May 21
May 21, 2017 Sunday
Today is our last
day in China. Wow, the two weeks went
fast and we had a great time! We really
got to see and experience a lot in a short amount of time, yet we know it only
scratched the surface. I've heard
several students comment on the value of
this experience. When you consider the
access to agricultural facilities in addition to the cultural and historical
tourism opportunities, plus the nice hotels, awesome meals, and professional
local tour guides in each city-- this is truly a great way to travel! I'd like to thank all of the family, friends,
and businesses who helped support these 19 students by encouraging them to
embrace this international opportunity, or by financially supporting their
adventure. I believe this short, two
week experience will be the starting line for future travel for several
students. Their eyes are open and their
minds are curious.
Today we visited
the Pearl Market shopping area before heading to the airport. The Pearl Market is like an indoor mall with
5 levels connected through escalators and multiple small shops on each
floor. In China, many of the shopping
areas are specialized with whole streets filled with stores dedicated to a
specific item. This was true of the
market as well. First floor had
electronics, silk, and souvenirs. Second
floor had luggage, toys, and clothing, third floor had pearls and purses,
etc. The listed price was obsolete, as
negotiating a lower, mutually agreed price was the norm. As we boarded the bus for the last time,
students were wrapped in new silk scarves, pearls, and electronic devices. We purchased some gifts for family and
friends back home, but negotiating a good deal was so much fun that many of us
splurged on ourselves a bit too. On the
bus, everyone swapped notes on the best price for ear buds or brand name
purses. When we got the airport, we
repacked our luggage and made room for our new purchases.
Airport check-in
and the security lines while long, went smoothly and were uneventful. We changed our clocks back to central time
and strategized on when to sleep on the flight.
The flight home from Beijing to Chicago was only 12 hours (instead of
the 15 hours to Hong Kong). We took off
around 4 PM China time, and landed in Chicago around 4 PM Central Standard
Time. In the Chicago airport, we went
through customs and made our way to our gate.
We had some time to stretch our legs before our last leg of the trip
back to Sioux Falls where we were greeted with family and friends. Everyone is looking forward to sleeping in their
own bed tonight.
We had a GREAT
group of students in this class and I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to
explore China and its agricultural industry with them.
Your blogger for
today, and one of the class instructors,
Mary Christensen
Beijing airport
Dusty and goods from Pearl Market
Stretching legs on the airplane
Welcome home!
I know how it feels when it's the last day of your trip. China is one of the countries in my list and I wisht to visit in the next year. Lovely pictures.
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