July 1st, 1999

Today we went to see Children's Palace. We were warmly welcomed by Wang Song Zan. He showed us where we would be working. We found out that our class was divided into two separate classes. The morning class will be learning Java while the afternoon class will be doing the LEGO Mindstorms®.

After discussing the details of our stay there we were given a complete tour of the facilities. Today was summer holiday so there were not many students there. The teachers were there and we did see some of the students. We especially saw the student's work, which are impressive. We saw everything from ship and plane models to calligraphy and drawing. Our guide even showed us the model ship he built as a student there.

When we were visiting the calligraphy room the teacher decided to give us a lesson in Chinese calligraphy. She taught us the old and new characters for friend and good. Afterwards she hung up Hesky's and Reid's work among the other students' work. Somehow ours did not look as impressive as what the seven-year-olds did.

In the music room we were treated to a performance by an award winning musician. He also displayed his invention which in a few pieces can imitate a large number of wind instruments. They were sure to point out how much history was behind each of the instruments imitated.

Unfortunately we forgot the digital camera today but we will make sure to take plenty of photos next time we go there.