Author: Michael
Location: Taiyuan
It was our first full day in Taiyuan and it certainly was full!! After breakfast we loaded onto the buses and drove out to a little village just on the outskirts of Taiyuan. It's a Catholic village with a large, impressive church in its center called Dong-er-gou (supposedly it's quite important for Chinese Catholics). It is in this little village that the orphange was that many of the group home kids grew up in. It was very interesting to watch some of the older kids faces who recognized their surroundings more and started to get very excited as we neared the church and their old home. Many of the nuns/sisters who'd helped to care for them were there and thrilled at the sight of the kids. Many of them have changed a lot in the 3 years with China Care - more talking, walking, running, playing etc. Our first event was a hike up the hill adjacent to the town. It was a veryy hot day, but all of the kids - even the slowest ones on crutches made it up the steep incline to this beautiful Catholic Church perched on the top of the hill. Some of the children were even lucky enough to hitch a piggy back ride to the top! In the church the children all sang songs and this one little blind boy even did a tear-jerking solo. We were all pretty exhausted, but seeing how happy the kids were gave us that extra boost of energy we needed. Back down in town for lunch and then a tour of their orphanage. Some of the foster mothers got quite emotional looking at the old pictures of their children and hearing their stories. These kids really have come a long way. In the church the Father gave us a little history talk while one of the mothers taught us a cool trick of using mint leaves on our foreheads to cool us down. Needless to say soon everyone's face was green! After some goodbyes we loaded back onto the bus and headed back into Taiyuan for some time at the park. Unfortunately Chinese parks forbid you to go on the grass so we were reduced to walking a great distance before we found a place to sit. Ice cream was thoroughtly enjoyed and many eyes were closing after a looong and emotional day.
Michael...
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Bus rides and energy galore!!
Author: Callie
Location: Beijing
We arrived home to Beijing yesterday exhausted from our trip to Xi'an, and we got right back up for our big 8 hour road trip to Shanxi province wth the kids from the group home. They're here to see the orphanage they had lived in up to about 3 years ago. We're going to be veryy busy here with all of the volunteering and touring and driving! The drive was a blast! All 43 of us piled into a greyhound style tour bus! Los of coloring, bracelet making, mazes, remote controlled cars and goofing around. Though is is sometimes hard to communicate with the younger kids, a lot of us had a good experience talking to the older ones whose English is super impressive! We at PJandJ on the bus for lunch while being gawked at by some local townies (these parts see very few people from North America). Caroline and many others loved the scenery and views of rural China, which we definitely hadn't gotten to see yet. Little villages carved into the hillsides, rows upon rows of corn and tomatoes and beans - we were so lucky to have a blue clear sky, especially since Shanxi is known as the most polluted province. Many of the children in the China Care home in Tiayuan (the city we're staying in) have deformities that are said to be caused by the severe polluted air. We settled into our apartment/hotel in Tiayuan which is in the same compound as the China Care homes. We visited the babies and then after dinner went to the nearby huuuge super store where we stocked up on more snakcs and lots of yummy fruit! Forum was great because we talked more specifically about the children we're spending time with and lots of us had really interesting thoughts about the kids and their situation. Unfortunately a few of us are still feeling sick so we are looking forward to a good nights sleep!
Words from China,
Callie
Location: Beijing
We arrived home to Beijing yesterday exhausted from our trip to Xi'an, and we got right back up for our big 8 hour road trip to Shanxi province wth the kids from the group home. They're here to see the orphanage they had lived in up to about 3 years ago. We're going to be veryy busy here with all of the volunteering and touring and driving! The drive was a blast! All 43 of us piled into a greyhound style tour bus! Los of coloring, bracelet making, mazes, remote controlled cars and goofing around. Though is is sometimes hard to communicate with the younger kids, a lot of us had a good experience talking to the older ones whose English is super impressive! We at PJandJ on the bus for lunch while being gawked at by some local townies (these parts see very few people from North America). Caroline and many others loved the scenery and views of rural China, which we definitely hadn't gotten to see yet. Little villages carved into the hillsides, rows upon rows of corn and tomatoes and beans - we were so lucky to have a blue clear sky, especially since Shanxi is known as the most polluted province. Many of the children in the China Care home in Tiayuan (the city we're staying in) have deformities that are said to be caused by the severe polluted air. We settled into our apartment/hotel in Tiayuan which is in the same compound as the China Care homes. We visited the babies and then after dinner went to the nearby huuuge super store where we stocked up on more snakcs and lots of yummy fruit! Forum was great because we talked more specifically about the children we're spending time with and lots of us had really interesting thoughts about the kids and their situation. Unfortunately a few of us are still feeling sick so we are looking forward to a good nights sleep!
