Decatur educators return from China trip

By KRISTINA TORRES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/18/08

Photo : A group shot at the gate of Sichuan Normal University Attached Experimental School in Chengdu.

Six Decatur educators on a visit to Chengdu, China, returned home last night after more than two weeks abroad.

The trip to Sichuan Normal University Attached Experimental School in Chengdu is the first time Decatur has sent teachers to the school, with which it began a new exchange program last year.
t also came in the wake of a May 12 earthquake that devastated Sichuan province and killed tens of thousands. The elite Sichuan school — located near the city's core — was relatively undamaged. The 3,000 students from the school escaped injury.

The Decatur group arrived back from Shanghai just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. They are expected to spend the next couple of days re-adjusting from the 12-hour time difference.

You can see and read more on the teachers' trip at their blog, acopp.edublogs.org. Among some of the group's memories, according to separately e-mailed updates:

ON THE EARTHQUAKE

• "There are tents erected everywhere. No one is really using them any more. They were erected and used immediately after the quake hit and everyone has left them up just in case. No one quite knows what to expect because they say they've never had an earthquake in this area before."

• "All of our hosts have told us that the experience of the earthquake has changed their lives. They are more committed now to making the most of each day — to enjoy life, to love their family and concentrate on the things that are most important in their lives — because one doesn't know what tomorrow will bring."
See photos of their trip here.