Check Out Time

Oh what an ending to our trip!

Our final day in both Asia and Taiwan started out slowly and ending up with dinner, singing, and dancing. Let me explain. Our usual routine is to meet with the parents and discuss their child's progress at Brewster. Then we gather for dinner and some warm conversation. Not here in Taipei.

We all met at the Sunlit Teppanyaki Restaurant in Taipei. The Sunlit is where we dined last year. It is owned by alumni parents Connie and Kenneth Lai Liao. While we were meeting with the parents a fair number of alumni parents were gathering in the dining room. What a surprise to see so many old friends come and join us. It was a wonderful evening. They forced me to sing karaoke. I even danced with one of the moms.

That's all of us in the photo to the right.

So there you have it. Great trip!

I'm on my way home and Raylene is continuing on to Bangkok for some business related to the Royal Thai Scholars summer program and then onto Cambodia for a little personal r&r.

Seeing the Sites

Hard to believe, but Raylene and I actually had a free day yesterday, Wednesday. We ceased the opportunity to take in some of the local sites in Taipei. In the early afternoon, we took ourselves off to the Taipei International Flora Exposition. That was an interesting visit since

every exhibit was packed with people and very difficult to get into. Oh well, we tried.

That's me on the Exposition grounds with the Grand Hotel in the background. We did not stay there. It looks like a Buddhist temple, but it is not. It is a modern hotel.

Later in the evening, we headed off to the Shilin Night Market. You would not believe it. It is truly amazing. You wander down streets overflowing with people and tiny shops stacked with every conceivable type of merchandise. All the merchants are ready to negotiate. We even ran across a number of shops selling the cutest puppies you will ever see in one place. Not sure about the dogs origins. And the food, oh the food. The sheer amount of food being sold was simply scary amazing. How about some pig stomach soup or how about pig heart soup. There's a shop of some veggies I've included. I think there are carrots and pineapples in the shot, but I'm not sure what else is displayed.

Tonight we meet with the remainder of our Taiwanese parents and will end the evening with dinner.

It's Christmas in Asia

I'm a little behind again in my postings. It's Thursday and our third day in Taiwan.

On Monday morning, we got to the airport in good order in Shanghai. We slogged our way through the maze of people boarding planes for their destinations all over Asia. They used buses to ferry us out to the plane. While waiting for all the people to board the plane, both Raylene and I were taken aback by hearing a Kenny G Christmas song being played over the plane's intercom system on an Air China flight. What is this world coming to?

Taiwan is a good place to fly after four nights in China. It is an open country with friendly people. On our first night, it was great to get together with Austim Lee's mom, Shelly, as well as with Gary Tsai's folks. Gary graduated last year and is now attending Syracuse University. Shelly even brought her mother along for the lovely dinner at the Miramar Garden Taipei, the hotel we are staying at while here in Taipei. I had a cup of onion soup and a rather sizable Fillet Mignon. Oh, some western sustenance.

In the morning, Raylene and I took the bullet train south to Taichong for a day of school visits, touring, lunch, and dinner with Kennith Chang's parents and Lewis Lin's mother. That's me with with Kennith's dad, George, in front of the chapel on the campus of Tunghai University. It is also where Kennith's old school, The Affiliated Experimental High School of Tunghai University is located. Taichong is an hour's train ride from Taipei or about twice that time if you drive. Its climate reminded me very much of San Diego.

We were met at the Taichong rail station and driven to a McDonald's restaurant to meet up with Lewis Lin's mom, Jamie. How about that, an Egg McMuffin in Taichong. That's me with Kennith's mom and Tammy, our translator, in front of the McDonalds we stopped into. The first sch00l we toured is christain related. We then drove about an hour southeast to Nantou where we toured our second school a Buddhist related school, Pu Tai Senior HS. We were all very impressed by Pu Tai's campus. The touring of both schools gave Raylene a great opportunity to promote Brewster. Pu Tai is where Lewis Lin went to school before coming to Wolfeboro. On the way out from Pu Tai Senior HS is the temple of the school's sponsor.

After our tours of the schools, George Chang drove us into the town of Nantou for lunch at the Wen Wan Resort on the hillside overlooking Sun Moon Lake. After lunch and a tour of this magnificent resort property we headed off for a boat ride across the lake. That's a fishing on the lake. That's Raylene just before we boarded the boat.

After our lake tour we headed back to Taichung for dinner and a train ride back up to Taipei.

Up at 4 a.m. and back in bed at 12 midnight. A very long day.

I'm leaving Asia tomorrow and heading home. I'll keep you posted on my last two days in Asia shortly.

