Great day of travel! The kids were wonderful all the way from Houston to China. Most of everyone slept on the plane as we flew close to the North Pole over the top of the world and down to Shanghai.

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN CHINA!!! We had a wonderful flight and arrived safely this afternoon in Shanghai. We were met at the airport by our three guides John, Zoe, and Teresa. This evening we had a wonderful Chinese dinner together as a group. We are all very tired but looking forward to continuing our adventure in China tomorrow…

This morning we flew from Shanghai to Beijing. After checking into our hotel this afternoon and we toured The Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven was built in the 1500’s and is the largest temple in China.  The children stopped for a group picture in front of the temple and gave an impromptu performance.  People gathered around to watch and take pictures! Before going to dinner we went to the Pearl Market, where the children gave another impromptu performance. We closed the night by taking in a show at the Chinese Acrobatic Theater. Tomorrow we will be going to the Great Wall of China!!!
Interview
Name: Phillip Munoz
Age:12
What has surprised you most about China?
The thing that surprised me most about China is how modern a country China is. But at the same time it is nowhere near as modern as America. I was also surprised at how different the food is here in China compared to the Chinese food we have in America. The weather surprised me too; I didn’t think it would be so foggy and humid.

What do you miss most about America?
The food. I am longing for a good hamburger.

What is your favorite part of China?
I really like how the streets in China are well maintained. Almost every building in China has bright lettering and decorations on the outside. The people here are very happy and welcoming.

Today was wonderful! This morning we drove to Sun Village, which is an organization that fosters and educates children who have a parent that is incarcerated. The Houston Children's Chorus gave a wonderful performance during our visit for the Chinese children. After the performance we split up into several groups to tour the property and learn more about Sun Village. It was incredible to see the children interact together. I don't think that anyone left Sun Village this afternoon the same.

This afternoon we drove to The Great Wall of China. It was AMAZING!
The Great Wall is one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" and is the only man-made structure that can be seen from the moon. All of the kids had a great time climbing the wall! To end our busy day we had a wonderful dinner at a beautiful restaurant called Beijing Roast Duck.
I think that all of the kids are getting more courageous every day about trying new food!

Tomorrow we will be touring Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square…

Interview
Name: Ijeoma Okora
Age: 13

Tell me about your experience today at Sun Valley
It was a great experience to see the children who were away from their parents. I was excited that we had the opportunity to sing to them. We spent the whole day yesterday in the city of Beijing so it was really cool to be able to see what the suburbs were like. I think going there broadened my horizons.

How did seeing the kids impact you?
Seeing the children made me realize how blessed I am. It was amazing to see how disciplined they are and see how happy they are with how little they have in comparison to what I have back home. Going there today made me be more grateful for what I have.

Was The Great Wall of China different from what you expected?
I didn't even know what The Great Wall of China looked like before today. I was surprised at the amount of walking that we had to do. I was with the group of about ten kids with Miss Jana and we walked further than anyone else in our entire group. The view from the top was absolutely beautiful and worth all of the walking. It was a very rewarding experience!

We began our day in Beijing touring the magnificent Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City is the largest Imperial Palace complex in the world; it has 9,999 rooms. Tiananmen Square is the largest central city square in the world.  Each time we stopped to take a group photo in Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City the kids attracted a crowd of strangers from around the world who were eager
to take their picture!

This evening the children performed at the Beijing Concert Hall. The Beijing Concert Hall is the city's main venue for classical music concerts.  The performance featured the Houston Children's Chorus and the world famous China Children's Choir. Some of the children from the village hit by the earthquake several weeks ago also attended tonight's concert.  At the end of the concert the children were able to meet and take pictures together as well as present gifts to the earthquake victims.  Tonight was another wonderful experience that we have shared on this trip. The concert was BEAUTIFUL!!!

Tomorrow we will be traveling overnight by train to Shanghai and will not have access to the Internet. I will update you when we get into Shanghai…

Comments from kids about tonight:

Taylor Starks; 12
"I thought that the concert was wonderful! I wish we could have a screen so we could understand what they were saying. I was so excited
to see the survivors from the earthquake."

Akash Ghosal; 11
"The Chinese chorus did really well, and I think we did the same. It was a great experience. It was phenomenal."

First, let me start off by telling you more about what we did yesterday. The Houston Mayor's Office set up a
wonderful final day for the kids in Beijing. We visited the Beijing National Day School, which has over 5,000 students from around the world. The kids participated in an exchange performance with the children from the day school. We then split into groups and toured the school's enormous campus. Most all of the children from the day school spoke very good English, so they were able to really interact with ourgroup.  A lot of new friendships were made and email addresses exchanged!

Before heading the to the train station we were able to visit the National Theatre in Beijing. We were able to see a short performance and walk through the underwater lobby (which the kids loved)!

The overnight train ride was a first for almost all of the kids! It was an incredible experience and quite an adventure!! There were 4 people to each room with barely enough space to turn around! We had a GREAT time!!!

Interview from yesterday:
Name: Carolina Wood

What was your favorite part about today?
Going to the day school. I loved meeting the students. They were so nice to me. I enjoyed touring their school. It was very pretty and big.

