Excursions

Most of you have already read this entry through the email that I sent out. For those of you who have been keeping up (but probably lost interest because I never posted anything) again certain websites were blocked and there was no way that I could figure out how to get onto my blog! However, just recently I found another one so I am now able to post.

The newest entry is long but it explains my 17 day excursion which is definitely worth the read!

Beijing

We left Qingdao on June 19 and rode a 5 hour bullet train to Beijing which actually was my first passenger train ride. Overall I would say that Beijing is by far my favorite city in China and would recommend all travelers to visit Beijing. The 2008 Olympics definitely led Beijing to become a touristy area…so it was noticeable that the pollution is well controlled and new modern attractions were built. We were able to enjoy many tasty cuisines and even went to a very famous restaurant that is known for Beijing duck.
Day number two in China was simply amazing. I can finally now say that I have visited one of the 7 wonders of the world…The Great Wall of China! It was such a gorgeous day…no clouds, the sun was bright and I could see the wall for miles into the horizon. I am so glad that we have had such great weather at places like the Great Wall and Mount Taishan. Looks like we brought the Texas weather with us! Like I said, the wall was phenomenal and like usual I took about a thousand pictures…so check out my photo bucket page! (Username and password are above)
Day number three we first went to a flea market called the Panjiayuan market. This market was so much fun and it was neat learning how to properly bargain some very beautiful merchandises. Everything from pots, artifacts, art work, jewelry, clothing, bags, sculptures and more were found here. Three hours in this market was definitely not enough time to see everything, so you can imagine the size of Panjiayuan. The rest of the day was devoted to a 6 hour tour of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Our guide unfortunately had very broken English which made learning somewhat difficult but I tried to gather as much knowledge as I could. That night as a group we went to a famous food vender area called Wanfujin Street where I enjoyed my first taste of scorpion!! It was actually really good and was not bad at all! The kids from last were right when they said scorpion tastes like popcorn. However, I will say that starfish is not my favorite dish to eat J
Day four was another exciting day. The famous Pearl Market was incredible and I had never seen a place like it before in my life. Four stories of knock of clothes, jewelry, electronics, shoes, purses and more…my bargaining skills became even better! After the Pearl Market even more adventure came our way when we went to visit the 2008 Olympic Center! Actually seeing the Olympic Center in person was so fun and I still can’t believe that we went inside both the Aquatic Center and the Nest. The architecture on both buildings were so different and modern looking, again go and check them out in photo bucket. Throughout my four days in Beijing we also went to many temples. I believe in total we visited a Lama, Daoism, two Buddhist temples and the Temple of Heaven. They were all very peaceful and it was neat to see people praying and worshiping. Overall, like I said in the beginning, Beijing has been my favorite place to visit. It is so modern and as you can tell we did a lot during our stay…maybe if we have a free weekend I can visit Beijing again!

Xi’an
Xi’an was a short visit, mostly amazing but at some parts…horrible. On the 11 hour train ride from Beijing to Xi’an I ended up waking up at 5:00am on the train… horribly sick. I will not go into details but being sick on a moving train is not fun at all. I definitely felt my first little wave of homesickness and it was hard being that sick and not having my loved ones around me to comfort me. The whole day I really felt terrible but I was not about to pass up the Terracotta Warriors! The history behind the Terracotta Warriors was fascinating to learn about. There were many uncovered from the dirt (found only 20 years ago!) and there are still areas that are being excavated. It makes me wonder what else is below us that we have no idea about! The farmer who actually discovered the Terracotta Warriors was also at the museum but unfortunately no pictures could be taken with him.
The second day in Xi’an I felt normal again. We rode bikes on Xian’s city wall and it was a blast. At some points I really thought my bike was going to break on me…they look/feel so old! It was a very memorable day J Later that day after the bike ride we boarded another train…this time a 16 hour train ride to the Sichuan Province.