Next Shanghai

Shanghai is about 1,000 miles south of Beijing. It is also about 20 degrees warmer. It was nice to get a break from the colder weather of Beijing. Shanghai is a contradiction in a way. First, it is an amazing city of many views clouded by some serious smog. I mean serious stuff that smog is. What also is noticeable in the two cities we visited in China is the size and scope of their airports. I've never seen larger airports in all my travels.

We were met at the airport by William Chen's dad, Victor. Victor was our host, chauffeur, translator, and tour guide during our two day stay. That's Victor and me with the only temple in the city of Shanghai in the background. It is an awesome structure. What is also impressive about Shanghai is the shopping. The shopping centers are packed and people are leaving with large shopping bags of purchases. Every top end product is for sale here. And the cars are all new and mostly Lexuses, BMWs, Audis, Mercedes, etc.

In the evening, after dinner with Victor and his wife Lucy, we went down to the Huangpu River for coffee and the sights. A beautiful view of the city.

Next day brought about our meetings with the families of our Shanghai students. After the meetings we headed to a dinner of jelly fish, octopus, pig tongue, and more shark fin soup.

That's the Shanghai parents behind Raylene and me at the restaurant.

Our China visit was fun. The parents truly appreciated us visiting with them.

I would like to thank Raylene Davis for the use of some of her photos here in my blog.

Our journey together has really been a team effort.

With Taiwan next I cannot say enough about all our Asian parents and their true love of their children and their desire that they do well.

What's For Dinner?

In our last day in Beijing, we toured the school at which Sam Wang '13 first studied. Lunch with the school's head administrator followed and then Raylene met with one of our consultant groups.

After our meeting with all the parents in the evening, they all took Raylene and me out for a roasted duck dinner at a very famous restaurant for which I have no idea what the name is. What often happened to us in China is that we are picked up at the hotel, ushered into cars and driven off to our next destination. So, in most cases, we have no idea where we are going or where exactly we are.

So are you ready for dinner? Well here is the menu:

• Mustard Duck Webs (I said webs - you know, that's the webbing between their toes);
• Duck Livers Cooked in Salt Water;
• Diced Prawn Meat & Salad Rolls;
• Mashed Potato with Juice (and I don't mean gravy);
• Main Course - Roasted Duck;
• Shark's Fin Soup;
• Fried Duck Meat with Scorpions (look at the photos of us for confirmation);
• Braised Prawns with Chili Oil;
• Crab Roe and Fish Maws in Thick Soup;
• Flame-torched Duck Hearts in Maotai; and
• Mandarin Fish.

Ok now, let's all eat up!

That's our Beijing parent contingent above at the roasted duck restaurant. We had six families meet and dine with us.

The next morning Sam Wang's parents drove us to the airport for our flight to Shanghai. Sam's dad has a special pass that allowed us to bypass the long lines at the airport's check-in counters. It made a tremendous difference.

Off to Shanghai.

Next China

Oh, Boy - China!

There were no problems entering China. But you know you are in China. I had to pinch myself, this kid from Long Island City in New York now in China. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this would happen. Boy, if only my mother could see me know.

We were met at the airport by Sam Wang's mom, Hong Zhen, and her translator and adviser, Sabrina. It was a heady discussion all the way

from the airport to the Beijing Hilton about college preparation and other matters that arevery important to Sam's mother. Sabrina is a very spirited individual that doesn't pull any punches and cuts to the quick right away. Raylene and I knew up front that we were in for a feisty visit to Beijing.

Without wasting any time, we were off to a buffet lunch at the hotel and in to the car for a trip to

Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City.

Awesome, just Awesome. To see these images all those years on our televisions for various reasons most recently during the Beijing Olympics. Now to actually be here! Amazing! That's me in front of the outside wall of the Forbidden City. I've included a photo of Tian An Men Square, but it really doesn't do justice to the actual visual of being there.

You cannot believe what's behind that main gate to the Forbidden City. It is a huge

conglomeration of rooms (each the size of a palace) in which the kings of China lived. The whole history is too long to get into here. Raylene tells me we all need to watch the movie The Last Emperor to get a sense of the spectacle. We walked the whole compound. It's got to be a mile or more.

From there, we were off to the Olympic Village to see the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. These where the venues for the swimming and track events of the 2008 Olympics. That's Sabrina and her husband, Chris, with Raylene inside the Water Cube. There's a photo of me in front of the mascots. We must have walked miles today.

Now off to dinner at a truly Chinese restaurant that I cannot tell you the name. We were joined by Sam's dad, Xuetao Wang. We were entertained by traditional Chinese musicians and another artist that changed the look of his face without you seeing how he did it. An amazing act. Unfortunately I have no pictures. Raylene does and I'll share them later. I'm not going to say anything about the food, but how about a serving of chicken feet?

I'm Back!

Now, where was I?

