TrevorJ
Trevor Bullock Joined: September 3rd 2009
Logged in: December 17th 2009
Logged in: December 17th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
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Last weekend our class went to Xi'an, one of the oldest cities in China. The top site here is the hall of the Terra-cotta Warriors (sometimes called the 8th wonder of the world). The warriors are made of terra-cotta clay that is supposedly hard as bronze. Each one is unique and was created in the image of a real warrior of the time (I think there are over 2,000). The emperor of the time chose the best soldiers to be models for these clay warriors and wanted a strong material so that these terra-cotta warriors could protect the emperor after his death. These warriors were painted with vibrant colors, but after they are dug up, the colors quickly fade. This site has four areas, and is still being excavated. Something very interesting I learned was that ... read more
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I forgot to post pictures of Leshan and Emei! In Leshan we took a boat out on the water and saw a giant Buddha statue, but unfortunately we didn't get to stand at the foot of it, or even get off the boat. Leshan is known for the Giant Buddha and for being able to stand at the feet, so it was kind of a let down. In Emei we saw some impressive Buddhist temples, but unfortunately there are no photos allowed inside (that goes for any Buddhist temple here), so I'll just have to tell you about it when I get back! One temple had a room full of Buddha statues (I think there were 500), and another had a giant Buddha on a white elephant. Both were quite impressive. We also hiked up to ... read more
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My family took me there this last weekend. The scenery is beautiful and the water is an amazing blue color. Enjoy the photos!... read more
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So far in Beijing I've seen the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Tienanmen Square, the Bird's Nest, an acrobatic show, and a temple overlooking the city. Now that I'm in Chengdu, I've been super busy with school because we complete three language classes in one semester, plus any other classes students want to take on top of that. Actually speaking is a lot easier than I thought it would be, but reading and especially writing the characters takes a lot of time. I start my day early, eating breakfast with my mother and Sem, and sometimes my host father. Breakfast almost always consists of apple slices and a rice bowl full of warm milk (tastes different than milk in America). We usually have packaged sweet bread or some kind of little cakes ... read more
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Just to give a quick update, I'm now in Chengdu living with my host family. Their family friend, Sem, has also decided to live with us to practice his English and to help me with Chinese. They have been extremely welcoming and treat me like a son. When they found out that I didn't have a Chinese name, they gave me one, "Huan Xiao" (Huan is the family name and Xiao means brave). Sem actually rode the bus with me the first day and came to school to ride the bus back with me so that I didn't have to go alone on the first day of school. The other day my family threw a party for me to welcome me to Chengdu and invited aunts, uncles, cousins, and even the grandmother came. My mother spent ... read more
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The beds are really low to the ground and the mattresses are really hard, so you wake up in the middle of the night all stiff and out of sorts and have to turn over. Even sleeping on your back requires some turns early in the morning. I awoke around 5:30 to a beautiful Beijing sunrise (smog and mist). Everyone’s time is really messed up and we are all morning people now. I seem to get tired at 8:00 like I'm 90 years old. It's also so humid and misty here, more than I’ve ever felt in my life. This makes everything feel really muggy and hot. It actually feels cooler than Reno temperature wise, but there is so much moisture that you’re never sure if you are sweating or if it’s just the air, but ... read more
The 12-hour flight comprised mostly of no sleep (drifting in and out for micro sleeps), weird psudo-Asian meals (like fish biscuit cup-a-noodle), and watching Chinese people with no English skills attempt to make coffee and choose a meal. The man next to me couldn't read his ticket to make sure he had the correct seat, couldn't choose between a sandwich and noodles for lunch, and put salt in his coffee instead of sugar. So weird. Arriving at the airport, I noticed that there was actually a lot of English around, probably due to tourists flying into Beijing and the fact that the Olympic games took place there. There were some quarantine checkpoints on the way to the baggage claim area where people with high temperatures were taken behind a curtain, probably for further tests, and a ... read more