What was your experience like on the train?
At the beginning it was very bumpy. I got a little nervous. But by the end I was like, "This is nothing!"

This morning we came straight from the train to our hotel in Shanghai and had a WONDERFUL breakfast complete with scrambled eggs and french toast.  After getting cleaned up we toured The Bund and Nanjing Road. The Bund is a famous waterfront in Shanghai and is the western shoreline of the Huangpu River. Nanjing Road is the most famous street to shop on in Shanghai and one of the busiest shopping streets in the world. While we were there the kids were able to visit one of the official shops of the 2008 Olympic Games and purchase souvenirs.

This evening the children gave their final exchange performance with the Shanghai Radio Children's Chorus (as well as others) at the Shanghai Radio Broadcast Mansion. This was a much more intimate performance, with about 150 people in attendance. The Chinese children we so excited to perform with them! When we returned to the hotel, the children did a short performance for the staff of the hotel and some representatives from one of the sponsors.  The concert was performed in the beautiful lobby of our hotel.  They did so well.  The acoustics were fabulous and the performance was enjoyed and appreciated by all!

Tomorrow is the final full day in China. Stay tuned…

Interview
Name: Nykiya Bailey

What do you think is different about Shanghai compared to Beijing?
Shanghai is more like New York City and Beijing is more like Washington D.C.  I think that Beijing has a lot more political stuff. I also think that there are more  bikes and motorcycles in Shanghai than Beijing.

How was the performance in Shanghai different from the performance in Beijing?
The performance in Beijing had more children in the choir. But the children in Shanghai were dressed more formal than the ones in Beijing.

What was your favorite meal today?
McDonalds! Im so happy we finally had American food! At the McDonalds here you can order fried chicken like the kind at KFC. I thought that was cool!

FROM STEVE RODDY.....

What do you think impacted the children the most during their trip to China?

This was an eye opening experience for the children.  On a basic level, they got to see and experience another culture through music, history, cities, people, etc.  It has helped them appreciate and understand how much they truly have in America.  On a deeper level, the children have grown and matured in several areas:

• Hearing a world class children’s chorus (China Children’s Choir) has made them want to work harder and has also helped them realize what  is accomplished by focus, responsibility, musicianship, expression, and teamwork
• Camaraderie between the children
• Understanding of the deep responsibility that this type of trip takes in being focused, following direction, and realizing that it wasn’t just about having fun but about experiencing another culture
  
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Today was our final day touring China. We spent this morning touring Yu Garden, which is located in the Old City of Shanghai. The garden was designed in 1559 and was absolutely gorgeous! After having lunch and spending some more time in the Old City we headed to an indoor market so that the kids could finally shop! In China the policy in these kind of markets is for the customer to negotiate the price of an item back in forth with the shop owner. I think that the kids were more excited about getting a deal on something than they were about what they actually got!! And let me tell you, they were good at it!

This evening we went on a beautiful dinner cruise on the Huangpu River. The Shanghai skyline at night was absolutely breathtaking. The group shared a wonderful last dinner together in China and enjoyed the breeze on the deck of the boat.  I could not imagine a better way to close this trip. I can't tell you how much fun everyone has had on this trip. We have made wonderful memories together!

What is the one thing that has impacted you the most about your experience in China?
Breanna Gough, 12
"My experience in China has officially changed my life because I'm so much more thankful for what I have after seeing the poverty that some of the people live in. I now have a better appreciation for what I
have in America and know that I can do anything I want to."

Lara Samarneh, 13
"Listening to the China Children's Chorus really showed me how hard those kids have worked. I learned from them that by being in the choir have to give your all to get the best results. Also, seeing how grateful and hospitable the hotel staff was that we were here made me feel good. I loved singing for them and hearing them sing for us."

Maggie McClurkin, 13
"What impacted me the most about this trip was how friendly and exuberant everybody is in China. Even though they don't have as much freedom as we do, they still are always smiling and willing to share."

Sarah Slack, 14
"What has impacted me the most is how well off we are compared to the people in China. We live much better than some of the people in China. We have nice houses and air-conditioning, yet the people here were all so nice. I think we should be more like them. We should be more humble and caring. God has blessed us and we should appreciate it more."

Imani Daffin, 12
"The thing that impacted my life the most by visiting China would haven to be the different sites and technology. They have very interesting historical sites that are wonderful. The technology is very high-tech
and amazing."

Josie Nieto, 11
"I think singing at this hotel impacted me because all of the employees showed so much thanks, even though we just sang a few songs."

Ellen Weinheimer, 12
"Going to China has helped me have more respect for the people around me. Seeing the poverty and poor conditions that some of the people live in has helped me to have a greater appreciation for the opportunities I have in America."

Natalie Galerne, 13
"Meeting the children from the day school impacted me the most because of the great differences between us, but when we were together it was like we had known each other forever. Meeting kids that grew up on the other side of the world was amazing."

Alexus Wallace, 12
"What has impacted me the most is how the families do so much just to earn money and how the kids are so nice. I was also impacted by how many people do not have homes."