西藏: Sun, Snow, Scenery

Today, we ventured into the middle of the Himalayas, and the scenery was so breathtaking I nearly cried. I've never seen a landscape so stunning and powerful; it made me feel powerless. A 2.5 hour van ride to Drigung Thel Monastery was the first part of the morning, though we did take some rests to have snowball fights, take pictures, etc. Drigung Thel Monastery sits on a mountainside, so we had to take at least a 20 minute hike to get there. Due to the altitude, this is actually really, really difficult, but to make the pain go by faster, I walked briskly, so was the first one of the group to reach the Monastery. Not knowing where to wait for everyone else, I explored some and met some of the people working there. Three young girls were super excited to see a 外国人 (waiguoren - foreigner), and loved having their picture taken and afterwards looking in awe at my camera. I chatted with some men there, then decided I needed to check on others' whereabouts. Of course, for the next 45 minutes or so, I couldn't find anyone and ended up wandering around the Monastery grounds. While it was a little aggravating, I did get to see much, much more of the place and its surroundings. Finally finding the group, we went into some of the chapels and learned about them. Not haven eaten breakfast (I slept in) or had much water to drink, around 2 pm I almost fainted (others, too), so we decided it would be best to head to lunch. I was surprised we survived the drive down the mountain from Drigung Thel Monastery-our driver is wonderful and hilarious, but absolutely insane! I was scared the whole time, because we had already skidded once; the van doesn't have tires for snowy/icy roads; it brought back bad memories of a car accident (quite involving a mountain). Anyway, we made it to the restaurant, which was conveniently located at our second and last destination: Drigung Terdrom Nunnery. At this point, I was very exhausted from the day, and my feet were so damn cold I was kind of crying, but nonetheless the Nunnery was spectacular. The nuns were also interested in our cameras, and we had the luxury of seeing them pray and chant. It was a really beautiful ceremony. When I was leaving the chapel, some of the nuns playfully held me back. There were two hot springs there-male and female-but we didn't go in them. Afterwards, we took another route back to the hotel, during which time I painfully warmed my feet back up and slept a little. The evening was spent napping, buying more winter gear, and having a delicious but pricey dinner, which consisted of corn soup, banana lassi (again, of course), 1/2 yak burger, and some Tibetan fried potato cakes. Oh, and also a Lhasa beer. Other highlights of the day include coming in close contact with a yak, which I could have petted but was too afraid; making friends with a furry black and white cat at dinner; being loving with two dogs at lunch (it bothers me how unfriendly towards dogs some people here can be); and seeing homes amongst the Himalayas and the lifestyle families live there. Truly, as far as my experience goes, Tibet is the most beautiful place in the world.

Michael Trey & 8 Pax Arrive in Tibet

Our first day in Tibet was very, very cold, but also very, very wonderful. I enjoyed a big, American style breakfast buffet for only 30 kuai, and then went with our group and tour guide (name pronounced in Tibetan "Bee-or-szee") to Lhasa Jokhang Temple, or the most renowned Buddhist temple in the whole world. Inside has 78 total smaller chapels on three floors , some of which we entered, but unfortunately we didn't get to enter the main, popular temple for which the Temple is known. The architecture was amazing and interesting-108 snow lions flanked the perimeter of each floor. Since it was a rainy day, not as many local people were there praying, but still it was remarkable to see each dedicated person praying for the couple of hours we were there. I learned some neat information about Tibetan Buddhism, its sects, and when and how the Temple is used. There were lots of shops around, but finding a more reliable one caused me to spend 630 kuai on one purchase! Afterwards, we went to lunch and had some fabulous Tibetan food. Naturally, I ate a little bit of yak meat, which I must say was pretty tasty! The momo was also notably good, as well as the hot masala tea. Everyone else liked the butter tea, but I wasn't much of a fan. It's hard to describe the dishes; some resembled Indian food, others nothing I've had before. Then, after checking on poor Richard, who's fallen ill with a bit of a case of altitude sickness, we went to Sera Je Monastery, which flanks a huge mountain. We didn't have much time to explore, but we did get a glimpse of the interior main hall. Again, I was overwhelmed. We did, though, see plenty of the exterior, including some dogs, prayer wheels, and homes. Upon our arrival to Yak Hotel, our current home for the next few days, I went out to buy some waterproof hiking boots for only a little over 20 US dollars. Then was dinner; I had Vegetarian Chow Mien (I know, but really it was delicious) and a Banana Lassi, which had a surprising sour taste, and then I remembered that the drink was likely made with yak milk, so I soon grew to like it very much! After dinner, a few of us walked about 15 minutes to the Potala-that's right, it's a mere walk from our hotel! It was freezing, but we met some Chengdu province friends, took lots of pictures, and then went to get a local beer at a bar before heading for bed. As I'm writing this, it's snowing outside! I feel bad about not having the time nor internet to get pictures posted from the trip, but I promise promise promise that you will all see them soon.

