I Can See Clearly Now the Snow Has Gone - Almost

Thursday November 12th - Saturday November 14th

It is so dry in Beijing that the snow does not melt, it turns directly into gas.  However, most of the snow hangs around, and each day we watch it being shoveled and moved.  Not sure where it is going, I have suspicions that it is being shoveled to the left, and the next day shoveled to the right.

On Friday we visited Siemens and the Asia Headquarters in Beijing.  It was an eye-opener to hear of the many and varied projects that Siemens is involved in, and the type of technology being developed for the future.  It seems that China will be leaders in the development of the electric car, this is an idea we have heard on more than one occassion.

Some of the team had dinner with Rotoractor's on Friday night and a chance to find out about what they do in Beijing.  While Rotoract has been active in Shanghai for a few years, in Beijing they have only just started meeting 4 months ago, and are eagerly taking on projects.

Saturday was Rotary District Conference, involving members from both Shanghai and Beijing.  The GSE Team had the chance to present a little information about our Vocations in more depth.  But what was most interesting was listening to the presentation from the team leader  who took a team from Shanghai to our District 9710, and had arrived back in China just the day before.  We smiled as he mispronounced Australian town names and spoke in wonder of the free outdoor BBQs and kangaroos on the golf course.

It was also good to see some people from Shanghai again.  It was like catching up with old friends.