Words from China,
Callie
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Day to rewind
Author: Virginia
Location: Xi'an
Soo today out train from Xi'an was supposed to arrive at 6:45 - this did not happen. But we were not ones to complain since we got to sleep for a few extra hours yaaay!!! A 15 hour train ride was not preferable though. Back at the apartment we hoovered in a much awaited breakfast and relaxed for awhile. Some people chose to go to Suzie's for lunch and a few went to the grocery store to stock up on goodies for travel the next day. Our afternoon activity was Wushu!! We had an awesome instructore from the Beijing Sports University who shocked us all with his incredible strength and agility and we all got to test out strenght with a few new moves from Tai Chi and Wushu. Later we watched this great documentary on Tibet while some people continued to rest up, which then led into a very heated debate at our forum. All in all it was a very relaxing day which we are grateful for since we know we need our energy for the loooong bus ride with the group home kids!
XOXO
Virginia
Location: Xi'an
Soo today out train from Xi'an was supposed to arrive at 6:45 - this did not happen. But we were not ones to complain since we got to sleep for a few extra hours yaaay!!! A 15 hour train ride was not preferable though. Back at the apartment we hoovered in a much awaited breakfast and relaxed for awhile. Some people chose to go to Suzie's for lunch and a few went to the grocery store to stock up on goodies for travel the next day. Our afternoon activity was Wushu!! We had an awesome instructore from the Beijing Sports University who shocked us all with his incredible strength and agility and we all got to test out strenght with a few new moves from Tai Chi and Wushu. Later we watched this great documentary on Tibet while some people continued to rest up, which then led into a very heated debate at our forum. All in all it was a very relaxing day which we are grateful for since we know we need our energy for the loooong bus ride with the group home kids!
XOXO
Virginia
Monday, June 30, 2008
Biking and Shoppingggg
Author: Gray
Location: Beijing
Sooo were actually writing this July 1 because we didnt get back into Beijing until today after our looong train ride. But this is the update from yesterday. We awoke in our nice air conditioned hotel rooms and treated ourselves to showers that didnt run out of hot water!! Yaaay. First stop after breakfast was the city wall where we rented bicycles and took a spin around the wall that surrounds the inner city of Xian (9 miles!!). It was definitely an adventure since those walls certainly seemed like they shouldnt have survived hundreds of years. Some people rode tandem bikes as well. Another huge Chinese feast for lunch and then to this beautiful Muslim mosque in the center of the city. There are about 200 000 Muslims living in Xian and they have this amazing sanctuary in the middle of a bustling touristy market. We were even lucky enough to walk in during their prayer time and heard them doing their chants. The shopping was stressful but fun. The Muslim market workers were a bit sketchy at times, but not as aggressive as those at Silk Street. They sold lots of the traditional Chinese goods and some more unique items, like a Mao lighter that started singing a Communist song! Unfortunately the rain starting coming down veryyy hard and the walk to the train station was not enjoyable. Thankfully most of the purchases were saved, but everyone seemed to be drenched down to their very core!! And then began the train ride..