Chengdu
The 16 hour train ride wasn’t too bad. Sleeping was a little difficult but wow the scenery throughout the mountains was beautiful. Each day in Chengdu I feel was very unforgettable. The first day we were able to see the city and view some very gorgeous Chinese gardens. One of them that we went to was very well kept with traditional buildings in areas, bonsai trees, lotus flowers and peaceful ponds. It reminded me of pictures that I had seen of China that I had always wanted to visit.
The next day we rode a 2 hour bus trip to Leshan. I have always wanted to see what a jungle was like and I definitely got to be in one during our stay in Leshan! Our first visit was a place called the Thousand Buddha’s. We walked along paths through the trees and soon came to the historical landmark. On one side there was a huge river with lush vegetation and then on the other side was a huge mountain with thousands of Buddha’s carved into the rock! It was beautiful and also really interesting/sad to see that most of the Buddha’s had missing heads. It’s sad to think people stole these carvings and interesting to think where they would be in our world. To continue on with the day the Leshan Grand Buddha was phenomenal. I cannot believe that I have actually seen the biggest Buddha in the world…70 meters high!
Day number two in Leshan, we went to Mount Emei and hiked throughout the mountain in the jungle. I would say this was my favorite day in Leshan because I had always wanting to view/feel what it was like to be in a jungle…wow was it humid! To continue, the day got even better when we visited the wild monkey park!!! I will admit it was a little scary being so close to those wild monkey but in all it was very entertaining. The first monkey we saw was gulping down a coke he pulled from the tourist trashcan. We saw baby monkeys playing, mothers carrying their young and hundreds climbing throughout the trees. One monkey even grabbed a water bottle from a boys hand and quickly took it up a tree haha. It was a fun day.
The next day was a rainy one but we got to visit a Panda Bear park! They were adorable and of course we all loved to watch the cuddly bears. I will say that Panda’s are by far the laziest animals I have seen haha….but they are still fascinating creatures. It’s sad to think they really are becoming extinct in this world but reassuring that there are still parks devoted to breeding Pandas. We left for the train station after the park for a 12 hour train ride for our next excursion to Xichang.

