China day twoTuesday, August 4, 2009
Longevity is definately the word of the day. (Both physically and spiritually). The physical aspect just illuminates the long hours of the day and the spiritual reflects the ancient calligraphy we wrote with a master. He taught us about the ink and technique chinese calligraphers use. He explained that the production of the ink is very important if one wants to get good quality ink. The slower the grinding of the stone, the better the quality of the ink. It was really interesting to see a master make a chinese character. I got to make the chinese word longevity and it was quite challenging might I add. The intricate form of calligraphy was only one of the adventures today. Another fascinating place we went to was the urban planning center of Beijing. It was a museum of modern Chinese architecture. The craziest feat was the model of the city on the floor. On the second floor there was a scaled map of the city that was in amazing detail. It had every building and house in the city of Beijing. That was a memorable museum. I must say one of my favorite activities is to bargain with the venders. They spot out the Americans like sore thumbs and shove their products in our faces. Its very easy to bargain, you simply say your price and if they say no, walk away. If you play a little hard to get, they chase after you and immediately lower the price. Today I got a pair of ray bans for about ten dollars when the original proce was thirty. Another aspect of china that amazes me is the cleanliness. It is simply much dirtier than in the states. Today I saw a little girl go to the bathroom in the middle of the street and it was simply ok by the mother. No one did anything to stop them. I wonder how that would go in LA. The silk museum was absolutely amazing. I learned about the silk road and how the chinese came to learn about how to make the wonderful product. I got to test the durability of it and it is very strong when put together. The lady asked me to punch iit and it wouldn't break. I must say that it has finally hit me that I'm in China. I am so glad that I can share this experience with such a great organization and such wonderful people. Can't wait for tomorrow.
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2 comments:
Oh, I love your honesty about people peeing in the streets and getting beat by a 5 year old! Keep up the great posts! -Megan
Great job on the blog post. While we were in South Africa, probably one of the most disturbing activities for me was a visit to the market where they sold stuff for tourists. I found it very overwhelming. It was explained to us that the merchants were not necessarily from Johannesburg but from outlying African countries. The economy is so bad that they had to come to South Africa to find jobs. When we walked into the market, there were stalls everywhere with merchants trying to get your attention and telling you how much they needed you to buy their merchandise. Once I got "trapped" in one of the stalls and felt like I wasn't going to get out unless I bought something. I think you are right about them recognizing Americans. I must have had the phrase "gullibe American" stamped on my forehead.
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