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| I did a good deal of doctoring of this picture to bring out the actual buildings. It was taken from the balcony of Jeff’s apartment — on the 31st floor. |
Surprisingly, I got some sleep last night. I slept for much of my flight from San Francisco to Shanghai yesterday — or was it the day before yesterday. At any rate, I seem to have almost entirely skipped a day. The interesting part is that February 11 is my birthday. So I skipped my birthday. Doesn’t that mean that I can be 54 for another year? 😉
I am fairly isolated here, staying at the Shanghai Racquet Club. But I have seen so little. I hope that I see more. They have me pretty busy her. Today, I’ll be conducting four workshops, three on using digital media, and one about video games and education. This will be a lite day! 😉
The school, although called an American school, appears to be quite international, with 40% of the students U.S. citizens. I suspect that it is a lot like other American international schools I’ve worked at, where students are being prepared to enter and attend U.S. universities.
Anyway, not a lot to report yet. I’ve mostly slept here. But I truly get a sense of being in a very flat part of the world. This was certainly evidenced by the large number of freighters I saw sailing in and out of Shanghai harbor and throughout the Chinese Sea as we were approaching the country in our lumbering 767.
Happy Birthday! It’s still February 11th here : )
Sorry they put you up in such shoddy digs! 🙂
Dave,
Another dispatch from Boston where we held an alumni gathering today at the hotel.
The group was split between the pre-1949 group and recent grads. The 1949 grou could not comprehend the “unstable” nature of the student body and the way the students seemed to move around from one international school to another. It was FLAT world in your face with a TCK flair. The kids laughed (graduating 2003 and 2004 and attending Harvard) and the 1949 or less group puzzled. Nonetheless, the 1949’ers had stories and tales that made you smile, laugh and cry all at the same time. I believe the school will capitalize on these stories to give our truly 1980-2007 organization some history, and a sense of where China has come from and where it may be going.
See you on Wednesday or Thursday Dave.
Andy
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I have heard after you officially hit 50, you don’t have to keep track anymore anyhow………so just pick the age you like and we will never argue with you on its accuracy!!
Oh — wish I was there……..
You are going to have a great time.
Jen
ps — you will have to share your secret of how to sleep on a plane. I have not mastered that one at all yet………
Enjoy Shanghai!!!
Birthday greetings to you! Jen’s right… you just get to be 50-something for as long as you like! Thanks for sharing the pics and showing us how flat the world truly is.
-Charlene
Shanghai is the most amazing city. I knew China would be an economic competitor for the US down the road, but once I saw Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong I came to a shocking realization. That future is now!!
I would be interested in hearing your reaction to China. What I saw was an intensely competitive culture, where students are pressured to succeed. Some fail and the society is not concerned about leaving children behind as long as the best do well.
I contrast the students I met in China with American students. American students seem to have a sense of entitlement that the Chinese do not. They expect to put out little effort in school or work and still be able to lead a realatively luxurious life-style after graduation. It will be interesting to see how our students fare in the Flat World. Chinese families don’t blame the teacher if their child fails to succeed in math. They pay for after school tutoring and expect the child to work harder.