More to come
Gray
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Location: Beijing
Sooo were actually writing this July 1 because we didnt get back into Beijing until today after our looong train ride. But this is the update from yesterday. We awoke in our nice air conditioned hotel rooms and treated ourselves to showers that didnt run out of hot water!! Yaaay. First stop after breakfast was the city wall where we rented bicycles and took a spin around the wall that surrounds the inner city of Xian (9 miles!!). It was definitely an adventure since those walls certainly seemed like they shouldnt have survived hundreds of years. Some people rode tandem bikes as well. Another huge Chinese feast for lunch and then to this beautiful Muslim mosque in the center of the city. There are about 200 000 Muslims living in Xian and they have this amazing sanctuary in the middle of a bustling touristy market. We were even lucky enough to walk in during their prayer time and heard them doing their chants. The shopping was stressful but fun. The Muslim market workers were a bit sketchy at times, but not as aggressive as those at Silk Street. They sold lots of the traditional Chinese goods and some more unique items, like a Mao lighter that started singing a Communist song! Unfortunately the rain starting coming down veryyy hard and the walk to the train station was not enjoyable. Thankfully most of the purchases were saved, but everyone seemed to be drenched down to their very core!! And then began the train ride..
More to come
Gray
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Xi'an and Hamsters...Oh my
Author: Sammie
Location: Xi'an
So after our looooong train ride to Xian we finally arrived bright and early (too early!) and were met by our smiling guide Daniel. After a quick stop at our hotel for a Chinese breakfast we were off touring. First stop was the Banpo village museum where we saw bones about 6000 years old and checked out a bunch of museumish artifacts ---the usual. After that it was off to the famed Terracotta Warriors. Although we were all exhausted and dragging our feet, Daniel exhibited a great deal of enthusiasm, even though it was his 874 time seeing them!!!!! Then we went to an 'international" lunch aka. Tourist central. After lunch Daniel dragged us off to some 'swimming pool". A few of us tempted to try out the waters, but were quickly reprimanded by the guards. They were supposed to be hot springs at the location of an emperors concubine supposedly this beautiful lady who just ruined the emperor before he was caught by the communists. Then it was back to the hotel for a much anticipated nap. For dinner we went to this neat cultural show and dumpling dinner. There were about 18 different kinds of dumplings, but unfortunately most of us were sick of them and yearned for the McDonalds we had passed on the bus. The show was pretty neat though, all displaying dance and song from the Tong dynasty. Any ways, thats about it.
Peace and Love, Sammie
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Location: Xi'an
So after our looooong train ride to Xian we finally arrived bright and early (too early!) and were met by our smiling guide Daniel. After a quick stop at our hotel for a Chinese breakfast we were off touring. First stop was the Banpo village museum where we saw bones about 6000 years old and checked out a bunch of museumish artifacts ---the usual. After that it was off to the famed Terracotta Warriors. Although we were all exhausted and dragging our feet, Daniel exhibited a great deal of enthusiasm, even though it was his 874 time seeing them!!!!! Then we went to an 'international" lunch aka. Tourist central. After lunch Daniel dragged us off to some 'swimming pool". A few of us tempted to try out the waters, but were quickly reprimanded by the guards. They were supposed to be hot springs at the location of an emperors concubine supposedly this beautiful lady who just ruined the emperor before he was caught by the communists. Then it was back to the hotel for a much anticipated nap. For dinner we went to this neat cultural show and dumpling dinner. There were about 18 different kinds of dumplings, but unfortunately most of us were sick of them and yearned for the McDonalds we had passed on the bus. The show was pretty neat though, all displaying dance and song from the Tong dynasty. Any ways, thats about it.
Peace and Love, Sammie
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Friday, June 27, 2008
Zoo-tacular!!
Author: Cason
Location: China
Hi everyone! Its Sammie and Cason ;)
(Well actually only Sammie doing the writing, Cason just makes sure she spells her words right)
Today, we are going to Xian for a few days so we wanted to fill you in before we left!
