Beijing: Part Three

Day three and we are at the Great Wall! It was really awesome, really beautiful, but really windy, really cold, and REALLY steep! I consider myself an athletic person and I was struggling...so I would not recommend this for those of you who are not-so-in-shape! I got some pretty neat pictures though.



Afterwards we went to visit the Ming Tombs. These were some really big temple-type tombs that were from the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). Here is Emperor Ming and some other stuff we saw there!



Bible Verse of the Day
Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Chinese Word of the Day

Deng 等 "wait"

Beijing: Part Two

So day two in Beijing was quite interesting! We went to this famous park called the People's Park. There were many elderly people who go there to exercise and relax. I heard that many come everyday. They did Taiji, and other exercises. There was this fox-tail type ball that they played with using a raquet with holes in it. It was fun to watch. They also got a kick out of the fact that Crystal and I are twins! People also gathered in the park to sing Beijing Opera. It was really cool to see. If I was Chinese, I'd be there just singing away like EVERY weekend!!! :)


We also went to the Temple of Heaven. It was a pretty typical temple. There was also this echo wall that was pretty interesting. You could hear someone whisper from all the way across the square if you and another person stood at opposite ends and faced the wall. The way the wall curved helpd carry the soundwaves. I don't really know that much about it, but it was cool...
In the evening we saw the Beijing Opera. It was very colorful and had some cool martial arts and acrobatics incorporated. The music itself was was a bit high pitched...not my favorite, but it was a good cultural experience. We were served tea and coffee during the performance.

Beijing so far has been very interesting and fun...I am looking foreward to seeing more! :)


Bible Verse of the Day
Proverbs 21:30 "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the LORD."

Chinese Word of the Day

Jing Ju 京剧 “Beijing Opera”

Beijing: Part One

Sorry this is such a belated post, I didn't actually have internet access until I got back, but I did blog in a word document and just copied and pasted. So here is what I wrote while I was in Beijing:

Phew! Today was loooong! I woke up at 5:45 so that I could get checked out and moved out of my dorm room by 7:00. Our flight took off at 9:15 and we arrived in Beijing by 11:35. We went straight to lunch and then toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was so vast and magnificent—and not to mention that it felt like I was in the middle of the movie Mulan.

I would like to see where Mao Zedong is buried, but I’m going to have to do that on my own… China’s Mao-soleum if you will... :D

Today, I also saw the Beijing Acrobats. This was amazing! If you are ever in Beijing, this is one show you’ve got to go see! I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures (and plus my camera was “broken”…read on to find out) so you should just look them up on Youtube. They’re pretty cool. From jumping through hoops, to spinning plates, to running on hamster wheels suspended 20 feet in the air, to the contortionist movements of their bodies this was one of my favorite shows while I’ve been in China! Definitely a must see!

Right now in Beijing it is COLD! When we landed it was -2 degrees Celsius, so that’s like 25 degrees Fahrenheit or something. So as awesome as it was to be able to tour one of the most famous places in China, we were little popsicles by dinnertime.

Good News and Bad News: Bad news first- My camera broke (Crystal dropped it!!!) as well as my brand new duffle bag! L However, this bad news turned into good news as I, Sarah la extraordinaire, easily fixed them both. I know this probably doesn’t seem like that big a deal, but I was kind of upset when these things happened, so it was a relief that I fixed them.

Well, I am exhausted. I have to get up early tomorrow too! To be continued…

Bible Verse of the Day

Philippians 4:11-12 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances...I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation"

Chinese Word of the Day

Liu you旅游 “To tour”

Good-bye Chengdu!

Wow, these past 4 months really have flown by! Crazy! It's about 12:30 at night right now and I need to wake up around 5:30 to check out of my dorm rooom and head to the airport to leave for Beijing. There are going to be lots of things I will miss about China:

My Host Family. My host father especially, Duan Yi Qiang, was super cool. He was really enthusiastic and supportive about me practicing my Chinese. It was neat being able to teach each other our own languages. He also helped our group plan events like the Earthquake benefit dinner and trip to Dujiangyan He grew up in Kang Ding county, near Tibert, so he knows a lot about their culture...and the food. Tibetan food is great! They have some of the best tea in the world...and you will never want to eat plain old steak again once you try yak! :p We have also been dreaming up how cool it would be to open my own coffee house in Chengdu. We've planned it out already: "ShaSha's (莎莎） Coffeehouse" and it will be near a college campus, open 24 hours, with free wi-fi, really comfy couches, and acoustic open-mic nights. Awesome. And it will be cheaper and better than Starbucks! ;) Since I'm really not that interested in business, Yi Qiang (and John??) can manage it, while I just make the best coffee in China. In 10 years, people here will have forgotten all about tea...well probably not but they will drink more coffee at least!


