China day 8

Hola once again from the land of the chop sticks. Today was another surreal day that I will never forget. As we woke up from the overnight train, we brushed our teeth and got ready for the journey ahead. When we got off the train, we were in Luoyang. This city is home to the Shaolin temple where we will be staying the next four days. Our next stop after the train was a hotel in the city which gave us a chance to freshen up and eat some breakfeast. We had to take turns using the showers and eating. I went to go eat first and I had the chance to meet a special person at breakfeast. He was the coordinator of tourism for the city of Luoyang. He took off work just to meet us. He gave us all gifts that gave us information about the city. One was a picture of a beautiful flower called piani. This flower is decorated all over the city and represents longevity and happiness. It was a very nice gesture and we all appreciated it very much. One thing I noticed as we were leaving the hotel was that a lot of people rode bikes and mopeds. The funny thing was that absolutely none of them wore helmets. There was no law to enforce it. I can imagine how many accidents there are every day where people don't have their helmets on. That's a big difference in culture. In California, you can get a ticket for not wearing a helmet on a scooter to the store! Talk about harsh. I guess its because our nation wants there to be less accidents. In China, it looks like your on your own on that one.

The next event planned for the day was the longmen grottoes. This is a mountain where thousands of buddhas were carved over hundreds of years. It was amazing to see so many buddhas in one sitting. An interesting thing about some buddhas was that some of their heads were cut off. The guide explained that when different emperors would take control, they would either believe in Taoism or Buddhism. These were two conflicting religions, so when one emperor would take over and let's say he was buddhist, he would order to cut off all the heads of the taoists. This was the same for the opposite. I think its funny how the people perceive religion as bein either one or nothing. Its like you are either part of this faith or you don't exist. That is one thing I like about being open minded. No matter what religion you are, you can peacefully coexist in the same world. I guess back then, it was a little harder to accept this theory of polytheism. As we explored the different walls of the mountain, the guide took us to the biggest buddha of the grodo. It was ginormous! The buddha was seventeen meters high. Just the ears were as tall as me, and I am six feet tall. That is some pretty good hearing. Anyways, the story behind the big buddha is that he is the one that started zen buddhism. Another interesting point the guide made was that when he died. His wife came to power as the empress of China. This was the first and only empress in the entire history of China. The face was feminine to honor her short lived glory.

After the buddha festival in the wall, we went to get some grubb at a restaurant. I really enjoy the food here. Its not "Americanized" chinese food, but its the real deal. Although it seems like we have similar dishes everywhere we go, I find it as an opportunity to try new food. I make it an obligation to try everything on the table (regardless of its rancid look). One of the dishes today looked like a refried brain-drew. Another tasted like spiced paper. Besides all the weird tastes and looks, we had a good time and exchanged laughs about the food.

The next activity was yet another bus ride away. It was about forty five minutes away from the restaurant. It was the Shaolin temple. When we arrived, we had another banner that said welcome discovery student adventures. We have a warm welcoming like this everywhere we go by the way. The place we are staying at is not for regular tourists. It is an inn in the Shaolin village. When we were walking to our rooms, we saw a moped coming up the street with a monk on the back. I thought that was quite comical. It was a great kodak moment.

Once we got situated in our inn that we will be staying in, we had a chance to meet some monks. We went to the top of the temple and met with supervisor of the monk martial arts school. We sat in a classroom and listened to him speak for an hour. It reminded me of one of those engaging conversations in school where its so interesting that you just want to listen. I found the speech very interesting. At first he talked about the history of his city and a little debrief about Buddhism. It started in India and was brought to China an eternity ago. Once he finished with his history lesson, he switched to theology 101 and spoke about his religion. His talk was very moving and I got some great points out of it. He explained how the Buddhists live in the present and don't think about anything else. He said that if they do good deeds on the present and build up their heart here on earth, they will go to nirvana where there are no troublesam. He explained how christians believe in heaven and so do Buddhists. One thing that he said that really stuck was no matter what religion you are, there is a heaven in everyone's heart. He was extremely passionate about what he does and I really liked that. I reflected on the living in the present and enjoyed when he said thjat because that really relates to me. I try to live by that standard all the time and not worry about the future. Just see where the wind takes me. We also learned about the martial arts that the buddhists practice. They are very focused on the mental aspect of martial arts. if one only builds up the physical strength and not his or her mental strength, then he or she cannot prosper on this earth. This idea of duality really caught my attention. I love sports and also try to focus on the mental game as well as the physical game.

