tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54629715795872061722024-03-13T15:40:02.999-07:00lindsay lou's happeningsLindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-39597760270783779932016-06-16T11:55:00.001-07:002016-06-16T11:55:13.105-07:00Wine Cork Jewelry and Succulent Mini Magnets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've had a growing collection of wine corks sitting around the house for quite some time and decided to try out a couple of crafts that I had seen others post on various blogs in the past.</div>
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First I made some succulent mini planters by hollowing out the center of the cork about 2/3 the way down with a regular steak knife. (If you try this, proceed with caution).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrhvKH6bJ1zhWIeK7aY_ZUJ4geTZz0yqiBDCOPwu_s9gOPLX93aamxqSTj-dber8C3n_KNfYEIOixAIxR-9EBm3Bj8o4CUNBqjdTb_ZDkSqgjxXjHkXy4VZgZd98HPIb_0LsT3VeilaPN/s1600/20160615_144042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrhvKH6bJ1zhWIeK7aY_ZUJ4geTZz0yqiBDCOPwu_s9gOPLX93aamxqSTj-dber8C3n_KNfYEIOixAIxR-9EBm3Bj8o4CUNBqjdTb_ZDkSqgjxXjHkXy4VZgZd98HPIb_0LsT3VeilaPN/s320/20160615_144042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then I added a tiny bit of sand, pearlite, and dirt. Then I placed a small succulent in carefully and topped it off with a little more of the soil mixture.</div>
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Lastly, glue a magnet to the back and enjoy!</div>
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The next craft I made were some wine cork charm pendants. I started by twisting eye hook screws at the top and bottom of the wine corks. </div>
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Then I rummaged through my jewelry findings, beads, and charms and attached a variety of items either directly to the eye hook with jump rings or with a varying length of chain to mix up the length of the charms.</div>
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This is one that I made for my friend Amber. I made us matching ones for our upcoming travels through New Mexico and Colorado. The most fun I had with this project was using the various charms to tell a story.</div>
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This 2 faced charm with a key dangling from it means to always listen to your inner, higher, true self above your ego. This is your key to happiness.</div>
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The jar is empty now, but can be filled during our trip with spices, cornmeal (an important symbol in Native American Pueblo culture), or even with dirt from a special location or hiking trail. The glass bead of a chile that hangs from the top of the bottle represents New Mexican culture and cuisine and reminds you to "spice up your life!"</div>
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The mini book represents how everyone has a story to tell and that you, no one else, hold the pen that empowers you to "write" or create the life you want to live. I wholeheartedly feel that one of the highest functions we have as human beings is to tell our story, feel that our voice is heard and to become more compassionate by really listening and hearing the story of others. (The book is small and filled with tiny blank pages...so our story is not finished. I wonder what will fill the pages of the books?)</div>
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The bells create a light jingle reminding you to listen to the song in your heart. Music is so powerful.</div>
Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-54405488830197700182015-01-28T11:34:00.000-08:002015-01-28T11:34:00.635-08:00Alexandra’s Chicken Enchiladas (a.k.a. Chickiladas!)Some of you may remember the blog post from several years ago when I turned a piece of sheet metal into a magnetic spice rack chalkboard. Over the years, people have grabbed a stick of chalk when no one was looking and added comical names beside the spice names. For example: "Y'all Spice," "Rosemary's Baby," "Michael Bay Leaf," and well you get the picture!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_z0zAwyRDg5UlHV_bsw7mWq6Sx4z4J6x_YatWgv5CaUFcraWoWsIQ87QsUJCK2O3EQqtjWIjVPyzL5lVrPgNmVFqkLo3xqwO8Cn9q3tCrshONB2wkecAguuiIiAuBibMYxFQQPGZhCcKN/s1600/spices.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_z0zAwyRDg5UlHV_bsw7mWq6Sx4z4J6x_YatWgv5CaUFcraWoWsIQ87QsUJCK2O3EQqtjWIjVPyzL5lVrPgNmVFqkLo3xqwO8Cn9q3tCrshONB2wkecAguuiIiAuBibMYxFQQPGZhCcKN/s1600/spices.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since this is the highlight of my kitchen and the one thing everyone seems to comment when they visit our house for the first time, John and I thought it would be fun to give spices in magnetic tins as a gift for guests at our upcoming wedding. Low and behold we were gifted a bunch of magnetic tins that John's sister-in-law was no longer using...so our fate was sealed! ;)<br />
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Since we have a dual Indian and Mexican theme to our wedding, I thought it would be cool to have Indian or Mexican recipes accompany each spice. You know, so you can SPICE Up Your Life!<br />
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My dear friend Alex sent me this recipe to use and I thought I would share it on the blogosphere. Especially since it's been awhile since I have taken time to blog. Been a little busy in my world! I know, always the same story. Anyway, check out the recipe.<br />
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Alexandra’s Chicken Enchiladas (a.k.a. Chickiladas!)</h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Sidebar: Make your meal extra
authentic and save some cash by shopping at your local Hispanic supermarket for
ingredients! Their produce is generally beautiful, and you’ll pay way fewer pesos.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Sidebar on that Sidebar: Do not
actually try to pay in pesos. That would be ridiculous.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";"><u>Sauce:</u></span></h4>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">28
