Flight Route from Detroit (DTW) to Osaka (KIX)

Here's a picture of the route we will be taking tomorrow. After Osaka, it's a pretty straight flight from Osaka to Taipei.

You can check our flight progress at:
Routes International.

A crash lesson in Taiwanese culture and the Chinese Language

A big thanks to Ms. Zheng for arranging a meeting for our team to talk to others from Taiwan about their culture and what to expect. We also received a crash course in Mandarin Chinese so that we may honor our guests by greeting them in the language they speak.

Ms. Zheng contacted Dr. John Song, a professor of criminal justice at Buff State. He came to our meeting and brought along two students from UB who have newly arrived from Taiwan (Dr. Song has been here over 20 years now). Phoebe Kuo (a master's student in linguistics) and Kuo Feng Lee (a master's student in occupational therapy). All of them were extremely helpful in cutting down on our nervousness about this trip. They even brought snacks from Taiwan! Attached are some pictures of Team Taiwan, Ms. Zheng and our very helpful guests.

Article from the Buffalo News - click on the article to read

Meet Team Taiwan

The members of Team Taiwan were chosen because they met three criteria. They have been members of the City Honors Model U.N. team, the 2006 Cerebral Centaur J8 team (which made it to the finals to represent the USA at the 2006 G8 summit), and have shown responsibility in their team duties.

Jimmitti Teysir is a sophomore. She is a Roswell Park student researcher and one of the winners of the Benjamin Banneker Award.
Kayla Irwin is a junior. She is a member of the City Honors Crew team and takes Mandarin Chinese.
Cliff Wadsworth III is a junior. He is in Orchestra and he has chosen to enroll as a "full" IB student in the International Baccalaureate Program. He went to Europe for the first time this past summer.

First out of country trip in the BPS since 9/11!

Fantastic news! The trip was presented to the Buffalo Board of Education this evening and the board has approved it. This will be the first trip BPS-sanctioned trip out of the USA since September 11, 2001.

Board member Lou Petrucci made it a goal to lift the ban when he became a member of the board this year. The lifting of the ban will make it possible for students from all of the Buffalo Public Schools to go to Canada and other foreign countries.

The trip is fully funded by the Taiwanese Government, Asus Incorporated, Acer Incorporated, and the Giant Bikes Company.

Schools from Ireland, Taiwan, Russia, Israel, Finland and Australia have also been invited to attend the conference.

Thanks to Dr. Williams, Dr. Frazier and the Board of Education for approving this trip. Thanks also to Dr. Kresse for his support in this endeavor.