Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Beijing - Take One



Last weekend, I went to Beijing for the Learning 2.012 Conference.  It was amazing.  Western Academy of Beijing, a large international school was the host - and it had amazing facilities.  It felt like one big Starbucks, and I mean that in a good way.  There were so many nooks and crannies for teachers and students to meet, collaborate and work.  If you are ever looking for a Technology conference for teachers, this is the best one out there, hands down.

Although Liz, my colleague, and I stayed busy at the conference on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we managed to get out and see friends Saturday night and jammed in a morning of sightseeing (Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City) and shopping (at Ya Show Market - pretty much a "gray" market full of knock-offs) before we left.

I missed the kids and John heaps, but they survived without me.  I'm not even quite sure if Maximo missed me.

China was a lot better than I expected, although I didn't know what exactly to expect.  I was worried about the pollution and the lack of staying connected to my Google Accounts and dear old Facebook, but the weather was gorgeous and I survived without being 100% connected all the time - although I still was Tweeting and chatting on my iPhone with John easily the whole time I was there.

I'm excited that we return in two weeks as a family to visit friends in Shanghai and then go back to Beijing and go to the Great Wall!

Here are some pictures from the trip:


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