Mr. Feng was in a meeting this morning with visitors that were coming to observe his school, so he sent one of his leaders over Teacher Affairs to the hotel to pick me up. It was kind of funny to be picked up by a driver for the school (the driver's name is also Mr. Feng)…of course it was a really nice shiny black car. So we headed away from the security of our English-speaking group and tour guides and into the unknown.

We arrived at the school and Mr. Feng was still in his meeting. So I was able to rest in his office. It was surprising to me how much time Mr. Feng spends in his office on a usual day, but he has so much more business to take care of with over 4000 students and 235 teachers. I can't imagine.

We went to the cafeteria to eat lunch. It was pretty delicious and also on the smaller side. Not many students eat in the cafeteria—they either go home to eat, eat at one of the small market places close to the school, or eat in the cafeteria. I was able to eat with the teachers and students and it was great.

After lunch, Mr. Feng took me to my hotel for the mid-day rest. It is a hotel that is run for a local factory near the school and so it isn't much. But Mr. Feng is so gracious and I know he was so concerned that I be well taken care of. He stayed for the rest and slept in the bed next to me---kind of funny—I was looking forward to some alone time during those two hours, but he quickly fell asleep and so it was almost as if I was alone.

Then I met with Mr. Feng and his two vice principals. One is over students and one is over teachers---then they have an entire cabinet of leaders underneath them to help them in their job. We then toured the school and the teachers and students were wonderful. They were all very friendly and wanted pictures and to speak English. My favorite thing to do with these students is to play basketball though. There were some exceptionally good players there today. It was a lot of fun.

It is an incredible school. I can't believe how many students they can cram in to one classroom—sometimes up to 65 high school students. They have such little space on their desks and have so many workbooks. The students are so much more like our students than I would have imagined. They joke around, get off task, and make things pretty fun. Mr. Feng has done a great job getting them to do some of the "new" teaching strategies of cooperative learning and group work. I am really looking forward to spending the next few days there.

At 5:30, at the end of the day, we left to go to Mr. Feng's home. His wife and 85 year old mother in law greeted me. His wife was absolutely wonderful and such a kind woman. I was able to make dumplings with them and they were delicious. Then their son and his wife came over to meet me and we had a wonderful evening—often I couldn't understand what they were saying, but they are such dear people and I am grateful for the friendship that we have. I feel incredibly lucky to know such wonderful people.