My Chinese Friends. So I have a few friends in particular that I'll miss. Both American and Chinese. My Chinese friend, Joe is one. He's a big guy (the tall guy in my last blog entry). He's really into American pop culture and basketball. I think he knows more than me! But he works really hard at his English and I hope to see him again when he comes to the U.S. for school. Gong Tang is my other friend. During this whole trip, he's probably been on of my best friends. I met him at English Corner and I helped him with his grad school applications to America. He's going for computer science. He's applying to like 20 different grad school, and I think he's going to get into all of them. He's very smart. I was also surprised by how much he cared about little things, which was nice. Like he always made sure I had hot water for tea in my dorm and that I had warm enough clothes. Those were some cool things about him. But he never let me pay for any meal. He said I can treat him when he comes to America...I'm not sure he'll hold to his word. But today we went to Karaoke and dinner. It was sad, but it was a good way to spend my last night in Chengdu.


English Corner. So tonight was the last night I went to English Corner. I had made a bunch of postcards of Washington State that said "I was very happy to have met you"--only in Chinese-- and I taped on the back a Northwest blend of tea. It was nice being able to give all my English corner friends a little gift from home, but it was sad at the same time, being because it was the last time I was going to see many of them. :(

I definitely won't miss finals and I am excited for J-Term and Spring semester at PLU. I am taking a philosophy class called Creationism vs. Evolutionism which I'm psyched about! I am also going to concentrate more on my other major, Communication, although I am also going to take an Asian anthropology class and the last semester of Chinese language.

Now its good-bye to Chengdu, hello to Beijing. We are planning on visiting the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs as well as watch some prtty sweet shows like the Beijing Acrobats and the Beijing Opera...among other things! I'm totally pumped! Cannot wait! What a great way to end this semester. I will try to blog everyday for the next few days because I think too much will happen everyday, so if I try to cram it all into one blog, it wouldn't be as good. So ya...that's all for now! I'll keep you posted! Zaijian! ;)

Bible Verse of the Day
Hebrews 13:1&2 "Let mutual love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."

Chinese Word(s) of the Day

Ji de mei yi jian shi 记得每一件事 “Remember Everything"

Benefit Dinner & (More) English Corner

So my time is winding down in China...only 16 days left until I am back home in Washington State! Time feels like it's flying by! I just finished my politics final paper on Mao Zedong which was the last major hurdle in my studies while abroad. I have already taken my Taichi final and passed with flying colors. All I have left is a calligraphy final (and I'm the Chosen One, so I'm not worried haha :] ), a Chinese language, and culture final. I feel relatively confindent in all of these subjects so hopefully its all smooth-sailing from here on out! This last week and a half have been pretty busy! Lots to do! And, as always, some unexpected things happen along the way.

I would now consider myself a regular at English Corner. Many Chinese students come to see me every Friday night and some have come expecting Crystal and I to perform a new Chinese song that we've learned...or didn't learn as the case had most recently been. But I have downloaded a few Chinese songs with the intention of compiling a Zhongwen Yinyue Mix (Chinese music mix). So anyways, its been a lot of fun. And it's cool to help students your own age learn English while I get to practice my Chinese! :D Here are some of the other "regulars":


The Saturday before last we had a benefit dinner with a variety show and auction to raise money for the victims of the Sichuan Earthquake. Crystal and I sang "Prayer of the Children." I feel like it went well. We had some quite interesting acts from raps about pandas (Xiong Mao- that means panda in Chinese) to a group of the boys doing a coreographed Nsync routine. I got a chance to see many of my Chinese friends and help a good cause. Here are some pictures:




I also brought my host father to church last Sunday. That was a pretty cool thing. I didn't understand much of the sermon, but I think he took something away from it. I think he wants to pursue Christ it further. Keep praying!

And just this last Saturday I went to go get a Qipao (chee-pow) made for me and Crystal. A Qipao 旗袍 is a traditional Chinese dress. Since Crystal was out of town, and we are the same size (relatively speaking) I just ordered two of the same designs, just different colors ;-) I'm really excited for them! I will post pictures as soon as I have a chance to wear it!

Apart from hanging out with my Chinese friends and practicing my language I have also been keeping myself busy with seasons 1-4 of The Office! I just finished season 2...maybe I have too much time on my hands. But hey...its getting cold outside, what else am I supposed to do while staying indoors??

Bible Verse of the Day
Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..."

Chinese Word of the Day

Han Jia 寒假 Winter Vacation

Here's Something Unexpected: Rural China!