oz. Jar San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed in a large bowl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">( </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">About
2/3 of it goes in sauce, 1/3 goes in chicken)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">2
(or more) cloves of garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">2-3
chipotle chilies canned in adobo sauce, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
tsp <span style="color: red;">ground cumin</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
tsp <span style="color: #ffc000;">chipotle chili powder</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
cup chicken broth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Pinch
of sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";"><u>Chicken:</u></span></h4>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Olive
oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
cooked rotisserie chicken (skinned & shredded)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
cup (or more) onion, diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
red bell pepper, diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">2
(or more) cloves of garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
cup cilantro, roughly chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
to 1 cup chicken broth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
tsp <span style="color: red;">ground</span> <span style="color: red;">cumin</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
tsp <span style="color: #00b050;">oregano</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Rest
of hand-crushed tomato sauce left over from sauce<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">1
hot chili pepper, seeded and diced (jalapeno, scotch bonnet, habanero, whatever
you can handle)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Juice
of 1 lime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">2
cups shredded cheese (at Hispanic market, the light shredded cheese called
“Quesadilla Melting Cheese” is the best, but you could use anything<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">½
wheel of queso fresco, crumbled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">10
flour tortillas <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Extra:
scallions, sour cream, extra queso fresco crumbles for topping. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";"><u>Sauce:
</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Sauté
garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat. Add adobo chilies, then spices (<span style="color: #ffc000;">chipotle chili powder </span>and <span style="color: red;">cumin</span>),
and sauté one minute more. Add tomato
sauce and chicken broth. Salt ‘n’ Pepa. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer; simmer
for 5-10 minutes. Add a pinch of sugar if it tastes bitter at all. Set aside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";"><u>Chicken:</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Sauté
onion, red pepper until just soft – add a little salt as they cook; add garlic
and fresh chili (jalapeno or other) for the last minute of sautéing. Add
cilantro, <span style="color: #00b050;">oregano</span>, <span style="color: #ffc000;">chipotle
chili powder</span>, <span style="color: red;">cumin</span>, Salt ‘n’ Pepa. Add
reserved tomato sauce, chicken broth, and shredded chicken. Simmer about 10
minutes, or until liquid reduces enough to spoon out as filling. Crumble in queso
fresco, squeeze in lime juice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Spray
9”x13” casserole dish with cooking spray. Roll 10 tortillas with ¼ to 1/3 cup
each, and place seam-side down in dish. Top with sauce, then with shredded
melting cheese. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Bake
at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">Top
with scallions, sour cream, extra queso crumbles. Enjoy! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif";">"The finest ingredients
are brought together with love and care, then slow-cooked to perfection. Yes,
the old ways are still best at Los Pollos Hermanos. But don't take my word for
it. One taste, and you'll know."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-29997661564245386702014-07-26T17:32:00.000-07:002014-07-26T17:32:11.182-07:00School Visits in Qijang & Zhonghua Mountain Village<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We drove about 2.5 hours Southwest from Chongqing to a beautiful and serene "rural" area called Qijang. I put the term rural in quotations because the population of this area is a whopping 960,000 and the high school we visited is home to almost 7,000 students and teachers. Everything is relative here in China and the Zhonghua village <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">we visited after lunch did seem more rural than the part of town where the school is located. I didn't think it was possible to get any hotter, but I was wrong! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The schools we visited have entrance exams and are very competitive. Most of the students in attendance come from surrounding areas and are the children of the growing migrant worker class. They study hard and sometimes, especially prepping for the gaokao college entrance exam in their senior year, they may be at school and studying way into the wee hours of the night. Getting placed in a university in China is similar to American Medical School residency programs-you can list your preferences, but ultimately the Chinese government and the universities will pick you and you have no final say in the matter. Performing well on the exam and getting into a good school is one's only hope of fulfilling your parent's dreams of escaping the hard life of a struggling migrant. Many families are split up as students live on campus at most of the good schools...while their parents travel from city to city lookig for work or stay at home in a smaller town to farm the land.</span></div>