Yesterday, we went to the zoo to see all the animals and show Pierre his relatives! Pierre got a lot of action at the zebra and llama cage. Pierre seemed very happy to get out of the apartment and explore the real world! The Giant Pandas were really cute; they looked kind of fat. Then we went to the elephant cage and observed the extremely large excrement of the elephants. When we went to the reptile room, the second floor was closed because their giant python was missing. Dont worry parents, we are 50% sure he didnt come back with us on the bus. After this came dinner back at Suzies (which fyi is actually Yao Restaurant), followed by a spectacular massage at a nearby massage parlor. (Note: This was not that type of 'massage parlor," dont worry, we checked--it didnt have the pink lights.) Most of the group got the 1 hour Chinese foot massage and a few others got a full body massage in addition (a very good choice, given the total cost was just over $15). We came back to the apartment and watched a movie before falling asleep in a state of utter relaxation (except for Emily who was in a ton of pain after her Step Back massage when the masseuses walk on your back). This morning we all woke up and noticed that Emilys eye was swollen from some unknown cause. We all ate breakfast and Brent didnt show up for our daily sino-toid and sino-truth so we left for the kids early. Emily is currently doing yoga in the aparment, and the two Red Proletariats are sweeping the floor. Wen is working on her computer on Tibetan stuff, and Lanier and I are writing this blog. Later today we pack up and leave for a weekend away--a Chinese vacation!--to Xian. Were taking the overnight train which should be an interesting experience. Pierre is staying at home to look over the house. We probably wont be able to update you for a few days, but you can all rest assured that we are having an amazing time here!
Love,
Cason (and Sammie) (and Lanier)
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Location: China
Hi everyone! Its Sammie and Cason ;)
(Well actually only Sammie doing the writing, Cason just makes sure she spells her words right)
Today, we are going to Xian for a few days so we wanted to fill you in before we left!
Yesterday, we went to the zoo to see all the animals and show Pierre his relatives! Pierre got a lot of action at the zebra and llama cage. Pierre seemed very happy to get out of the apartment and explore the real world! The Giant Pandas were really cute; they looked kind of fat. Then we went to the elephant cage and observed the extremely large excrement of the elephants. When we went to the reptile room, the second floor was closed because their giant python was missing. Dont worry parents, we are 50% sure he didnt come back with us on the bus. After this came dinner back at Suzies (which fyi is actually Yao Restaurant), followed by a spectacular massage at a nearby massage parlor. (Note: This was not that type of 'massage parlor," dont worry, we checked--it didnt have the pink lights.) Most of the group got the 1 hour Chinese foot massage and a few others got a full body massage in addition (a very good choice, given the total cost was just over $15). We came back to the apartment and watched a movie before falling asleep in a state of utter relaxation (except for Emily who was in a ton of pain after her Step Back massage when the masseuses walk on your back). This morning we all woke up and noticed that Emilys eye was swollen from some unknown cause. We all ate breakfast and Brent didnt show up for our daily sino-toid and sino-truth so we left for the kids early. Emily is currently doing yoga in the aparment, and the two Red Proletariats are sweeping the floor. Wen is working on her computer on Tibetan stuff, and Lanier and I are writing this blog. Later today we pack up and leave for a weekend away--a Chinese vacation!--to Xian. Were taking the overnight train which should be an interesting experience. Pierre is staying at home to look over the house. We probably wont be able to update you for a few days, but you can all rest assured that we are having an amazing time here!