Speaking of physical and not mental, our next destination was a totally conflicting ideology with the buddhisnm. We went down the road to a kung fu school that only focused on the physical part. I think martial arts around the world should bridge the gap between these two ideals. It would creat morals and edicate within the fighting world. As we explored the martial arts camp, there were different floors with different exercises. First off there were tons of kids roaming around doing routines that involved punching, kicking and yelling. When we went inside there were kids doing flips and throwing sticks around. Ot was interesting to see the organization of these kids. It went by skill level and not age. There would be some seven year olds practicing with seventeen year olds in order for the kids to get better. Also because the little kids had immense skill. When we went upstairs, there was kick boxing and people sprawling all over the floor. Punching bags were being hit all the time. There was a mat on the floor, so I asked john (tour guide son/friend) if I could go up there and do a backflip. He said of course and held my stuff for me. I did two backflips whic felt pretty good because I have never done it on to a matt before. The first one was kind of wobbly but the second I landed perfectly. I just wanted to try it on a mat.

After the physical experience at the kung fu school, we went to dinner. The boys sat with the Chinese staff and we had a great time. They are all so nice and we all love them. Everyone in China is so welcoming and I really love their culture. Anyways great day today and I can't wait to write about actual kung fu classes tomorrow! Goodnight from Shaolin.

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China day 7

Ni hao once again from China! Today was one of those mellow days where not much was planned. We had one activity in the morning and the rest was set aside for travel. We had an early wake up call at seven so that we could bring out our checking luggage. We had to lock our checking bag because we are going on an overnight train tonight. We are going to Shaolin temple in the outskirts of the country. It is a temple where we will do martial arts and learn the spiritual side of the fine skill. Enough about the future, let's talk about today.

Our first and only activity today was the potala palace. This palace was used for the dale lama to come and stay there. There were four hundred steps that led to the top of the palace. At the top level of the building, there was another smaller building in the center of the structure. The top roof of the building was plated in real gold. I found it really hard to believe until the guide told us that it was real. What was interesting was that the lower part of the roof was much darker and more faded than the top. The reason was because when it was buillt, people climbed up to the ceiling and scraped off the gold for money. The top was clean gold because no one could reach it. I thought that was a cool little fact. After we came back to the bus, the weirdest thing happened. There was a camel roaming around in the parking lot! Two days in a row with out of the ordinary animal ordeals. When we were done with the palace, we went back to the hotel to freshen up before the long bus ride back to Beijing. The five hour bus ride was a great opportunity to relax, listen to some music, chat with firends, and just accept the fact that we are in this amazing country. It still seems surreal to be climbing the great wall, exploring ancient cultures, and learning new things every day. I must say this is one of the best trips I have ever been on and I have to thank discovery student adventures for making it possible. Anyways, back to my bus ride. One thing that really amazed me in this country is the absurd driving. People pass each other like shopers in front of macys on christmas eve. Its absolutely ridiculous. I'm pretty sure I almost saw five accidents today. Our bus driver was very safe and used his horn with ease. When we got to Beijing we had another "shopportunity" at the mall as well as a grubbortunity at mc donalds. It was a nice change from all the Chinese food. After some time at the mall we got on a train to Shaolin which I am actually on right now. We are headed to the martial arts school and will arrive in the morning. This is one of those activities that I have been looking forward to the most. The train is actually pretty nice. All the boys are rooming together and its a grand old time. Can't wait for tomorrow to see what it will bring.

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China day 6

Hello everyone from Chengde China! Today was yet another eventful day full of activities (kind of like every day in this country.). We started off at the summer mountain resort in Chengde. (Four hours outside of Beijing). It was built outside of Beijing for the emperors to handle political issues. The scenery at this magical place was really amazing. A river flowed through the resort and the atmosphere was welcoming. When we got there we enjoyed a band play for us. They had ancient instruments that were extremely unique. I had never seen them before. After the four season songs, we had a chance to view the instruments. There was one that really caught my eye. It was like a mixture of a piano and drum set. there was a board with strings all along it and there were two light sticks. When you hit the strings, it would make a beautiful sound that was like a guitar but much lighter. I got to play it and I had a blast. Its similar to the drums except there are more variations of sounds to make. The overall performance was really great and I liked it a lot. We learned that the performers came in every weekend as volunteers and played for the tourists. I like this sense of comraderie between the chinese and the foreigners.

