7.5.09
Today we met our Teaching Assistant, Michelle, and she gave us a tour of the campus. We also met JERRY!, the leader of the TA group in the hotel that helps us with a lot of stuff. Today was also a very relaxing day- but all of the teachers (that aren’t quarantined) have first-day-jitters. IT’s kind of funny, tomorrow is the first day of school, and I’m not nervous at all! Today was also a very relaxing day to get settled in and accustomed to our living quarters for the next 3 weeks.
7.4.09
4th of July!!!!! We left on a plane to WUHAN!!!! today, and Happy Birthday to America! Today was a very relaxed day. We won’t be writing much from here on out, since we will be teaching daily and I will keep you updated about what we do in the classroom as well. We had to change rooms because the first had just one bed. The one we’re in now has a gorgeous view of a hallway and a door. We’re happy to be here and have this experience teaching though, view or no view.
7.3.09
Today we go to the lacquer factory and Emperor Qin’s Terra Cotta Warriors! The furniture and mock soldiers were breathtaking! Then we went to the actual Terra Cotta warriors! There were three pits of soldiers/warriors, the second was the biggest, holding a total of about 2,000 ceramic fighters. The first and third pits were smaller, but equally impressive. They had to be kept in the dark because they are so ancient they’re in danger of disintegrating. After we went around to all the dig sites for the soldiers and the warriors, we went into a tea shop nearby and waited for the rest of our group. We went out for dinner and after, packed up for our long stay in Wuhan. We leave tomorrow, and start teaching on Monday! We’re all excited, even though some people haven’t even started thinking of their lesson plans yet. Ah well, Grandma planned ahead and was done with plans three weeks before we left. Wuhan tomorrow!
7.2.09
Today we departed for Xi’an at 11:45 in the morning, leaving glorious Beijing for the rest of our time in China. We both agree that we prefer it over Shanghai, though Shanghai has many, many interesting places to go. Our first stop after leaving the airport was a museum, filled with ancient Chinese history. It included pottery, scrolls, different forms of ancient Chinese script, musical instruments and much more. Tonight we were treated to an amazing feast of dumplings and a show and a theatre, I believe it was called the Sunrise Theatre or something like that. At first, they served the appetizers and lots of people thought it was just the meal, but then came the mountains upon mountains of dumplings! The steamers full of them seemed to never coming, even I f there were 5 left in one, the servers brought 2 more to take its’ place. They contained everything from crushed walnuts, vegetables and chicken to duck, beef, and about 30 others! Then, if the amazing dinner wasn’t enough, the show came on! There were dancers and singers and everything was colorful and fluid, telling stories with it all. Everyone was impressed, and went back to the hotel feeling pleased and contented.
7.1.09
Today we headed to Tiananmen Square first thing in the morning! There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people lined up to see Mao Zedong’s tomb. Though his body is not located there, many still pay homage to his supposed burial site. People couldn’t bring anything at all into the mausoleum though- not even an umbrella! So there were things lying about near the lines being watched by relatives and friends. Meanwhile, we looked around at the giant monument to Mao, the lines of people, and across the busy lanes of traffic to the Forbidden City and Forbidden Palace. Our group was not only tourists, but also tourist attractions. Many Chinese were taking our pictures, either being direct and asking or from far away, trying to make it look like they were photographing a flag or something. Afterwards, we went to the Urban Planning Exposition across the street. There was a room where the entire floor was a map of the city of Beijing- very cool. The middle was a model, with mini buildings and skyscrapers complete with a mini lights show.. For lunch we took a ‘pedicab’, kind of like a rickshaw you’d see in India, but attached to a bike, not pulled purely by manpower. We were taken on a tour of a local ‘hutong’- a large and complicated neighborhood- one of many that used to fill Beijing until many were destroyed. Now the government has implemented laws making it illegal to replace these ‘hutongs’ with giant buildings and apartment complexes, which is a lot of what Beijing is. After the tour, we ate lunch at the home of a local who cooked for tour groups almost every day. Following lunch, we watched a cricket show in the same home we ate lunch in.. Some people were expecting a cricket fight- something that is actually illegal in China. For the final event of the day, we were taken to an art town, full of museums and exhibitions. No one was really looking for it, but I do believe we were all pleasantly surprised. It was called ‘798’, and showcased many emerging or established artists in Beijing. I think one of the funniest works our group saw was at the very end- a naked angel man hanging off the building (a plaster representation, of course). Today was a very full day!
