what to do in Xi'an

Thursday - fly in from Beijing
dinner at a local restaurant
Friday
visit to the Imaging Department of Xi'an Red Cross Hospital in the morning
afternoon visit to the Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital
guest program
Provincial Museum
Great Mosque
Saturday
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, part of the Ci'en Temple originally
TERRA COTTA WARRIORS in the afternoon!!!
optional Tang Dynasty dinner/show in the evening
Sunday
Wuzhu village in the morning
lunch at local painter's family
Xi'an City Wall built in the Ming Dynasty
Monday fly to Guilin

China itinerary - Beijing

Sunday morning, Nov. 8th arrival to Beijing
Beijing Swissotel in Beijing
free afternoon
Monday
afternoon meeting with the Chinese Medical Doctors Association - there is where I will lead part of the discussion - more later
guest program
Summer Palace
Longevity Hill, see Arch Bridge, the Jade Belt Bridge, and the Stone Pagoda from there
optional theatrical performance on the history of Kung Fu after dinner
Tuesday
morning meeting with the Department of Medical Imaging of the Beijing University Hospital
afternoon visit to the Guanganment Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital - right up my alley
guest program
Temple of Heaven, Ming dynasty perfection
Hutong old neighborhoods and Prince Gong's Mansion in the afternoon
Wednesday
cultural day
walking tour of the Forbidden City=Imperial Palace
Tiananmen Square, the Gate of Heavenly Peace
lunch at Dayi Restaurant upstairs from Friendship Store
afternoon - atop the GREAT WALL OF CHINA YEAH!!!
Thursday off to Xi'an

where are we going to be in Hong Kong

Optional pre-extension to Hong Kong
Thursday Nov. 5-Sunday Nov. 8th when we depart for Beijing
New World Renaissance Hotel in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Thursday arrival - leisure day
We might try to arrange a trip to Macao, depending on time
Friday
Kowloon Peninsula
Jade Market, Wong Tai Sin Temple
Saturday
cross Victoria Harbor for a morning tour of Hong Kong
drive through Wangchai District - the hit movie The World of Suzie Wong was filmed there
Victoria Peak with panoramatic view of Hong Kong
Aberdeen - quaint fishing village
Repulse Bay
dim-sum lunch on a Jumbo Floating Restaurant
optional visit to the world class Hong Kong Museum of History, near the hotel
Sunday morning - catch up with the rest of the delegation on our way to Beijing

getting closer

Phew. Getting closer to the start line. Or more like a security line at a major airport. Most of the big things have been taken care of, now the myriad of details.
I rented a USB modem that should allow me a broadband access pretty much anywhere in the world. Check out Cell for Hire, it is a neat service at reasonable prices.
My dogs are going to our petsitter, who watched them for almost 3 weeks while I was in Indonesia in 2005. She is great with them, understands their quirks and special needs, can raw feed, and has a great dog of her own of Nyssa's age. Instead of being kenneled, the girls will spend 17 or 18 days being pampered and spoiled. Even though the kennel - Lucky Stars in Hampstead, owned and managed by good friends of mine, is excellent and caring - home care is best. Should you need a petsitter that will take your pet in her home, is a dog trainer and behaviorist and just a plain animal lover, let me know. Anyway, the petsitter is moving back to Virgnia from Outer Banks on Monday - the day I drop the girls off. What a terrific timing for all of us!
I also ordered monogrammed lab coat. LOL Never in my professional career did I own one, now I do. Is it to impress myself or our Chinese counterparts?

the preparations

I think I mentioned previously the group I am going with - People to People. Fortunately they organize all the international flights and accomodations, along with itinerary, most meals, and guides.
All we needed was visa and a way to get to LA. The process to get Chinese visa takes several days and necessitated two trips to DC. Interestingly enough (?), the visa office is not a part of embassy as one would think. It is located in a totally non-descript building just outside of Georgetown area in DC. Not cheap, either. And there were lots of people, many different groups such as students, business people, natives, tourists, etc.
A good friend of mine, who hates cities and DC especially, drove me both times and had few adventures while waiting. Yes, there are characters in DC, especially from a viewpoint of a retired cop. LOL

People to People

The group we are going with is People to People. Their Ambassador program organize all types of professional and leadership delegations all over the world. So far the jury is still out on their performance, some of it has been great, some less so. I can imagine it must not be easy to organize a group of 42 people to go half-way across the world. LOL

Good night for now. I will try to post tomorrow where are we actually going.

thank you, friends

Many thanks to all of my friends that peaked at the blog. It was great to hear from several that I have not talked to in a while. Nice way to connect.

Right now I am working on two midterms and a marketing paper for next week, so more later.

the beginning

I think it all started several years ago when I applied for the Nuclear Medicine Program Director at Hopkins, the same program I graduated from. As a part of the interview process, I had to do a presentation and teach a class. I picked thyroid cancer. Since I put so much work into it, it was a shame to waste it. So I emailed the Society of Nuclear Medicine locally to see if they would be interested in me doing the presentation at one of the meetings in the region. Lo and behold, I was invited to present at the annual meeting of Society of Nuclear Medicine in Toronto, Canada, this past June.

Based on that, me thinks, I was invited for the trip to China. People to People organization is organizing this as a Medical Imaging delegation to meet with our Chinese counterparts and discuss various imaging topics. I will be presenting on credentialing of nuclear medicine technologists and radiological nurses. Yeah!