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When we first arrived we met students and they practiced their English with us. School was already out for summer, but they came back just to welcome us. They were so sad to see us go and both sides waved goodbye until we were no longer in sight.</div>
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She is an art teacher too! You can see the work of her talented high school students below...</div>
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School grounds...</div>
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After lunch, we visited the Qijang #1 Experimental Primary School. The experimental part is that they are trying out more student centered, small group questioning type teaching methods like we use in the states; as opposed to the typical lecture style teaching more common in China. The school is similar in concept to a magnet or gifted school back home. They encourage use of the fine arts (drama, music, visual art, etc...) to make learning more engaging for the students. Sounds like arts integration to me! :)</div>
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The kids performed a scene from Mulan. They were beautiful and so was their English!</div>
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After the performance, some of them shared their hobbies and interests with us...</div>
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She and her teacher collaborated to make this ornate costume with recycled milk cartons.</div>
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After visiting the primary school, we drove a little further into the countryside...many students come from this area...</div>
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Kids performing a traditional percussion and horn show. This musical tradition has been passed down through families for 18 generations. It dates back over 300 hundred years!</div>
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Some of us learn how to play Mahjong...</div>
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Grinding beans to make fresh tofu</div>
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Spices out in preparation for dinner...</div>
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View on the ride back</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-5551078323198430692014-07-23T06:48:00.001-07:002014-07-23T06:51:04.616-07:00Dazu Buddhist Rock Carvings<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We took a two hour bus ride from Chongqing to see the Dazu Buddhist rock carvings. They date as far back as the 7th century AD and became enlisted as a World Heritage Site in 1999. I was flooded with memories of visiting the Buddhist rock cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora in India several years back; yet the imagery here at Dazu was decidedly Chinese for sure. You can see the influence of Taoism and Confuscious teachings within the Buddhist imagery; which gives a glimpse of how linked these three religions were and still are in China. Again, I was reminded of how Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism seemed to often commingle in India.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> The two largest carvings were undergoing renovations, but you can see the grandiose scale of the reclining/sleeping Buddha in the picture above.</span></div>
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Sakyamuni Buddha</div>
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The Wheel of Life...birth, death, rebirth...re-incarnation...all radiating from the Buddha center...</div>
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Inside one of the carved out niches</div>
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Look how long and curvy his fingers are!</div>
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Giant incense for sale outside the temple by the exit...</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-13111754080483551052014-07-21T21:07:00.000-07:002014-07-23T06:21:12.930-07:00Chongqing: the biggest city you've never heard of...<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Chongqing is my favorite city visited in China so far. It sits right in the middle of two rivers converging (on one side a yellow colored river and on the other green...like a giant palette of swirling, mixing paint). Some people in our group have compared the landscape here to that of New York or Pitsburgh. Compared to Beijing and Xi'an, this city is very quaint and charming...yet just as bustling. The population is almost at 25 million; larger than Beijing but less dense.</div>
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Chongqing has a rich past dating back over 3,000 years and was a capital city during certain Imperial dynasties. Recent scientific findings even suggest that the human activities in this area date as far back as the end of the old Stone Age-approximately 2 million years ago-which is the oldest evidence of humans in China. During WWII, Chongqing was major post for the Allies; at first under the guidance of General Stillwell. Between 1938-1943 the Japanese launched an indiscriminate bombing campaign on the area (fist real evidence of "terrorism" as we know it). In these 5 years there were around 11,500 bombs dropped during 5,000 separate bombings. Many targeted areas included schools, hospitals, and residential areas. This became a part of daily life here and many tunnels we set up as bomb shelters...unfortunately the chaos and crowding led to many tragic deaths due to lack of oxygen and trampling. We had our hot-pot dinner in one of the old tunnel bomb shelters. The wartime culture transformed Chongqing from an already established city and set it off on the trajectory to become the city it is today. It is currently listed as #65 on a list of global cities and the GDP here is growing at twice the rate of the Chinese national average. In 1997, the status of Chongqing was promoted to be the 4th provincial level city in China; and the only one in West China. In 2007, president Hu Jintao delivered an important speech about the importance of Chongqing and it was also designated as one of two cities (the other Chengdu) to enact experimential policy changes to narrow the urban-rural gap (think affirmitive action and other US policies of that nature).</div>
