26 May 2011 ~ A Visit from LongShan Elementary School

We have a partner ship with local elementary school, LongShan. They came over today and we gathered in our lunchroom to decorate t-shirts and celebrate a great year together, our new friendships, and all the hard work we did to become environmentally aware and take good care of our surroundings.

LongShan's Principal

Trying on our new shirts

The whole gang on the front steps of DAIS. I am a lucky woman to be a part of this awesome global community!

21 May 2011 ~ A New View

A wall went up across the street this week and almost all the trees are gone. We're still speculating on just exactly what will be here next year.

14 May 2011 ~ Food Pairings

Found a interesting food pairing poster today in a restaurant.

Remember, never use garlic when cooking dog. : /

I sure hope there were no mushrooms in that donkey dish I had in Beijing!

Bunnies and ducks don't mix!

13 May 2011 ~ Spring...It's REALLY Here!

Green! Finally!

Took a lovely walk over Dragon Mountain and was greeted by Spring!

8 May 2011 ~ Cherry Tomatoes or Sweet Cat

Decision, decisions. Which shall I take home with me?

Cherry tomatoes or an adorable cat?

7 May 2011 ~ DAIS Accreditation Party

After a lot of hard, dedicated work for the past two years, DAIS has become fully accredited by the Council of International Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and the China National Center for Curriculum and Textbook Development. We all gathered at the Howard Johnson's in Dalian City for a night of celebration.

Sidney (Head of Elementary, 2006-2011), Patricia (Our new Elementary Head) and Kimberly (Second Grade)

I was excited to wear the new red dress I had just purchased in Beijing.

Katy (Mandarin Teacher) and Kimberly

Nancy (Secondary Art), Ann (School Counselor), Janet (Secondary ELL) and Paula (Secondary)

Janet (Elementary Art), Tim (Elementary Technology), and Agnes (First Grade)

Kimberly and Veronica (Elementary ELL)

Kara (Third Grade) and Ana (Fifth Grade)

Michelle (Second Grade) Eli (Secondary English), and Stephanie (Secondary Music)

Mrs. Chen (Supplies Coordinator), Kimberly, Katy, and Terry (Library Assistant)

Sarah (Forth Grade), Megan (Accreditation Coordinator), Paulita (Fifth Grade), April (Secondary English), and Katy

Claire (First Grade), Stephanie, Megan, and Alejandra (Kindergarten)

Kimberly, Judy (Mandarin), Katy, Jennelle (Elementary PE), and Trina (Librarian)

Joe (Head of Secondary), Tim, Lisa (CEO), and Kurt (Head of School)

April and Kimberly

Cristian (Secondary PE) and Veronica

Katy and April

Adam, Paulita, and April

Dr. Nordness with announcements and congratulations for a job well done.

Lisa and Trina

Table 8

Kimberly and Audrey (Business Manager)

Agnes and Kimberly

Rita (Teacher's Assistant), Sunshine (Teacher's Assistant), Sid, and Emma (Assistant to Secondary Head)

Emma and Kimberly

Kimberly, Ana, and April

All the Girls

All the Boys

2 May 2011 ~ Of Course...the Signs!

What trip would be complete without the signs?

Upon arriving at the Hutong Inn, we were given free beer coupons. I just loved the Hutong Inn's logo on the card...not sure what it has to do with free beer though!

Yummy Door?

A hamburger too!

Please be self-restrained and a good tourist (wish they would say this to the locals who spit so much!) to mold a well-mannered imagination. Hmmm???

: )

I wanted to go right in and plop myself down on that sofa!

Sounds like something Confucius would say.

Hello bar!

A new way to say no photography...

Civilized sightseeing and...am I reading this correctly?? Safe driving?? On the Great Wall??? Ha ha haa!!!

Just turn the Z a little and you're all set.

Ahhhhhhhh....

And the creme de la creme of all signs (found inside a bathroom)...

All I want to know is...who polices this??