Carson's Graduation Speech

This weekend

Today is already Tuesday! Sorry we havent kept much up on the blog. Thanks to our extremely efficient local guide in Beijing, Fernando (who looks like a panda, self-taught himself 4 languages, and speaks with an endearing stutter) have been shedding pounds from all our walking. We have also learned a crash course in Chinese history from the construction of the Great Wall a hundred years BC to the fall of the empire and the rise of current government.

Fernando took us on sat night to a variety show which included shadow puppets, dance, water pouring with a trick teapot, mask changing, and martial arts. Nick volunteered to challenge a martial artist on stage and actually got some kicks to make contact! The warrior eventually ran around the stage in circles until the point in the music when it was choreographed for him to be defeated, but if it had been a real fight, Nick just might have won anyway. Nick didnt know he was competing for a Chinese bride who performed a special dance to celebrate.

Sunday we stopped at a jade factory and showroom. Then we scaled the Great Wall, which ascends the mountain ridges like a snake at dramatic gradients. Lunch was at a famous ceramics shop. Dinner at a restaurant with a sweet sharing time in our group at dinner.

Monday, yesterday, saw us tramping around Beijing's Forbidden City--the emperor's winter residence. We also took subways and buses to the Summer Palace built by the Jezebel of China, Xiu Xi (sushi), who believed she was a goddess. She drowned two people in order to get power, gave birth to the next male emperor, and then poisoned her thre year old son in order to remain in power.

This lady also used ground pearl from the lake by her palace to treat wrinkles. We stopped at the pearl store before Peking Duck at a restaurant for locals with our guide.

Today we will stop at the silk market for shopping before our FLIGHT HOME!!!!

We will arrive three hours before we leave, so we still have some time to burn ;)

Peking Duck

Last Night's Final Dinner with Fernando

The Firbidden City! Sunday

Ceramic Factory

Me at the Great Wall

The Great Wall on Saturday

Our friday night entertainment

Our final dinner in LingCang

Tom

Hey evrybody bree here. To update u on my life in china i have to tell u about Tom. Tom is the guy who gave me the still drawing. I attended two drawing classes in which i drew the same picture twice :). The second time he asked my mom and i to dinner. He told me that he hoped that i could help him with his english, but unfortunately the next day i wud be at the farewell feast :( The farewell feast went well. Friday was the last day at Lin Cang middle skool:.( i was afraid i wud not be able to say a proper good- bye to my gifted friend. So when i was lookin for him he found me. I was so happy. He gave me his best wishes and we talked for a while. He left but came back with yet another gift... A fancy clipboard for drawing! I was sooo ovr joyed! And that was our final farewell to each othr.

Goodbyes, nick's talent to the rescue, the greatest wall in the world!

Part 1 goodbye-- zai jen

I didnt think i got that close until i said goodbye to Ciggi and Vera. -- ashlee

It isnt proper manners to show tears at goodbyes, but the students werent able to hold them back. We were overwhelmed with armloads of hello kitty pens, pickled veggies, chinese books, tee shirts, lucky bracelets, personal notes, poems, drawings, fans, box sets, hot chocolate mix, collector's stamps from the Soviet Union, cookies, pumpkin bread, stickers, candy, notebooks, and anything else the Chinese students felt were their most prized possessions. One girl sang " i will remember you" on the playground after a farewell volleyball game.

The school gave us a set of uniforms to take home as well as rare tea sculpted into a design. Mr Gao, the headmaster, looked less intimidating in a quasi-crushed black cowboy hat we brought as a parting gift.

The night before we left, the school threw us a farewell feast. A nationally renown singer performed for us and initiated customary shots with rice alcohol. Mr Chen, a fabulous English teacher with a grin like a crescent moon and glasses, made his rounds to the tables with his shot glass. When he sat with our boys, he stuttered affectionately, "you are all sunny...boys. SUUUUNNYY BOYS!! And Sunny Girls!" Posing for a photo with Mr. Chen, I declined with a thank you for the 8th time to his offer to have me come teach at the school to be "Misssssshea, our foreign language teacha!"

After dinner, Miss Swallow invited us to her three story home for tea, watermelon, sunflower seeds, beef jerky, ping pong, and photos. She gave us a tour through the rooms like a museum. Her jade collection, her husband's artwork, her god luck charms, and her terraces overlooking the curved terra cotta rooftops. "earthquake!!" the crystal chandelier pieces tickled and swung strange shadows. It felt like we were riding in a ship or on top of a giant's grumbling tummy.

At 11:25, the chinese girls invited us to an undercover partyin their dorm room. They had played hookie from class to buy shrimp, crab, and boxed milk at the street market. When lights went out, we all huddled on the bunk beds under flashlights to talk about boys, family life, and alternate singing or dancing.

Enjoying Good Tea

Last night we had the opportunity to go to one of the English teacher's home and relax for a while.  It was a beautiful Chinese home with a beautiful tea table (pictured here) hand-carved out of a single piece of wood.  They had a ping-pong table upstairs, which we also enjoyed.  And at about 9:50pm we felt a small earthquake for about 30seconds.  Pretty cool.

Love you all!

Chinese Art Gallery

We had a blast going to a Chinese art gallery and learning how to do ink painting.  This man is an art teacher at the school, and the woman on the right is an English teacher.

Pirates, Mountains and Chicken Feet

 

Pirates, Mountains and Chicken Feet

Here's a few pictures from the week that we thought you might enjoy.  Our students we're great with the whole pirate routine.  I'm sure some of it was lost in translation, but they definitely loved the costumes and the acting.

 

A couple of these are from our welcome feast on the second night.  Robert was really enjoying his BBQ toes!  We miss you all. 

-Daniel

More pictures of the group

Hey friends,

 

I have a couple of minutes on a computer in the teacher's office, so I thought that I would give an update. 

Pardon if I am repeating information that Anna has already written.  I am not able to read the blog myself.

 

Last night, we went into the Lincang downtown and joined a few hundred folks dancing outside in a big plaza.  This is a popular activity for all ages.  It's basically country-western line dancing, except to traditional Chinese folk music.  Our students loved it.

Also, the other day we had a lesson in traditional Chinese calligraphy, which was a lot of fun.  We also went to a wedding feast that same day.  There is always tons of great food!

 

One of the highlights for many of us has been being able to join a few music classes at the school.  Their students love to sing, and we have enjoyed learning some traditional folk songs.  Yesterday, we learned part of the Beijing Opera, did some hip-hop dancing, sang Amazing Grace, and ended with "Susanna."

 

Today, we are teaching in the English classes again (our last time), and I guess that we will have a "good-by feast" for dinner.  This is very sad to think about leaving, but it has almost been a whole week already.  There is also a planned visit to a Chinese art gallery today along with the possibility of going to a tea house. 

Love you all!

 

-Daniel