Where did this post go?

On October 24, we said goodbye to Tianjin. My first train ride ever was a quick one on Friday from Tianjin to Beijing; from Beijing, we went to Xining (about a 24 hour ride), and then from Xining to Lhasa (another 24 hour+ ride). The long train rides are completely worth it-the scenery was breathtaking. Thankfully we were on hard sleepers (although still, even with those, you can only sleep so well). I'm glad I had my movies and my books. The last week or so in Tianjin was pretty much occupied with last minute souvenir shopping and work. Aside from two finals in our language and civilization courses combined, we had a final paper due in the latter course (中国文明课), the subject of which was to discuss our experience thus far of the presence (or lack thereof) of Daoism and Confucianism in modern China. About 1/3 of our final product was to be in Chinese; so, to make the assignment a little more bearable, I decided to write a short story. Titled “极小子的逃跑," or "Little One's Flight," the story is about a little dragon named-can you guess?-Little One, who grows up to learn the six principles of Confucianism (中，孝，礼，义，廉，耻) through experiences. He grows up to be a hero amongst all dragons and eventually earns a new name, "老子," or Laozi, the founder of Daoism and also a former student of Confucius, who called Laozi "The Dragon". Anyway, it is a cute story, and I think Zhao liked it. On the Saturday of our last weekend in Tianjin, Richard and I went to the city's local natural history museum, which was a balanced combination of humorous and interesting. My two favorite sections were the dinosaur skeleton section and the insect hall. The former exhibit had a mammoth roaming with the dinosaurs, and due to a supposed laziness, the teradactyls were not flying, rather on the floor! The insect hall was full of amazing moths, beetles, butterflies, and other strange insects from China, Brazil, Ghana, etc. I got some great pictures and also gifts-let's just say that two-headed dinosaurs and Godzilla were amongst the museum's gift selection. On our final day of Beijing opera class, we dressed up in the art's traditional costumes and makeup, which I of course loved. It brought me back to my younger, dancing days. My character, as it turned out, was the most beautiful of the Tang Dynasty's top four beauties. In fact, I was the Emporer's most prized concubine. Her story is very interesting, and I must say I was overwhelmingly flattered. The last night in Tianjin, we had our banquet with our teachers and program directors. It was a sweet ceremony, and being vice president of the group, I was obligated to give a little speech in Chinese. We received our diplomas, praise, and thanks, and at dinner we shared drinks and stories. Since Nankai University's alma mater is to the tune of "O Tenenbaum" (yeah, funny), and I am the only student on the program who knows the German lyrics, everyone made me stand up and sing it! It was sad to leave and say goodbye to our teachers; I really have grown to love them, Tianjin, and Nankai. It made it easier to not see them the next morning, and instead to say goodbye to our friends at Xinansun (the marketplace) and get my last cromlet, likely, that I'll ever have again. It's hard to imagine that I'll be home in three weeks.

苏三起解 sū sān qǐjiè

In our Beijing Opera (北京京剧）class, we are learning and memorizing a portion of a piece that tells of a famous Ming Dynasty love story. The story is about a beautiful woman named Su San (苏三) who despite coming from a poor family and later sold into prostitution, had a kind heart. She met and fell in love with a client, Wang Jinglong, and helped him attend a prestigious medical university by selling jewelry. They were soulmates, but once accepted to the university, he left for a long time, and she heard from him little. In the meantime, poor Su San was sold to a married businessman as his concubine; this man's first wife tried to feed Su San poisoned noodles, but instead murdered her husband when he accidently ate them! However, this wife sent Su San to trial and later to prison for the death of her husband. After some time, Su San was sent to Tai Yuan for a retrial, where she discovered her beloved Wang Jinglong was an officer. With the help of kind people, they fell back in love and lived happily ever after. 苏三唱 （西流水：） 苏三离了洪同县，将身来在大街前。 sū sān lí le hóng tóng xiàn, jiāng shēn lái zài dà jiē qián. 未曾开言我心好惨，过往的君子听我言。 wèi céng kāi yán wǒ xīn hǎo cǎn, guò wǎng de jūn zǐ tīng wǒ yán. 那一位去往南京转，与我那三郎把信传。 nà yí wèi qù wǒng nán jīng zhuǎn, yǔ wǒ nà sān láng bǎ xìn chuán. 就说苏三把命断，来生变犬马我当报还。 jiù shuō sū sān bǎ mìng duàn, lái shēng biàn quǎn mǎ wǒ dāng bào huán.

