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WilsonsInChina - Dianne and Peter Wilson

Dianne has many years of teaching experience including 10 as an administrator. Peter was a computer consultant specializing in data manipulation and reporting as well as system testing. We are going to China to work for a private school system where Dianne will be the ESL Director and Peter will be one of her ESL teachers.

For information on our new school system, click Maple Leaf Schools. We will be at the Jinshitan International School which offers grades 10-12. Students graduate from this school with a Dogwood diploma, the same diploma they would receive from a B.C. High School. The school is located in Dalian.

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Joined on: July 11th 2008
Last Login: October 31st 2008

Blog Entries: 8
Photos: 66

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by WilsonsInChina, order by Date newest first.

By WilsonsInChina
October 28th 2008

Some random thoughts....

Asia » China » Liaoning » Dalian » Dalian

Cleaning up my act!
In this shot you can see the water intake coming from the sink on the left, the drain on the floor beside the toilet and the power cord stretching up to eye level on the right. It was in stepping over... [more]

Some random topics that don’t necessarily fit into a blog of their own…. Several people commented on the washing machine stories. I thought I would include a picture of the facility. My streak of washing machine events without a problem was cut short at one. Carrying the machine into the bathroom (I don’t like to wheel it on the hardwood floors) I managed to knock the drain hose out of its clip and it leaked all over the floor. When I clipped the intake hose onto the sink tap I obviously didn’t secure it properly because when I turned on the [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
October 22nd 2008

We interrupt regularly scheduled blogging...

Asia » China » Liaoning » Dalian » Dalian

New arrival
Of course he's the cutest baby ever born!

for this important announcement from the home front. Russell and Heather had a baby boy on October 20th! yahoo! When I announced this to my students who have been following the exploits of "Mr. Wilson's family" there was great excitement. They we amazed to know that we knew we had a new grandson, that he weighed 7 lb 15 oz (3,600 grams over here I am told) but that I still don't know his name! From some reason Russ and Heather seem to be busy. I am sure he has one and will no longer be known as PTBNL (person to [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
October 12th 2008

Panjin, our first Chinese road trip

Asia » China » Liaoning » Dalian » Dalian

The Bus
The bus could hold 30 passangers when the center seats are folded down. Fortunately we didn't need them for this trip. Not sure what the BC Highways Minister would think of these buses but they worked... [more]

This rather belated entry in the blog describes our first foray into the Chinese countryside away from the school. The entry was delayed partly because I have had more than a few problems since my PC packed it in, the most recent being trouble moving files around on a PC running Vista. Sigh… The Chinese wife of one of the teachers runs a travel agency, massage centre and computer repair shop (sounds like something out of M*A*S*H). She organized a weekend bus trip to PanJin about two hours north of here. Twenty or so hardy souls loaded onto the bus early [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
September 17th 2008

School routines are now in place...

Asia » China » Liaoning » Dalian » Dalian

Flag Ceremony
Every Monday morning we raise the three flags, sing the anthems and have some speeches. It's been really hot so far. I believe they cancel if it is pouring rain but not if it is just cold. The buildin... [more]

Well, we have survived the first three weeks of school with only a few bumps along the road. The first came on the first day of school when it turned out the school’s scheduling software went on the fritz and we had no class schedules for the first day of school. With about a third of the teachers being new to the school and to China, the potential for disaster was certainly there. In the wee hours prior to the opening bell, a team came up with Plan B for the approximately 2,400 students and it worked out pretty well. Frustrated [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
August 26th 2008

We're in China!

Asia » China » Liaoning » Dalian » Dalian

At the Airport
Six bags didn't seem that much when we started. By the time we got to the apartment it seemed like 60!

Well, we’re here and mostly settled in. The flight from Victoria to Vancouver was a bit anti-climactic. Loading 6 suitcases plus carry-on bags into the van, driving to the airport finding two carts to shift the stuff to the check -in desk is a lot of work for a 15 minute flight. Then we had to pick up the bags and repeat the process in Vancouver because the Air Canada flight isn’t a connection to the Japan Air Flight. But at least our passports and visas were waiting for us there. Now that the Olympics are over the visa process should [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
August 18th 2008

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go!

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver Island » Victoria

Victoria Landmark - Empress Hotel
A five minute walk from our condo. Looks out onto the Victoria Inner Harbour

Yikes! We leave tomorrow. I am including a few pictures that talk about where we are coming from for those readers who haven’t been lucky enough to visit Victoria and the Gulf Islands. They are also there to remind us of home. We were in Vancouver recently for orientation. The principals and support staff for our new schools were there to tell us about some of the things we need to know before we go such as dress code for work and what to bring for the weather. When we get there we get three more days including a shopping trip [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
July 15th 2008

How this adventure got started...

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver Island » Victoria

Dianne retired from her job as an elementary school principal in June 2007. She wasn’t really ready to retire, just not willing to keep up the pressure of being a full time principal as well as teaching two days a week. During her “year off” she managed to keep busy as International Student Coordinator one day a week as well as completing a seven week project as Literacy Coordinator. Late last fall, the Superintendent of the system returned from China where he had been working as part of a team evaluating a school system that follows the BC curriculum. He spoke [View Full Entry]

By WilsonsInChina
July 11th 2008

What we are leaving behind

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver Island » Victoria

Jamie, 8 months
Impromptu swimming pool on Pender Island

It is going to be quite an adventure, our two year trip to teach in China. There are some downsides, however. As grandparents we will really miss our grandchildren and also the birth of the newest grandchild scheduled for October, 2008. Thank goodness for Skype and web cams so we can at least see the new arrival. The plan is to return to Canada during the Winter Holiday so we can visit with all the grandkids. Oh yes, and their parents. [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » WilsonsInChina

WilsonsInChina | Dianne and Peter Wilson | Travel Blog

WilsonsInChina - Dianne and Peter Wilson

Blogs & Travel Journals

Some random thoughts....

We interrupt regularly scheduled blogging...

Panjin, our first Chinese road trip

School routines are now in place...

We're in China!

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go!

How this adventure got started...

What we are leaving behind