As the performance finished, we walked through the summer mountain resort. We had many "shopportunities" (term coined by our loveable tour guide riley) as we walked through the resort. The amazing thing about the resort was the amount of deer freely roaming around. I think today was the most deer I have ever seen in a four hour period. There were tons of them and the weird thing was that they weren't afraid of animals. We even tried to feed them. Bambi had a lot of kids that migrated to China. The main event of the mountain resort was hiking the mini great wall. It was not quite as beautiful or rigorous as the real thing, but it still had some awesome views. There were a lot of steep parts of the wall where my buddy drew and I decided to sprint up them. It was quite an exercise that I enjoyed a lot. Anson (tommy burger boy) also joined us on this demanding exercise.

Following the demanding hike, we had a nice cozy picnic in the fields of the garden. Our lunches were already prepared and came in little red boxes. There were a lot of ants in the grass. I noticed that they were abnormally larger than in California.

The next activity brought up the aspect of hard work and practice once again. We went to a paper museum and learned that this invention was brought to the world by the Chinese before the europeans. This was also a shopportunity where we could purchase these intricate designs of paper. The paper was so carefully cut into all kinds of designs. What really surprised me was how long it takes to be a master cutter. The owner explained that it took her thirty years to be at the level she is right now. She did a demonstration and made a butterfly which took her three minutes. It was mind boggling how fast and great it came out.

After some shopping at the museum, we had a nice break at the hotel. It gave us some time to freshen up for one of the most entertaining dinners to come. When we got to the restaurant we ate and had a grand old time. There was a performance for us that involved some dancing. The best part was that we got to go up on the stage and dance with them. It was really fun and we took a lot of pictures. The night was a great finale to the day. This trip gets better and better every day. Thanks for checking out the blog and be sure to look at the pictures I put up. Zia jian!

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Daniel's China Pictures

Olympic pool in Beijing

Cooking with a master chef

The bird's nest

The Great Wall

Tiannamen Square. Mao and me.

China day 4 and 5

If I were to describe today in a nutshell, it would definately be called sweaty. The first activity of the day was to leave our wonderful hotel in Beijing and embark on a journey to a remote lake. It was about forty five minutes outside of Beijing. Our group split up into two smaller teams and raced on dragon boats. I was unfortunately on the losing boat but it was a great race. We only lost by about a boat's length. I was surprised to find out that there was an art to this kind of racing. It takes practice to get a group of people and row at the same time. One person had to take charge and yell to the rest of the group when to go forward and back. That person happen to be me and let me tell you, its very hard. I ran out of breath half way into the race and just stuck to short words. Technique is really important if one wishes to win a race in dragon boating. After the festivities in the lake, we headed to the rec center and played ping pong, badminton and basketball. It was really fun to play ping pong after the master lesson. I practiced the hard shot technique and it sure payed off in several games against adam. After all of the racing, serving and playing, we were pretty sweaty. The cold beverages at lunch were quite refreshing. We sat at a table above the lake and the scenery was beautiful. I didn't really notice the nature when we were racing on the lake but when we had lunch it was incredible. The lush green surrounding really caught my attention.

Following the lunch, we arrived in a small village two hours away called gubeikou. Upon arrival, our group was greeted by chinese dancers and a large celebration. It was interesting to see how welcoming all the people were. The atmoshere for foreigners in China is so welcoming and warm. I was really surprised to see how nice everyone was. When we got to the village we hiked a path to see parts of the great wall. We learned about the emperors that witnessed its construction. After the tour of the village, we went to a room that surprisingly had tvs and lights. The villagers planned for us to karaoke! The boys picked out YMCA and we sang and danced our hearts out. The last thing I expected to do in China was karaoke in a remote village! Our next activity was dinner with the villagers. We had a special treat during dinner. A man and woman came out and sang a song for every person at dinner. They would complement that song with a cup of water. When the man came to me he told katie and I to take three cups of water to symbolize what the emperor would do. The buildings in the village had unusually high thresholds. Our guide Rileyy told me that it is a spiritual barrier that keeps the devil away. The devil doesn't have knees so he can't get in. Another interesting thing about the dinner doorway was that it was extremely short. The reason behind this is to bow to the emperor's picture on the other side of the room. I thought both of these ideas were awesome. There is so much symbology in the Chinese culture. After the great dinner we were off to camp beneath the great wall. This is why I couldn't blog because there was no service. We had to set up tents and sleep under the stars. Despite the massive amounts of bugs, I really enjoyed being in nature. We had to wake up at five in the morning to hike the great wall which was the adventure of today!

