Summer Palace

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My week long vacation has come to an end. It has been really good. I walked around Tianamen saw the famous restaruant streets, and bar street and embassies. Went to the American hospital and know how to get there and saw a Doctor so I feel good that if I get sick again I will not die in China. I went shopping and saw the Summer Palace all in all a very good vacation.
I have to continually remind myself that I chose to come to China and need to adjust accordingly. Its Saturday and I am volunteering at New Day when steven calls to tell me I have to work tomrrow. I said Steven I never work on Sundays. I am not really sure but evidently the government only allows people to take seven days of vacation in what I definatly see as a government plot they make Sunday Monday. Only In China. Kids go to school businesses open just as if Sunday were Monday!

I have made special photo galleries for the Summer Palace and for New Day Creation because there are so many pictures and especially for New Day which I will keep adding to every time I take new photos.

Notes On Summer Palace

If I had only paid attention when i was helping Brittany study Chinese History. There are signs everywhere telling you the history of the palace and the first sentence is always "the palace was burned to the ground in 1860 by the allied French and English forces." I was so confused! When did France and England invade China what world WW was that? Okay so then I realized that it was definatly the wrong time frame but still what were they talking about. Well again this is China things go by different names. The allied French and and English invasion is what westerners learn as the opium wars. Just as WW II in China is the war against Japanese agression. So the opium wars saw the destruction of the palace but was rebuilt by Empress Cixi who has a very interesting and shady history. In reading about Chinese History I discovered that my favorite web site Wikipedia is blocked! That's how I studied in college! If you don't know something look it up on wikipedia.

The full moon festival is over. Which is good because I really don't think I can eat any more moon cakes. It reminds me a little of Thanksgiving because it is time when you get together with your family and are thankful for the good harvest and the moon. It's a time to spend with family so all my chinese friends believed i would be lonely so they kept giving me moon cakes.


The teaching staff at New Day is on vacation so you can tell the children are a little bored and ready for people to come back. I know they are glad to see us when we come but I am going to start trying to bring things for them to do. It has to be hard living day in and day out in one place. They have really good care but still they don't get out a lot no parents to drag then to the grocery store or the bank normal chore outings. They spend most of their time in at New Day.

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Photos

Tyler
The New Day care takers are called IE's. The IE was trying to get Tyler to make the famous peace sign that all Chinese make for pictures.

restaurants
The famous restaurant street is crowded with red lanterns. now if I only knew what they served.

National Holiday
Tinamen Square on National Holiday. Masses of people all takeing pictures in front of the newly erected mascots of the 2008 olympic games.

map summer palace
The Summer palace is HUGE!. This map show the whole palace grounds. The black line is the route Brandi and I took. We could have taken a paddle boat across. We walked for four hours and we did not see every thing. The lake freezes and we agreed that in the winter we will skate across it instead of taking the long way around.

map summer palace
The Summer Palace was rebuilt by Empress Cixi after it was razed during the second opium war. She was the Marie Antioinette of China. Using tons of labor and money to build to opulent palace.

Comments

[cheryl buford]

good lesson
i feel like i've just had a great history lesson. you keep it interesting. give tyler a hug for me. i'm glad you're feeling better and i am impressed that you can find the hospital and doctor by yourself. it takes some people months i'm sure. cheryl

[anonymous]

OK first of all you look b-e-a-u-tiful. and second bring tyler home with you, no better idea send him on a plane now!! i miss you more and more, but know you are happy and serving the Lord. alden

[the sister you miss the most]

**wink**
So your hair is getting looooong! and i love it. you and i are living mirrored lived (ok not really, bt i like to think i am cool like my older sister). We both teach and then we go work with crowds of kids and wish that we could entertain them! i have a sneaky suspicion your kids are better behaved. i think its awesome to hear that you are so mentally on top of everything. i mean we all kinda were all hoping and praying you wouldn't have a "i wanna come home" type break down and man He has really taken care of you so dearly, its awesome. so i have my shakespeare tradgedies class next we are reading Hamlet. I thought i hated Hamlet but this class has made me realize tha ti never read it and whenever you rented the movie i never watched it...not i want to see the Mel Gibson/Glenn Close version. the play is actually good, I dig it! i feel torn in several directions, but not pulled to be in Columbia. I want to go visit Rachel w. in VA, Kathryn White in Anderson, and my former boss in FL. my former boss and the kids have called my three times in the last 2 weeks asking when i can come down. i miss them but as far as cars and money go i just can't swing it. midterms are here. Alden has 2 today so prayer would be greatly appreciated. gotta run now. can't be late cause this crazy lady starts every class with a quiz. love you. p.s. I made an A- in history... 1 of 3 out of my TA's three sections...can you belive that! me doing well in Western Civ? i guess i jsut wanna make ya proud from all the way overseas! Rebecca