Love,
Cason (and Sammie) (and Lanier)
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Made In China
Author: Cason
Location: China
So yesterday was one of the more relaxing excursions of the trip: shopping day. We worked with the kids in the morning and then after lunch headed out into the city to the Silk Street Market. We spent three hours navigating the chaos of this "market" which is really just a compilation of crammed stalls selling the same goods for exorbitant prices so all the tourists can feel like they're "haggling" when in reality they're still paying enormous prices for cheap, low quality products. Frankly, after buying two overpriced shirts I was a bit disgusted with myself for supporting this institution which in my mind demeans the entire shopping culture. Everyone else seemed to enjoy this experience, for reasons I am not capable of comprehending. Wen did agree with me though; she only bought a copy of Maos Little Red Book. She swears shes not a communistwere having second thoughts though. (Kidding.we love Wena lot.) Emily wants her name in this blog, so lets chitchat about her for a bit. Emily is having a wonderful experience in her second year leading the China trip. Now, back to the kids. Taylor (Dixon)s favorite child is Lily, who seems to be the most popular, as she is also Chris, Emily, Pat, and a few others favorite. Taylor (Harrison) also loves playing with the kids, especially when shes not dropping them. She also loved the veggie dumplings we made specifically for her J . The dumplings were a huge hit with all the older kids from the group home. They had performed their own abridged version of The Sound of Music for an audience of about 50 volunteers and neighbors. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of the trip so far, many in the audience were in tears by the end. Some of the kids have exceptional English, probably better than Emilys when shes speaking to non-native speakers in her own version of broken English--Chinglish. Everyone else wants a shoutout, so: Jessica has been sleeping a lot lately, but she managed to get up the other day to talk to her boyfriend over skype; Caroline has been very busy orchestrating the various 'Dino-pic" photoshoots (all from the wonderfully creative mind of Ms. Caroline Ruhl); Lanier is getting more and more talkative by the second--she cracked a really funny joke a second ago, but it probably wouldnt be appropriate for the blog; Virginia has been online a lot wishing happy birthday to the numerous friends she has who have birthdays this week; Sammie improved her ACT score; Chris and Pat have been improving their haggling skills; Michael has been acting the Master Photographer role with his super cool camera; and Callie has mastered the art of the Chinese postal system. Oh--almost forgot, our group added a member the other day: Pierre. Pierre is a red inflatable donkey and he poses in all the group photos with us. Today we go to the zoo, so Pierre can meet all of his long lost relatives.
peace out,
cason
Location: China
So yesterday was one of the more relaxing excursions of the trip: shopping day. We worked with the kids in the morning and then after lunch headed out into the city to the Silk Street Market. We spent three hours navigating the chaos of this "market" which is really just a compilation of crammed stalls selling the same goods for exorbitant prices so all the tourists can feel like they're "haggling" when in reality they're still paying enormous prices for cheap, low quality products. Frankly, after buying two overpriced shirts I was a bit disgusted with myself for supporting this institution which in my mind demeans the entire shopping culture. Everyone else seemed to enjoy this experience, for reasons I am not capable of comprehending. Wen did agree with me though; she only bought a copy of Maos Little Red Book. She swears shes not a communistwere having second thoughts though. (Kidding.we love Wena lot.) Emily wants her name in this blog, so lets chitchat about her for a bit. Emily is having a wonderful experience in her second year leading the China trip. Now, back to the kids. Taylor (Dixon)s favorite child is Lily, who seems to be the most popular, as she is also Chris, Emily, Pat, and a few others favorite. Taylor (Harrison) also loves playing with the kids, especially when shes not dropping them. She also loved the veggie dumplings we made specifically for her J . The dumplings were a huge hit with all the older kids from the group home. They had performed their own abridged version of The Sound of Music for an audience of about 50 volunteers and neighbors. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of the trip so far, many in the audience were in tears by the end. Some of the kids have exceptional English, probably better than Emilys when shes speaking to non-native speakers in her own version of broken English--Chinglish. Everyone else wants a shoutout, so: Jessica has been sleeping a lot lately, but she managed to get up the other day to talk to her boyfriend over skype; Caroline has been very busy orchestrating the various 'Dino-pic" photoshoots (all from the wonderfully creative mind of Ms. Caroline Ruhl); Lanier is getting more and more talkative by the second--she cracked a really funny joke a second ago, but it probably wouldnt be appropriate for the blog; Virginia has been online a lot wishing happy birthday to the numerous friends she has who have birthdays this week; Sammie improved her ACT score; Chris and Pat have been improving their haggling skills; Michael has been acting the Master Photographer role with his super cool camera; and Callie has mastered the art of the Chinese postal system. Oh--almost forgot, our group added a member the other day: Pierre. Pierre is a red inflatable donkey and he poses in all the group photos with us. Today we go to the zoo, so Pierre can meet all of his long lost relatives.
peace out,
cason
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