Day 5

As explained above, yesterday was really eventful and full of surprises. Today, however, was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. We hiked and scaled one of the greatest creations of all time: the great wall of China. It was about a ten mile hike through lush jungle and rugged terrain. I wasn't expecting to hike off the wall but we spent about half the time in plant life. We even got lost in a corn field! There were parts in the hike where if you fell, you wouldn't turn out too good. I was astonished at the wall. I even took a piece of it to take with me home. Its amazing to see such an old structure in real life. In America, we really don't have anything that ancient. Seeing a civilization build such a wonder was incredible. I never thought I would see what I saw today. After the tedious hike, we got on the bus. I am in fact on the bus right now heading to chengde. We are on the way to a hotel for the night. I will never forget this day and I wonder what's on the agenda for the near future. I'm looking forward to find out!

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Winter melon

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day 3: remnance of the olympic games

I don't really have an interesting word for today other than incredible. (As opposed to yesterday-longevity). We started the day off going to a local market to shop for some food however, it was not for us to take back to the hotel. The food was for us to take to a restaurant and get mentored by a master chef. We had the opportunity to cook kung pao chicken and make dumplings. The delicate art of cooking at a master level was very interesting. The chef told us that it takes about five years to properly perform the art of cleaning a fish. This just shows how much practice is needed for the seemingly simple task. At the market, there were different fruit than in the states. One particular large fruit was the winter melon. This unique melon was about half my size! It was gigantic! This was the first time I have seen such a large fruit. The restaurant experience was magical and the best part was eating our own food that we just made. (Of course with the help of the master). The best part was the fact that we got to keep our aprons and get them signed by the chef himself.

The next event of the day was the most memorable. The birds nest and water cube was one of my favorite things because I am a very physical guy and love sports. The water cube was especially amazing because I am on the swim and water polo team. I felt a strong connection to the pool. I felt proud to stand where world records were broken. At the birds nest I ran a lap around the track to see what it actually felt like to compete. It was a great idea and I'm glad I did it. Two other of my friends took part in a race on the track. As we were leaving we decided to pretend that Mr. Harvey was Lance Armstrong and we all screamed "Lance Armstrong! Can I get a picture? Sign my autograph!" As we all screamed these phrases, many people took pictures and actually thought it was him. This was quite comical because my teacher actually has a resemblance to him.

After the great time at the olypic center, we went to a more mellow part of the city. This was the art district. It had a lot of interesting pieces of art. Although the art was unique, one thing stood out more. As I embarked on a journey to the bathroom, the mirror had lcd advertisements that popped randomly. This got my attention because in the states, we have fifty foot billboards, but not advertisements in your reflection! This just shows the difference in technology and marketing between the two super powers. Now a days, everything seems to be made in China. Maybe its because the economy flourishes with all the advertisements in the bathrooms.

One last shop that I really iked was this panda store. Although it sold a lot of pandas, the table in the middle of the store caught my eye. It had books full of people's messages that I couldn't read. Despite the unreadable language, I decided to ask a young man sitting across from me. He told me tha they were books where you could write a message and the store would keep the books for 10 years and mail you back the message. It wqas sort of like a time capsule. I thought that was really interesting. I have never seen anything like that back in the states. I had a long conversation with the local and he gave me his email. He said he would come to california and I told him he could stay with me. We both laughed and exchanged goodbyes.

The last event I woukd like to share is in fact about modeling. As we had free time to frollic in the art town, we came across a female model taking pictures. Being my crazy self, I decided ti ask to go and take some with her. Sure enough, the photographer said yes and I went to take pictures with this chinese model! She was so astounded after that she wanted my email adress so I could send them to her! (Two emails in one day!) All in all today was an amazing feat and can't wait for tomorrow.

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