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Chengde and Luoyang

Monday, August 10, 2009

So many things have happened in the past few days! My phone died so I was unable to blog about yesterday! Yesterday we visited the emperors palace in Chengde. It was very beautiful and very interesting! The roofs were all covered in gold and we found out people used to scratch the gold off the lower roof for money. When you looked at the tops you could see the difference in the lower roof and the upper roof! We were all dreading going to the palace because we had to climb 400 stairs, but that turned out to be a breeze. After the Great Wall we were ready for anything. After the palace we showered, ate lunch, and boarded the train! The train was a lot of fun! It wasn't as tiny as I imagined it would be and we piled all 8 girls into one car for our favorite thing girls night! We had so much fun talking and we have all become extremely close. We always joke that we feel like we have known each other our whole lives. It is so fortunate that we all get along so well and I really feel like I have made such amazing friends who I will always have a special bond with. Today we headed to Longmen Grotto. It was stunning and the carvings were amazing ! We saw huge Buddhas and Buddhas as small as 4 centimeters! After that we drove for a little and then to the Shaolin Temple. The temple was huge and beautiful. We got to meet a monk! At first I was a little scared because I wanted to make sure I knew everything appropriate about how to greet him and to make sure to be respectful, however mama ping filled us in! The monk was very nice, and it was very interesting to hear him speak. We preformed our Shaolin song for him, which he said was great! We have gotten pretty good at it :) Next we ventured to the kung fu school. The school was filled with hundreds of kids ranging from age 7 to 20 all doing kung fu! They were insane and were doing things I have never seen before! The flips they were doing were so cool, everyone of them looked like a stunt double. After dinner tonight we all hung out in Maha and Katie's room. It was a lot of fun just like always. We always have so much to talk about and have such a fun time together! Tomorrow we are off to the kung fu school to learn! I can not wait and am so excited! :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2 comments:

Karen Wells said...

I wondered where you had been. I'm glad your phone is fully charged and you're back! I have noticed from the posts today that the students are EXCITED. I really thought that after the Great Wall experience that you guys would feel a little let down. Not on your life...you guys are "stoked" and ready to go. Kick butt tomorrow. (Sorry if that is not an appropriate Kung Fu saying.) Karen Wells DSA South Africa

RJ Stangherlin said...

So many students (both genders) have written about bonding in a very special and lasting way, but your description trumps all: like you had known each other all your lives. How great is that!

Something undefinable about this trip knits people and experiences together in a very special way. Eight of you in one train car and you do not looked scrunched. You are definitely not on a train in France. Interesting how everything done in China is on a LARGE scale.


RJ Stangherlin
PA DEN Leadership Council Blog Coordinator

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Essential Programs Details

Duration 15 days
When August 4th - 18th, 2009
Focus History/Culture
Martial Arts
Modern/Ancient Architecture