So this last weekend I took a trip to Lizhuang, a rural town in Sichuan province. It was right along the Yangtze River. I was surprised by many things in this trip:

1) How much it reminded me of my hometown, Snohomish! Now I don't think I'm homesick quite yet :] but if I was, this would have made me miss everything about home. This little town has a river that runs right along it and has just a few main streets. (For those if you from Snohomish who are reading this, it seemed that I could almost map out where 1st and 2nd street, as well as where all the lettered avenues would be in Lizhuang) Craziness. Here's some pictures. Tell me if you know what I mean. Of course the houses were more primordial than the many antique stores I'm used to seeing, but just the layout and geography of the town was very similar to that in Snohomish.


2) I think I always knew this all along but it's still good to be reminded that, no matter where you go in the world, children are the same everywhere! I don't think that many foreigners come to this town, so we were all instantly celebrities. I keep saying this and I'll say it again...I still don't understand why I'm so interesting! But many of the children (ages 6-10) had a great time showing my sister and I around town and testing our Chinese language speaking ability! It was a lot of fun! We also taught them how to play "Red Light, Green Light" or "Hong Deng, Lu Deng." There are some universal things that all children possess. Like sticks, puddles, and rocks being the greatest play-things any boy could find. And girls all being obsessed with their roller skates and being able to hang upside down on monkey bars (I know that was totally me when I was in elementary school!!!).


3) Curfews?? So a few classmates and I went to play some pool with some of the local high school-aged kids. They were very excited to hang out with us and tell u about what kind of English songs they liked to listen to. I, likewise, was interested to learn more about them. It just so happened to be one of the boy's 16th birthday. They invited us to go to a karaoke hall (pretty much one of the only things to do in this town on a Saturday night) with them to celebrate. All the karaoke rooms were full, so I suggested that we go back to my hotel and maybe find a place in the lobby or dining hall to celebrate and eat the cake that they had with them. By this time it was around 9:15 pm. On the way back, we were met by a police officer who told us that it was all time to go home. I think this because the kids we were with were minors, but we were all disappointed to have to go home "early." As a side note, they gave us their birthday as a "friendship cake" which I reluctantly took. I mean, it wasn't my birthday and I didn't want to take this cake from them which was probably a greater expenditure for them than it would be for any of us. But they insisted and I couldn't refuse a friendship cake, after all. To complicate matters, I had a tough time convincing my other classmates that the cake was not 'poison' and that the children did not get it from some shady place. To top it off, unfortunately, many of them had some intestinal troubles the following day for which my cake was blamed. I still think that the strange rural dishes containing pork, stuffed eggplant, and other mystery food was the culprit. (I got a little sick myself, but I did not end up partaking of any of the said 'poison' cake due to the high velocity by which my classmates ended up inhaling that which they were so afraid of eating...and using chopsticks nonetheless :] ) But anyways, that whole experience was interesting and a bit unexpected. But what I meant to say before going on that cake tangent was that I thought it was strange that they considered anytime past 9 pm "late." Just a different culture I guess. It makes me wonder what goes on after 9:00 that made officials in Lizhuang implement that type of curfew. Then again...maybe I don't want to know...The cute small town feel may be a bit deceiving.

4) The most random thing ever! So we're riding on our bus on the way to Lizhuang when we stop at a dinosaur museum! This was a BIG thing. The town (whose name my memory fails me at the moment) was centered around this museum. It was dinosaur EVERYTHING!!! But we had fun walking around and posing like dinosaurs the whole time. I thought it would be lame, but turned out being very fun and quite cool. Here's some pictures :p




5) And last, but not least, was our hotel. It was formerly a Buddhist temple so the layout was quite interesting. I stayed on the 4th floor, but I had to climb a mountain of stairs to get to my room. Our bathrooms were the best (or worst??) part. If you just look at the pictures, you'll see what I mean... :)


All in all it was a great experience and I feel like I learned a lot about Chinese rural culture. I would like to go back some day. Here are just some more pictures of farm life! Enjoy!





Bible Verse of the Day:
Galatians 5:16 "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Chinese Word of the Day:

Cheng ji 成绩 "Achievement; Accomplishment"

Ka la OK!

That means "Karaoke" to all you non-chinese speaking folk! China has some different customs than we do in America. Instead of going out to a movie on a Friday night, many Chinese people go to KTV or Karaoke hall. You get your own private room with a screen and a menu bar to chose any karaoke song you could possibly think of! You can also be served drinks and snacks. Since I LOVE to sing, I think this is my favorite thing about China yet (or at least one of my favorite things)! I think we should have these in the U.S.! It's pretty cheap too! Just over 3 U.S. dollars for like 4 hours!