"I want to be so old that I have to be scooped into a dustpan." - Zach

Well, it's been quite some time since I last posted, but I only now have enough events about which to tell. I spent this past week sick, being attacked on multiple fronts, and spent the night before our exam enduring a fever and chills. That said, last week was spent either in class, doing homework, eating, buying groceries, or napping. Thanks to antibiotics, I'm pretty much recovered, but I still have congested lungs as a result of pollution and second-hand smoking. The weekend before last, the entire group followed Zhao laoshi to a nice restaurant, where we experienced the splendors of the traditional 火锅 dish (huoguo - "hot pot"). The meat was lamb, and the little bit that I ate was very tasty. Of course, tofu pieces and vegetables were also included. It was overall a delicious dinner! Following dinner was the usual trip to Scarlet, and I went shopping the next day with enough success to keep me browsing for hours. My feet are a little big in comparison to the average Chinese woman, so I eventually gave up on that errand and returned to campus. Then, I got really sick, but there's nothing to that except the fact, and it isn't at all interesting, so I'll skip ahead to this past weekend. Friday was very laid back- all of the classes watched "活着" (huozhe - to live), which is an amazing movie once banned in the early 90's for its subject matter; I suggest everyone should see it. Following "class" was Nankai University's Olympics, or really big Field Day. John/Steve/Shi Lifu put his big American flag (which before this event was hanging on his wall) on his shower curtain rod, and waved it proudly as we approached the field to meet our opponents. I wouldn't say people were intimidated, but I do think our group of mostly non-athletic nerds surprised most. In most of the events, we placed either first or second (either overall or in specific heats), and I in particular participated in the jump-roping, basketball dribble, tug-of-war, soccer (which was really just penalty shots, so I didn't help much), and baton relay competitions. The latter was a lot of fun- the runners were me, John, Fred, and Trey, and we placed second overall! Our prize was a fantastic little Chinese phrase book each, in addition to having our picture taken repeatedly. Saturday wasn't as much fun- I felt dizzy because of the Cipro, but was quite productive; I wrote and mailed many, many postcards (which was a slightly embarrassing experience, given I had to glue every single stamp onto the cards), and finished homework so I could spend Sunday buying things. I had some great finds at our favourite bootleg DVD shop, including: Wall-E; The Tudors, Season 2; Queer as Folk, Seasons 1-5; The Piano; The Fifth Element; Death Race; Blue Velvet; Final Destination 1-3; and three Chinese movies. Again, this all cost me around $15 altogether. Richard accompanied me to a cultural shopping district in the afternoon, which was in a really neat area of Tianjin about a 20 minute taxi ride away from Nankai's campus. I spent a lot of money- a lot. I bought some souvenirs, of course, and other things for myself, including an old doughnut shaped jewelry box and two qipaos (旗袍). With some encouragement from Richard, I finally took a whack at bargaining: a certain item I bought (which I can't talk about, because it's someone's special gift) was priced over 300 kuai, so I suggested 175 kuai. The women running the store laughed at me for about three minutes and then proposed 180 kuai as the final price. As in, I got about a 50% discount. I was dumbfounded that it actually worked! It was also fun getting to speak with a lot of different salespersons and what-not, and explaining that no, I am not Richard's wife, and yes, we're looking for Mao uniforms! I kind of promised some people that I'd be back next weekend...which isn't a lie, because I loved the variety of neat trinkets! And that about wraps up the past week. I'm (finally) getting used to the culture and am really enjoying myself! I am also used to the teaching style, so am now enjoying class much more. We have two weeks and one weekend left here in Tianjin, so there's a lot of activities to squeeze in!