We were headed to the airport last week for our trip to Korea. Before going on, let me just say that this has been one whirlwind of a trip. We seem to be constantly running to airplanes, meetings, lunches, dinners, and then falling into bed just to start all over again the next day. I am actually writing this on the occasion of us having the first free morning of the whole trip. It is Sunday here in the second week of the trip and we are only now getting some needed downtime. We start up again this afternoon meeting with the parents of our Shanghai Chinese students.

So, as I was saying, we headed for the Tokyo Airport to catch our flight to Seoul where we were met by Young Min Choi's mom and whisked off to the JW Marriott. After getting settled we were back out for dinner at the Samwon Garden Restaurant for some Korean beef. Great feast! A wonderful meal with both parents of Young Min, Dr. Choi and his mom, Yeon Ho Huh. That's all of us together at the restaurant which is owned by LPGA player Grace Park's dad That's one of Grace's awards in the background in the picture.

Next day off we went again. This time with Joon Ho "Brian" Choi's parents for a ride through some unbelievable traffic to a really, really authentic Korean food restaurant named Phil Kyung Jae. OK, now I know you all warned me about spending too much time describing the food, but you come over here and try it and then let me know what you think. There must have been at least 25 different dishes of every sort of food type you could imagine and of some that you never knew existed.

But, it all took place in a setting that was really fascinating. The restaurant is actually a house that was constructed in the 1400s during the reign of King Sungjong, the ninth King of the Joseon Dynasty. By the way, the name of the restaurant means "Respect for the Elderly." No Jokes please. We had desert in the outside garden despite the need for an overcoat. This is where Brian's parents, he a medical doctor and she a university Ph.D., Won Suk Choi and Joo Won Jung gave a gift for us to take back to Brewster. I've included a photo of the entrance way to the restaurant/house.

Back through the traffic for dinner with Tyson Lee, Young Min Lee's father. Young Min's mom did not join us due to an injury she suffered at her school. She is doing well and expected to be just fine shortly. A great time with Tyson. We got to know each other last year and this time was no different. Good talk, fine food. This time we ate at a French restaurant owned and operated by a former employee of Tyson's that left Samsung and headed to London to learn the restaurant business. He returned just a few years ago and has been very successful ever. That's all of us in the photo including the proprietor's wife.

After dinner we met up with Brewster alum Sung Joo Kim. After Brewster, he went on to Indiana University and is now a global derivatives associate with E*Trade. That's Sung Joo in the photo.

Funny to be here at the same time as the G20 Summit. We had a significant number of press at our hotel. It is interesting watching the news in Asia. It is reported from a totally different

prospective than we get at home. We are so self centered in the U.S. The rest of the world pretty much thinks we are all screwed up and that our currency is almost dead as the world's benchmark. I will say, both Raylene and I clearly have seen that the dollar is not worth what it was even last year. Things seem so expensive here. The dollar's value is really falling.

Up again and out for a tour and lunch with Shin Bum Park's parents, Kyung Ho Park and In Young Choi. This time we ate at the Min's Club, a traditional Korean setting with a western approach to its cuisine. Another nice eating experience. This time Raylene stayed back to prepare for this evening's presentation. While with Shin's folks, I got to see the Gyeongbokgung Palace again. I cannot say enough about the hosting the parents provided us. They are all very wonderful people.

Back to the hotel where we met and dined with the members of our Korean Parents Association. We had a treat for our parents. We asked Beau Jackson, an alum from the class of 1987, now living and serving as a university instructor in Seoul to join us. The parents were pleasantly surprised to meet a Korean speaking American who happened to also graduate from Seoul. I might also add that Beau was really surprised at Brewster's presence in Korea. That's him in our group photo with the parents. It was at the end of our gathering that Jin Il Lim and his wife, Eun Mi Cho, gave a gift to Brewster. Jin Il Lim and Eun Mi Cho are the parents of Luke and Sol Lim.

We also gathered with a good number of other Korean alumni after dinner. As was the case in

Japan, all had a few laughs discussing the past and catching up on what's new with each other.

With a need to get ready for our next leg of the trip, I headed for the room to finish packing and to grab as much sleep as possible before getting down to the lobby for our bus ride to the airport at six in the morning the next day.

We Are Off To Seoul This Morning

We are off to Seoul this morning after two days here in Tokyo. The first day saw us visiting the Harajuku section of the city, well known as the fashion capital of the world for young ladies. This also happens to be where the Japanese education consultants, EDICM, maintain their offices. EDICM and a few others are the firms the Japanese turn to for help in placing their children in the proper schools of the United States. This is done for a fee. It helps us to stay in touch with these consultants. Raylene Davis also interviewed a prospective student while there.