Another thing that Chinese people don't do is celebrate Halloween. And rightly so, it is a bit confusing. Trying to explain what Halloween is, where it came from, why people dress up, and what the heck is "trick-or-treat!" ?? I had a bit of a hard time myself. They know enough about the commercial aspect of it, so we saw many pumpkins, spider webs, and random spooky things around, however, no one really knew why. For our Halloween, my classmates and I had a little party in our dorms. We had bobbing for apples, cake, and played that toilet paper mummy game. Halloween in China was an interesting experience!

So I'm not gonna lie, honestly this week I was a little bummed out. A lot of my classmates planned a weekend trip to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. Somehow I missed the memo that you had to find bus tickets/book a hotel on your own so now it's too late. It would've been cool to go, but oh well. Hopefully they comeback with some pretty sweet pictures. This weekend is pretty busy for me and I don't know if I actually have any extra money to have gone anyways...It just kinda sucked hearing everyone talk about it and get all excited for the trip when I am sitting right next to them and can't go. But whatever, I am in China, it's not like I'm not going to have anymore opportunities to see some sweet things, and I feel very privileged to have already done what I did, and seen what I saw!

I don't really want to bring this up, but I feel like I have to...the election. So, I wasn't an avid Obama supporter. Not because of his race or that some think he's a terrorist or whatever dumb things people say. Only because McCain's beliefs are more in line with my own, and that he has a good number of years under his belt which gives him more insight into certain issues. And no matter how many times people tell me, "separation of church and state, Sarah" I still ask this question: "but don't your religious beliefs help form your moral beliefs, and don't you use you moral beliefs to make decisions for our country?" I sure hope people use their moral judgment to pass laws! People can say whatever they want, but in my opinion, there is no way that you can completely separate church and state. You can take down monuments of the 10 commandments, and outlaw prayer in schools, and even take two little words out of the Pledge of Allegiance, but that won't change people's basis of moral judgment. But anyways, (getting off that tangent) I have no choice but to support the new leader of my country. I will support Obama and I hope that he guides our country through the necessary reformations that we need. He talked about change. I hope that the change that comes is good and that, for once, this politician actually walks the talk. That's all I have to say.

Bible Verse of the Day:
Matthew 6:34 "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Chinese Word of the Day:

Ren wei 认为 "to think, consider"

Monkey Madness!

So this past week and a half or so has been quite interesting! I traveled to several new places and saw some crazy, unexpected things. Let me tell you about it...

Two Sundays I got a chance to go to one of the two legal Protestant Christian churches located in Chengdu. Crystal discovered the church after some random guy (now our new friend Michael) walked up to her when she was eating at a restaurant, asked her if she was a Christian and wanted to go to church. Michael then connected us with a New Zealand middle-aged couple who had lived in China for about 3 years. They met us at the North Gate-end of campus where we rode our bikes to the church about 20 minutes away. The church was a very traditional-style sermon and congregation. We started out with hymns, then a prayer, along with a message- all in Chinese! I wasn't able to understand most of it mainly because of the Sichuan dialect, but Michael helped me follow along in his Chinese-English Bible, which he later gave to me. We learned about Giving in 2 Corinthians 8. It was a very good experience.



This past weekend my classmates and I took a short trip to Leshan (Happy Mountain) and Emei Mountain. Leshan was has the largest stone-carved sitting Buddah in the world. It is about 71 meters high and would be 88 (a lucky number in Chinese) meters if it were standing. It was carved about 1,200 years ago and took 90 years to complete. The people at that time it was built suffered from terrible flooding every year that resulted in many deaths and destroyed crops. The giant Buddha was built to protect and watch over the people of the river which it sat above. I wonder if it worked...?

The next day we went to Emei Mountain and bused/hiked/cable car-ed to the summit, called Jin Ding or "Golden Peak." There was a giant golden statue of a buddah with several heads on an elephant with eight heads. The cost to build said idol: 40 million yuen (Chinese dollars)! There were also several temples and viewing areas at the top of the mountain. It was quite foggy, but nonetheless still very breathtaking and very high up!


But the best part about the WHOLE weekend was what we did after Emei Mountain....the MONKEYS!!!! We took a 7 km hike into the depths of the forest where we encountered creatures unlike any I could ever expect. They were greedy, fat, hungry, addicted to people food- yet the cutest animals alive! They knew we were coming too. We were greeted with tiny hands rummaging through our pockets looking for food and snatching at any shiny thing they saw. We were also greeted by men who offered to put monkeys on our heads and take pictures. I was hesitant at first, but after watching Crystal and my other classmates do it, it seemed just barely safe enough- so I reluctantly followed suit. I only live once I suppose...why not put a monkey on my head?? :D



Bible Verse of the Day:
2 Corinthians 8:9 "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty."

Chinese Word of the Day:

Hou 猴 "Monkey"