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The climate, food and people are spicy! In Chinese people call the hot pot (which was created in Chongqing long ago by the workers as a respite from the long cold winter days) <i>Ma-la-tang.</i> This means numb-spicy-hot! The Sichuan peppers are numbing and I joked that there was new ring road of numbness built around my lips when I was eating my hot pot dinner. The people here are so friendly and easy going!</div>
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One nickname for Chongqing is Bridge City. There are 29 bridges here and this one looks like a needle being threaded.</div>
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We went on a 1 hour river cruise at sunset and got to see the city transform into a bright nightscape.</div>
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In Ci Qi Kou, they have created an old town feel with quaint architecture that is a nice juxtaposition to the towering skyscrapers. There are lots of beautiful scrolls and other art for sale here as well as various other touristy shops and food vendors.</div>
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An talented, yet armless, man paints animals from the Chinese zodiac on the street!</div>
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Giant cotton candy...</div>
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Making noodles...</div>
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Hot pot (to be sung to the tune of the hot pocket jingle) ;). The meat to the left of the twisty bread is pig kidneys.</div>
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Tim eats what we were told is eel, but looks and tastes more like a small fish (bones, fins, and all).</div>
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Boiling away...</div>
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MSG on the table...</div>
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We went for a 100 minute reflexology foot massage and this guy greeted us when we entered the building.</div>
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Waiting for my massage...</div>
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Towards the end of the massage a flame was put inside this bamboo cup and suctioned onto my foot ( this Traditional Chinese Medicine method is called cupping).</div>
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<br>Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-79365661462158121862014-07-20T18:04:00.000-07:002014-07-23T06:20:52.310-07:00Special Visit to the Xi'an Lama Temple<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We visited the peaceful Lama Temple in Xi'an. When we arrived our delegatation was welcomed by some of the monks and we were given white scarfs as a token of appreciation for our visit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>
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1,000 armed Avolokatsvara</div>
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A close up of the many extended arms/hands of the statue...</div>
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Lotus root and blossoms blooming all around...</div>
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Circumambulating the outside of the temple we spun the prayer wheels.</div>
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Tim lights a candle and places it on the altar.</div>
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We were invited to climb the steps to get a closer look at the upper portion of the giant Buddha statue. First we had to put our feet in this silly machine to put a protective plastic cover over or shoes.<br>
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View from the top!</div>
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Amy from Portland and I sitting on the ornate couch in the temple masters private quarters.</div>
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Our group was given the rare opportunity to see the private area of the temple and we even had the pleasure of hearing the temple master chant a sutra.</div>
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This seat is reserved for the Pinchan Lama whenever he visits.</div>
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In this room was an old picture of Mao and the Dalai Lama before their falling out (to put it lightly)...</div>
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Fellow art educator and Chicago native, Margy, poses with the temple master. She amazes me with her dedication to her craft; she is always sketching away in her sketchbook...everywhere we go.</div>
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As a sign of respect we tied our scarves on the door or a tree before we left.</div>
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<br>Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-55406567284027548662014-07-19T15:55:00.001-07:002014-07-23T06:20:40.253-07:00The Terra-cotta Army<div>
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This is a quote from Wikipedia that gives a brief synopsis of this amazing UNESCO world heritage site and archeological wonderland:<br>