6.30.09
Today we departed early for a secluded spot, sans other tourists, on the Great Wall of China!!! We’re all very excited about it. Before we went to the Wall, we stopped after a half hour at a jade factory/store. We learned that white jade is used and worn in death, and the darker green the jade, the better quality (and more expensive!). Grandma bought a gorgeous jade bracelet; she says it’s getting darker every day in some areas. Jade, no matter what color, means happiness. Two hours after the factory, we arrived at the Wall. We had lunch beforehand, a very traditional meal, with the best corn either of us had had in ages. To get to the actual Great Wall, we had to take a cable car up to the top of a mountain, and then walk a distance to finish the trek. As we arrived at the top of the cable car line, we were met by twenty two locals, who were our ‘walking companions’ we had been told about before we went up. They would walk around with us, then expect us to buy something at the end of the walk. It sounds a bit odd, but it was nice having them there to help us along. This part of the Wall is not very often visited by tourist groups, and it’s a bit run down in places. One part of it is the oldest watchtower on the entire Great Wall of China. As we descended the steps to the ancient tower, our guides held our hands (it was so cute!) and made sure we wouldn’t fall. Grandma’s guide really helped her when she reached the steep stairs that seemed to be at a 60 degree slant! The lady that was walking with me was this adorable tiny old lady, who was in remarkable shape for her age- she seemed about 75 or 80! After the beautiful, gorgeous, breathtaking and phenomenal view from atop the Great Wall, we descended down the mountain in our cable car and headed over to where there were little shops for the few tourists passing through. Our guides that had walked with us on the Wall had hiked down the mountain were down well before we were, their speed was remarkable! Following the Wall, we made a visit to the Olympic Park to see the Birds Nest Stadium, Water Cube, and surrounding area. After that, we went our to dinner at a nice looking restaurant. This was our ‘Duck Banquet’; we watched guys carve our duck then had thin little tortillas to put it in with plum sauce, onions and cucumbers as well. Very tasty! Finally, we were back at the hotel after our dinner. Scotty asked everyone if we wanted masseurs sent to our rooms for massages, so we decided to do that. We waited quite some time but finally they came, and it was fantastic! At the very end, when they were massaging our feet, they filled 2 plastic bags with hot water and placed teabags in them, letting the tea seep in before putting our feet in.. It was said to be Chinese medicine, and it felt good! Exhausting day today and it is over!
6.29.09
We woke up at 6am, and were all fed and ready for another exciting tour day by the time the bus picked us up at 8:30am. Today was the day of the Forbidden City and the Forbidden Palace! We spent around four hours meandering around and exploring the vast expanse that is the Forbidden City. There were exhibition halls for porcelain and clocks, and the sea of yellow roofed building was just incredible. After the palace, we went to lunch near our next stop, the pearl market. We learned about the life cycle of the oyster and the difference between freshwater and saltwater pearls. Afterwards, we were invited to shop around, but neither of us bought anything. Following our visit to the pearl market, we were taken to the Summer Palace. The trip started off with a boat ride across the lake that covers the majority of the palace to the other side of the palace, and we walked back around the lake to where we had started, listening to Scotty and his bottomless pit of information about the people that lived there, the history of the palace and interesting little stories along the way. After a half hour, we were back on the bus and headed for dinner. Some TFF teachers that have come back told us that by the end of these five weeks, everyone is craving steaks and hamburgers, instead of bak-choy and sautéed chicken spinning around on a lazy-susan. Though the food is rather excellent here, there’s no Chinese restaurant in the States that matches the things we’ve been eating here.
