing your group learned so much Mandarin in such a short time!