The Yi civilization
I have noticed that in a lot of these entries and for my personal journey, I always say, “Today has been the best day so far in China.” Or “This has been my favorite place to visit so far”. I have to say that everyday has been a blessing but nothing has come close to what we all I have experienced over the past two days. I would try to sum up the last few days but I feel every detail that I can give will help paint you a picture of what all I have done. When signing up for this study abroad program, in the beginning we were informed that we would be doing a community service project with people who had been affected by the August 2008 earthquake. The people that we worked with were affected by the earthquake but our main focus was towards an orphanage. The society that I am speaking of is known as the Yi civilization that lives in the Zhao Jue Mountains. They are known for being one of the poorest civilizations in China. This society also is known for having hundreds of kids left as orphans because their parents had passed away from HIV/AIDS.
The first day we were in Xichang, had an introduction from the Yi Empowerment Center, visited a museum about the people and soon were on a bus traveling up steep mountains to our destination (Zhao Jue). I believe it was a 3 hour bus ride…very windy and bumpy…but wow the scenery was gorgeous. It reminded me of Ireland with the rolling tall hills and very green vegetation. I am so happy that I have seen the city life, beaches, jungle and mountain terrains of China!
The next day at the orphanage was simply incredible. I am guaranteeing that none of us will ever forget this day with the kids. We arrived at the school and met up with the, “love class” which consisted of 37 students that have all lost their parents. Throughout the whole day we played games with them, drew pictures, sang songs, colored, played with toys, danced, ate dinner with the kids that the school provided for us and we even were able to witness their cultural Torch Festival Ceremony. When we first got there we said our hellos and soon enough we were coloring and drawing pictures. The kids were a little shy at first but they grew to love all of us and would never leave our side haha. After coloring we went to play with the love class outside. For hours we were all running around playing tag, monkey in the middle, duck duck goose, soccer and much more. We all had a blast. Around 4 the children were having their dinner and we were going to eat with them as well. We all sat in circles with the kids and ate rice, potatoes, pig and chicken which overall was a feast and a specialty dish for the kids. Apparently chicken is very expensive so eating this meal was very special. The food was very good and the kids seemed to enjoy it as well. They even delivered the bowls and spoons to us…and would always offer us more and more even when we would say we were full haha.
After dinner we were able to see the kid’s living areas too since they actually live there at the school. Tears could not be held back when I saw their tiny little rooms. There were 4 bunk beds and 3 kids slept in one bed…totaling to 24 children to a room. At this point I couldn’t help but think what my room looked like when I was there age. I shared my bathroom with my brothers but it was still a big bathroom, I had my own room phone, my own stereo system, a closet of clothes, posters on my walls and a bed to myself. I even had both of my parents down the hall from me. I realize that the kids do not know a difference but it is hard when I personally know the difference. For a minute I had to go off by myself and become, “strong” again so the kids wouldn’t see me…and as soon as we walked back onto their play ground…their smiling faces made me return back to myself.
While we were waiting for the Torch Ceremony, I was hanging out with the kids taking pictures of them and letting them take pictures with my camera but I was soon snatched by the arm by somebody! I found myself being tugged by two women and was pulled into a house. They were laughing and I had no idea what was going on but soon enough they were layering me with clothing. They wrapped a gorgeous skirt around my waist and put another gorgeous shirt on me for my top. I won’t lie…the string that they put around my hips to keep the skirt up was definitely cutting off some circulation haha, but I didn’t want to say anything. Everybody crowded around us when we went to the playground it was so much fun taking pictures with the kids and the adults. I soon found out that the woman who put the clothes on me was the wife of the man who was in charge of the orphanage! She seemed to like me a lot and stayed by my side the rest of the night. She also styled my hair into a bun with a hand crafted/painted barrette which in the end she gave to me as a present…I still cannot believe she gave that to me as a gift.
The rest of the night became even better. Just a little information about the Torch Ceremony for the Yi people…it is basically a big festival of dancing, eating and lighting big torches that is supposed to bring good harvest. The ceremony began with them lining us up, toasting us individually and then taking a small shot of their Baijiou (“Liquor” which I will say was horrible haha). We had a translator that told us what they would say for our toasts…my toast was, “Half of your cup is filled with this liquor, because half of your love will remain here with us”. Once the toasting was complete the fire was lit, everybody joined hands and we all learned traditional dances to their traditional music. After about an hour of dancing HUGE torches were brought out for us to light! Wow did they light on fire and we were all dodging the hundreds of ashes that were floating in the air. Saying goodbye that night was difficult and it was very hard to leave. Even though we were all exhausted from the day I am positive that all of us would have loved to stay much longer.
The next day we did not go to the school but instead visited some of the orphan’s relatives and their homes (mainly grandparents). I will not go into details for each house but again…tears arise as I think back to what I saw. Some houses were close walking distances and some were far but each relative was grateful to have us enter their home…even with the mass amounts of mud on our shoes. The rain made the ground very muddy and it was obvious animal feces was mixed in with it due to their livestock actually living outside their doorsteps. Pigs, cows, chickens, cats and dogs were running around everywhere and the smell was pretty intense at times. Their houses barely had electricity and some barely had any furniture. The houses in general had nothing. The relatives were so sweet and some even offered to cook a meal for us. I couldn’t believe they were offering to cook us a dinner. Of course we declined but thanked them greatly for their generosity. We also brought them some food and they appreciated it very much. Some of the relatives even started to cry as they would talk about their families and would also cry when we would leave. That was very hard to see. Overall the day was very sad but also an experience. Just like when I saw the orphanage rooms, seeing these homes made me think about my home back in the States. It made me think how grateful I am to have two living parents that have a comfortable roof over their heads. It made me think how I live in a duplex back in College Station that is a mansion compared to what the Yi people live in. Seeing the kid’s grandparents made me miss my own grandparents too. I feel I really have changed in ways after these last two days. I have seen poverty in America and some…on TV… but nothing compares to what I have seen here. I feel I have never been a spoiled child and I have always appreciated the things that I have but after this…I feel in the future I will in all just be more grateful about everything that I have. My health, the mind, my family, my country, my house, my car, doctor’s offices, HEB, clean water…god the list could go on forever. I am thankful for everything and even more thankful that I am able to go to a University that has this program! The rest of the trip we were learning more about their culture…visiting arts and craft museums and museums.

Back in Qingdao!
It is now July 5 and we are back in Qingdao. It is good to be, “home” and very nice to actually get some rest. 17 days of traveling was very tough at times but honestly I could travel the rest of my time here in China and be perfectly content! July 4th this year for me came and went. That day we were traveling back to Qingdao and of course there were no fireworks shot into the air. I hope everybody had a fun and safe one! A group of us actually know of an Italian food restaurant so we decided to go eat some Italian food last night. Oh gosh…spaghetti had never tasted so good! I miss my mama’s spaghetti!!
Today was rainy so it was a perfect movie day J Rest was much needed and tomorrow two girls on the study abroad program and I will be starting our first day at our internship! The company is called Creative 100, an advertising firm I believe. We have yet to meet with them so tomorrow I will have more information about what we will be doing exactly for the next 4 weeks.
-Alison Benedict