Gateway Language Village is billed as a Total Emmersion Experience. Once you step into the door only English can be spoken. An environment is created as close to that found in a Country that uses only English to communicate. Those who cannot afford to go aboard to learn English can come here.
The founder of the school,Ping, is an extraodinary person,and so are many others on the staff and student body. I find this a very fascinationg place to be.
Ping told me that his mother had to give away three of her 6 children to keep the family going. However, his older sister was able to find the three and bring them back home. One is now working at GLV(Gateway Language Village)
Somehow Ping was able to go to Prudue University and remained in the U.S. for 5 years before returning and starting this school in Zhuhai,China. Sandra Lee left Child and Family service on Kauai in 2001 and came to work at GLV in Zhuhai.
I can tell she has found her home. She loves GLV and has become an essential member of its staff. The school is her family. She has many children here who take good care of her. And by talking with the students realize that she has been a great influence on them.
I feel very priviledged and extremely fortunate to be here for three weeks.
I arrived here Thursday night. Sandra has put me into a lovely apartment of my own on the 9th floor. The school is in a hotel. They rent space from the hotel.This is a new area where lots of development is still happening. Actually it is a hotel/apartment/amusement park complex. I knew that I was in the right place when I saw a huge ferris wheel and a huge Egyptian Shynx. It took the taxi about an hour to get from Hangzhou to Xiaoshan where GLV is actually located.
On Saturday and Sunday I went with a team who did "Open Classrooms" at public libraries in two different cities. Monday I started holding night sessions from 6:30-8:30pm each night on subjects: Traveling Around the World,Hawaii, Dances of Hawaii, and tonight I will be doing one on The Healing Art of Qi Gong by Master Hong Liu.
Next blog I will tell you about the students I have met.
Aloha & A hui hoa,,,,Joanne
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
I arrived in China safe and sound.
I left Bangkok,Thailand Wednesday night and arrived in Shanghai on Thursday February 28th after spending the night at Hong Kong airport. My stop over was nearly 9 hours. Hong Kong airport is very impressive. If I had a long stopover again this is the place. They have comfortable cushioned chairs and also I discovered sleeper chairs where one can sleep. It is a huge multilevel airport but it is well labeled so it isn't difficult to find your way around.
At the airport I discovered the bag I had sent directly had not arrived. They forgot to put it on the connecting flight in the morning. The young man at the lost baggage counter tried to tell me "Don't worry it will come." I let him know I hear him but that is not acceptable with me. So they had me file claim papers and promised to have it delivered to Gateway Language Village which on the bus took me over 4 hours to get to. It was delivered the next day. I let the young man know that I used to be a travel agent and was not going to wait two hours at the airport for my luggage.
I was so happy Sandra Lee had written instructions in English and Chinese for me to catch the bus. An older woman from Denmark(later learned she is 58 yrs old) heard me say I was going to Hangzhou so asked if she could go with me. She had been in China every year for the last four years,but didn't speak the language. She was no help although she had been to Hangzhou before. Without Sandra's specific instructions we would not have made it to Hangzhou.
Fortunately for her and me when we got to Hangzhou we met a young man from Pennsylvania who teaches English in Korea,but loves Hangzhou,and returned and had reservations at a hostel near West Lake. The lady from Denmark had not made any reservations anywhere, but said that she had stayed at one of the hostels before.
There is a shortage of taxis(I didn't know this,but wondered why they didn't stop when we flaged them). The boy from Pennsylvania got one and we all hopped in. The lady from Denmark said she will go with the boy. After dropping them off at the hostel near West Lake(Hangzhou is famous for its' West Lake...there are about 39 West Lakes.)after a price was negociated the taxi man took me to Xiaoshan about an hour away from Hangzhou where GLV (Gateway Language Village school) is located.
Taxi's like to take short cuts,but the short cut he tried to take was being used by heavy equippment trucks due to many new developments so the road was full of ruts and very bad. After swearing something he had to turn around before continuing. Sandra did mention that GLV was inside a hotel/amusement park complex so I will see a huge ferriswheel and a hotel with a face of a huge Egyptian Sphynx(spl). As soon as I saw them I knew I was on the right path.
The school is in a hotel. They rent the space. Before Sandra Lee came to China seven years ago to work at GLV in Zhuhai,China we both worked in the same department at Child & Family Service,a non profit social service organization on Kauai. She had a masters degree in Social Work and was our team leader. Lorna Santos,formerly Lorna Shimada of Waimea,was the other member of our team.
Sandra was asked to get this new branch ready to house the staff and students as well as countless other tasks and also teaches classes in English. She used to manage bed and breakfasts on Kauai and is very good at this. Therefore I have a lovely apartment to stay in. It is beautifully done with a beautiful view of a lake out my window. I feel so privileged and lucky to be here. I Thank God for all his many blessings.
I will write next time about the school and its' many extraordinary people.
Aloha Nui Loa.....Joanne
At the airport I discovered the bag I had sent directly had not arrived. They forgot to put it on the connecting flight in the morning. The young man at the lost baggage counter tried to tell me "Don't worry it will come." I let him know I hear him but that is not acceptable with me. So they had me file claim papers and promised to have it delivered to Gateway Language Village which on the bus took me over 4 hours to get to. It was delivered the next day. I let the young man know that I used to be a travel agent and was not going to wait two hours at the airport for my luggage.
I was so happy Sandra Lee had written instructions in English and Chinese for me to catch the bus. An older woman from Denmark(later learned she is 58 yrs old) heard me say I was going to Hangzhou so asked if she could go with me. She had been in China every year for the last four years,but didn't speak the language. She was no help although she had been to Hangzhou before. Without Sandra's specific instructions we would not have made it to Hangzhou.
Fortunately for her and me when we got to Hangzhou we met a young man from Pennsylvania who teaches English in Korea,but loves Hangzhou,and returned and had reservations at a hostel near West Lake. The lady from Denmark had not made any reservations anywhere, but said that she had stayed at one of the hostels before.
There is a shortage of taxis(I didn't know this,but wondered why they didn't stop when we flaged them). The boy from Pennsylvania got one and we all hopped in. The lady from Denmark said she will go with the boy. After dropping them off at the hostel near West Lake(Hangzhou is famous for its' West Lake...there are about 39 West Lakes.)after a price was negociated the taxi man took me to Xiaoshan about an hour away from Hangzhou where GLV (Gateway Language Village school) is located.
Taxi's like to take short cuts,but the short cut he tried to take was being used by heavy equippment trucks due to many new developments so the road was full of ruts and very bad. After swearing something he had to turn around before continuing. Sandra did mention that GLV was inside a hotel/amusement park complex so I will see a huge ferriswheel and a hotel with a face of a huge Egyptian Sphynx(spl). As soon as I saw them I knew I was on the right path.
The school is in a hotel. They rent the space. Before Sandra Lee came to China seven years ago to work at GLV in Zhuhai,China we both worked in the same department at Child & Family Service,a non profit social service organization on Kauai. She had a masters degree in Social Work and was our team leader. Lorna Santos,formerly Lorna Shimada of Waimea,was the other member of our team.
Sandra was asked to get this new branch ready to house the staff and students as well as countless other tasks and also teaches classes in English. She used to manage bed and breakfasts on Kauai and is very good at this. Therefore I have a lovely apartment to stay in. It is beautifully done with a beautiful view of a lake out my window. I feel so privileged and lucky to be here. I Thank God for all his many blessings.
I will write next time about the school and its' many extraordinary people.
Aloha Nui Loa.....Joanne
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