While Raylene was busy spreading the good news about Brewster, I took myself off to the Meiji Jingu (Shrine) built in 1920 to honor the Divine Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. The original shrine was destroyed in 1945 during the bombings of WWII. The present shrine was rebuilt in 1958. While there, I witnessed a photo session of a Shinto wedding party as well as a number of little three, five, and seven year-old children in their finest kimono that have been taken by their parents to the shrine to pray for their children's future health and fortune. This is part of the festival Shichi-Go-San that takes place this time each year.

That little tower I referred to in my last blog is not that little. It is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower of which it was modeled after. It too was built in 1958, as a communications tower. It is now considered too short in the analog gone digital world.

Saturday night we met up with a large number of Japanese alumni for dinner and a great time in the Ginza section of town. We had alums spanning the classes of 1997 up to 2005. Many of them had not met each other before and many were happy to renew friendships begun at"BA." What a fun loving group. They all reminisced about their days at Brewster. "Those were the good days," laughed many of them.

By the way, if Harahjuku is the epic center of teenage fashion, Ginza's shopping can rival that of Fifth Avenue in New York City for adults. Lots of lights people scurrying everywhere.

I'm still holding my own in the eating department. Having already been in Asia, has conditioned me for what I may encounter. I've already had sushi and other raw fish I would not normally eat at home. Japanese cuisine is quite good actually. The food in each Asian country is different from each other. What is universal is the use of chopsticks. I'm much more open to what's served this trip than I was last year. It is funny how we all are so acclimated to our own surroundings. These folks go into some of these little restaurants along the way like we do in Wolfeboro when we stop into Wolfgang's Pizza. In many cases, I have no idea what they are eating, but they sure do appear to be relishing whatever they are eating. No pun intended.

Yesterday, we met some of our current Japanese parents for consults and lunch. Raylene spoke to them about their child or children's progress while I spoke to and presented them with proposals for supporting Brewster with a gift. We were both well received and it appeared that the parents were happy with our visit and the exchange of conversation. Most of the parents had not known each other prior to our gathering.

We are off to the airport on our road trip to Asia.

In Tokyo

Arrived last night after a 14 hour plus flight from Detroit. We flew up over Canada's Alberta and British Columbia provinces, then over the Gulf of Alaska, out over the Bering Sea, down along the coast of Siberia, and down into Narita, Japan.

Had a fellow named Don Pond sit next to me on the flight. I've been flying for years and never talked to a seat mate as long as I did with Don. Don flew helicopters in Vietnam. He was on his way to Thailand to meet up with two other Americans that were in flight school with him back in 1968. They were going to ride bikes up into Vietnam once they all convened in Bangkok. Actually they were taking one more flight up into the upper regions of Thailand before they joined up with a bike tour group that were going into Vietnam on a 500-mile ride. I

expressed amazement and he likewise with me going to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, and Taipei all in just over two weeks. We wished each other luck when we disembarked. We promised each other to email each other when we got back to make sure we both made it in good shape. It was a good flight.

To acclimate myself to the change in time zones,

I try to stay awake the whole flight. Even though you doze off on occasion, you can still keep

yourself awake much of the time. Since we landed in late afternoon of the next day, you could trick your mind into thinking it was just the end of the day of which you started out in the morning by getting on the plane in Boston. It worked, since I slept through the night and am up and feeling pretty good this morning.

It was a one hour and 45 minute bus ride from the airport to the Prince Park Tower Hotel in Tokyo. What was fun about the ride was the service from the very moment you bought your ticket to the time you got off the bus. Everyone smiles and bows at you. The level of detail the employees give to all aspects of their jobs is overwhelming. I'm talking about every level of employee from the guy who puts your bags in the undercarriage of the bus to the driver. They act like they've got the most important job in the world and that your life depends on them. This continued right into the hotel and to the waitstaff in the restaurant.

Joined up with Raylene Davis in a Yakitori restaurant at the hotel upon arrival. For those not familiar with the Brewster folks, Raylene is in charge of our Thai Scholar program and our Summer programs. She was previously director of our ESL program and had lived in Japan for a good number of years before having moved to the States. So she knows her way around and also knows the food. Good on, as she says. She's an Aussie. This Yakitori restaurant specializes in grilled chicken. OK, you all knew I was apprehensive about the food in Asia, not tonight. It was great! It was very nicely done in that the grilling is very light and the food very favorable. I'm off to a good start with my epicurean adventures.

Headed right to bed after an after dinner glass of wine. The night photo above was taken from my room just before I hit the sack. It is a landmark and I just don't know the name of it yet. It looks like a mini Effel Tower. The other shot was taken this morning.

More later.

Here I Go Again - Off to Asia Thursday

Almost all plans are in place for the upcoming trip.