Ni hao from Shanghai!
This is Mr. Alex Klenz writing to you from the campus of Concordia International School (CISS) in the Pudong District of Shanghai, China.
On Friday, 1/11 our group of 10 students, and 2 chaperones left from Las Vegas to attend a Model UN conference hosted by CISS, here in Shanghai.
On Friday, we met at the airport, said our goodbyes to our families, and then experienced a 3 hour delay to our flight to Montreal. While we were put off by this unexpected delay, we were ultimately grateful that we had a long layover in Montreal and therefore would not miss out connecting flight to Shanghai.
The flight from Montreal to Shanghai was approximately 13 hours. For many of us, it was the longest flight we have ever been on. Most of us spent our 13 hours alternating between watching movies, and catching up on sleep. We were met by 2 CISS Model UN students at the airport who helped us to get cash from the ATMS, exchange money, and find our bus to the school.
Once at the school, Faith students met their host families (parents and students of the CISS Model UN program), and went home with them for the evening. The students ate dinner with their families, many of them going out to nearby local restaurants. The CISSMUN students have been incredibly kind and helpful to us as we get situated.
We spent Monday morning shadowing teachers and students at CISS, eating lunch in their cafeteria, and attending their chapel-like assembly. Today's assembly message was about how "everyone wants to be someone", and how we can support those around us in feeling self-worth. 
While traveling, Faith Lutheran students have to keep up with their normal school work and have a regular scheduled homework hour. This way they are getting some of their missing classwork completed while in Shanghai. Later this afternoon, we will meet with CISSMUN students to discuss conference details, rules, and expectations. In the afternoon, students will get the opportunity to shadow a different class schedule schedule, walk to a nearby foodcourt for lunch, eat dinner with our CISSMUN friends, and attend an acrobatics show downtown.
So far we are happy and healthy, not yet feeling the effects of jet lag (ask us in a few hours...). The weather is chilly, but no rain. The air quality is very smoggy and overcast but ultimately pleasant.
We are so thankful for the following on our first days:
-All of baggage arriving safely
-No complications through customs or border control
-Host families who are extremely accommodating
-Concordia International School and their vision and outreach within their communities
-Supportive families for providing and allowing a learning opportunity like this
-Steven Wu, our trusty FLHS student translator
Be on the lookout in the following days for more travel blogs, written by our very own FLHSMUN students.
Thank you for reading!
Mr. Alex Klenz