I left for China feeling really scared and generally upset with myself. I had a wonderful summer. I got to live at home and play with mom all summer. I took one class and it was amazing, I got a decent grade and really learned a lot. I got to know Tanner and his family, they took me to do all kinds of fun things. Scott came to visit.
But I didn’t get a lot of things done that I wanted to do. I especially didn’t study Chinese all summer.
I didn’t cry at the airport. Mom didn’t cry either.My first transpacific flight was fine. I read most ofthe way. They were pretty uneventful. It wasinteresting that everything was announced in Englishand Chinese. The food was terrible.
Once we arrived in Beijing we found out that half the group wouldn’t be able to fly to Chendgu. United Airlines hadn’t really booked our connection to Chendgu even though they told us they did. So after six hours in the airport we were put up in a hotel for the night and given food vouchers. I stayed calm and mostly didn’t stress out. Steve was with us most of the time, taking care of business. I think that had I been alone I still would have managed to do it myself, so that was comforting. But the thing I am most proud of was that for the first four hours I carried my bags back and forth through the Beijing airport myself.
We had dinner at the hotel, which was a really fun experience. The waitress took our food vouchers and ordered a dinner for us. We had Beijing Duck (PekingDuck) which was brought to the table and carved in front of us.
The next day the hotel helped us arrange a minivan and driver for the day. We went to the Forbidden City. It was beautiful. I had Tanner put up a fewphotos. My main reference for what it would have looked like was the movie The Last Emperor. Which is unfortunate, for me to see it through the experienceof a movie, but I was actually glad. The buildings are beautiful, but being able to picture what it would have been like when an Emperor was in residence made the day more fun. The best moment was when Iwandered onto the huge cobblestone yard in front ofthe largest building. Most of the tourists don’t bother to walk onto the yard. I stood near the middle of it and looked at the cobblestones. They are wornand pitted, and some have grass growing up between them. They look aged, they feel aged. The size ofthe complex and the buildings are overwhelming there.
The day was rough at times. It turns out I know a lot more about China then many of my classmates. I got sick of hearing comments like “ I didn’t know how big the forbidden city was.” Ugh. China will teach me patience.
Our driver took us to a loud restaurant for lunch. Then we went to a building where they showed us how to make silk fabric and comforters, and then tried to sell them to us. It’s the first time I’ve had a driver, and of course he was one who gets kick backs! So that was actually okay, we all laughed it off. The place was actually very well done, and I learned how they make silk! It was fascinating.
We had to rush our trip to the Temple of Heave, which I found very disappointing. Of the few places I saw in Beijing that was the one I would most like toreturn to.
The Temple is beautiful in itself. All of the temple buildings are beautiful. It is in the center of a large park in Beijing, so you can stand at the Temple of Heaven and look out, all around you is an island of green and then the high rises of Beijing. It was very surreal. It was also very Chinese. Much study of China being done now is one of contrasts, how the modern and ancient coexist or how the cities are growing wealthy and the countryside stagnating.
I was also feeling very reflective at the Temple. Emperors came to the Temple of Heaven to pray for prosperity, good harvests, and victory in war. The rituals that were carried out are so foreign to anything that I would be familiar with. The Temple was a quiet place most of the year, maintained by Buddhist monks. The citizens of Beijing weren’t allowed to worship there. Then a few times of year it became the focus of the entire city and much of the nation. People my age learn a lot about European history in school, and kings and monks, but I come from a liberal city in a mostly secular nation. I believe that I would feel more patriotic, and wouldfeel more rooted in my culture, if I could look backon a time when the most amazing works of art were created for a place of worship that was designed tobenefit my whole society. I am very patriotic as is,and there are some analogies to events in American history that could be made. But we really are such ayoung culture, a young nation, and our roots may beunique, but they aren’t deep. This is something most Americans end up thinking about when they travel, so yeah, I thought about it too.
Then I flew to Chengdu.
But I didn’t get a lot of things done that I wanted to do. I especially didn’t study Chinese all summer.
I didn’t cry at the airport. Mom didn’t cry either.My first transpacific flight was fine. I read most ofthe way. They were pretty uneventful. It wasinteresting that everything was announced in Englishand Chinese. The food was terrible.
Once we arrived in Beijing we found out that half the group wouldn’t be able to fly to Chendgu. United Airlines hadn’t really booked our connection to Chendgu even though they told us they did. So after six hours in the airport we were put up in a hotel for the night and given food vouchers. I stayed calm and mostly didn’t stress out. Steve was with us most of the time, taking care of business. I think that had I been alone I still would have managed to do it myself, so that was comforting. But the thing I am most proud of was that for the first four hours I carried my bags back and forth through the Beijing airport myself.
We had dinner at the hotel, which was a really fun experience. The waitress took our food vouchers and ordered a dinner for us. We had Beijing Duck (PekingDuck) which was brought to the table and carved in front of us.
The next day the hotel helped us arrange a minivan and driver for the day. We went to the Forbidden City. It was beautiful. I had Tanner put up a fewphotos. My main reference for what it would have looked like was the movie The Last Emperor. Which is unfortunate, for me to see it through the experienceof a movie, but I was actually glad. The buildings are beautiful, but being able to picture what it would have been like when an Emperor was in residence made the day more fun. The best moment was when Iwandered onto the huge cobblestone yard in front ofthe largest building. Most of the tourists don’t bother to walk onto the yard. I stood near the middle of it and looked at the cobblestones. They are wornand pitted, and some have grass growing up between them. They look aged, they feel aged. The size ofthe complex and the buildings are overwhelming there.
The day was rough at times. It turns out I know a lot more about China then many of my classmates. I got sick of hearing comments like “ I didn’t know how big the forbidden city was.” Ugh. China will teach me patience.
Our driver took us to a loud restaurant for lunch. Then we went to a building where they showed us how to make silk fabric and comforters, and then tried to sell them to us. It’s the first time I’ve had a driver, and of course he was one who gets kick backs! So that was actually okay, we all laughed it off. The place was actually very well done, and I learned how they make silk! It was fascinating.
We had to rush our trip to the Temple of Heave, which I found very disappointing. Of the few places I saw in Beijing that was the one I would most like toreturn to.
The Temple is beautiful in itself. All of the temple buildings are beautiful. It is in the center of a large park in Beijing, so you can stand at the Temple of Heaven and look out, all around you is an island of green and then the high rises of Beijing. It was very surreal. It was also very Chinese. Much study of China being done now is one of contrasts, how the modern and ancient coexist or how the cities are growing wealthy and the countryside stagnating.
I was also feeling very reflective at the Temple. Emperors came to the Temple of Heaven to pray for prosperity, good harvests, and victory in war. The rituals that were carried out are so foreign to anything that I would be familiar with. The Temple was a quiet place most of the year, maintained by Buddhist monks. The citizens of Beijing weren’t allowed to worship there. Then a few times of year it became the focus of the entire city and much of the nation. People my age learn a lot about European history in school, and kings and monks, but I come from a liberal city in a mostly secular nation. I believe that I would feel more patriotic, and wouldfeel more rooted in my culture, if I could look backon a time when the most amazing works of art were created for a place of worship that was designed tobenefit my whole society. I am very patriotic as is,and there are some analogies to events in American history that could be made. But we really are such ayoung culture, a young nation, and our roots may beunique, but they aren’t deep. This is something most Americans end up thinking about when they travel, so yeah, I thought about it too.
Then I flew to Chengdu.
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