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"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The <span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Terracotta Army</span> or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terra cotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE,<span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span>were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Current (2007) estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits nearby the mausoleum. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Other terracotta non-military figures were also found in other pits and they include officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It is estimated that it took about 720,000 workers 38 years to complete the terra cotta warrior army for the tomb. Upon completion the workers were buried alive at the site so that they couldn't share the secret location with anyone and risk an enemy ruining everything here. A mere 4 years later, all of</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> the artifacts were destroyed by his arch enemy. The state it is seen in today is after careful reconstruction and rearrangement of the army. You can see how the army lay in ruins when it was originally excavated in some pits (see picture below).</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The different hairstyles represented different ranks in the army...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Horses leading the chaatiots...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A photo showing the original pink hue of the terra-cotta.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The kneeling warrior is one of the most well preserved pieces where paint and details still remain in some areas.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Look at the detailed texture on the soles of the shoe!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There is no more excavating of the site going on anymore, even though there is an entire pit </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">unearthed. Instead they are focusing their efforts on trying to figure out a way to preserve the fragile paint that oxidizes immediately after excavation. In the picture above there is plastic wrapped around to protect the areas where some paint still remains. The Chinese people are saving the rest of the burried army for future generations of archaeologists in hopes that there will be new advancements in preservation and restoration technology.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We visited a place close by that tries to recreate the same process in a variety of sizes of warrior statues. We felt the smooth clay.</span></div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-25487761381329021352014-07-16T18:00:00.001-07:002014-07-23T06:20:31.373-07:00Farmer Folk Paintings<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7iaewQoBEtH6z4T40qj_2hYmf_krg_FMT8NOt79Q_Ae7FCTbKBCpdwnmvQehZhnRzu1Px3HZcsP61fsRGx1LFQllQKiZdkqS1dtz-lijbKw37xWcUK59WRTlC_AYMwr6Df_NHxqWBLSs/s640/blogger-image--910146356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7iaewQoBEtH6z4T40qj_2hYmf_krg_FMT8NOt79Q_Ae7FCTbKBCpdwnmvQehZhnRzu1Px3HZcsP61fsRGx1LFQllQKiZdkqS1dtz-lijbKw37xWcUK59WRTlC_AYMwr6Df_NHxqWBLSs/s400/blogger-image--910146356.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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During the cultural revolution in China, the intellectuals were cast out and sent to the countryside to work in the fields. Many began to teach their artistry to the local peasants to pass the time. Because the peasants were idolized as examples of the hard working everyday citizen of Mao's ideal of communist China, the folk paintings that came out of this time became popular. Eventually individual stylized paintings and abstract touches started showing up. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We visited the home of a folk artist and had the opportunity to see his process, his gallery in his home and many of us purchased some of his original paintings and prints to bring home with us!</span></div>
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His studio table with his materIals...</div>
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Our guide, Tiger, explains to us that this artist studied under the man who created the drawing of Mao Zedong that is used on the Chinese Yuan currency.</div>
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A small and quick first sketch...</div>
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Under drawing...</div>
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A print of the finished piece</div>
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This one shows people bringing bundles of lanterns, in the snow, for the New Year celebration.</div>
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<br>Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-81474558283059320502014-07-16T17:53:00.001-07:002014-07-16T17:54:01.196-07:00Traditional Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture Experience<div dir="ltr">
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We visited a university in Xi'an called Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine. We attended a lecure where we learned about the history, theory and practice of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). We learned about acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping.</div>
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After our lecture we visited the in site museum (you can see me posing in the picture above with a life size bronze statue that marks the meridians points used in the practice of acupuncture). A similar model covered in wax is used by students in their final exams or "boards."</div>
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After that, we were brought to a hospital there where they practice TCM. They called four 4 volunteers from the group and fellow fulbrighter Amy spoke up saying I should try it because of my neck/shoulder/ carpel tunnel issues associated with my birth defect. My response? Sure, why not?</div>
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The doctor began by pressing firmly in the area of my carpel tunnel and examining, massaging, and popping my neck as a sort of diagnostic exam. Then came the needles!</div>
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I don't know if it was the hot room, exhaustion from the days previous activities, hunger, or my sensitivity to the acupuncture itself, but towards the end of the session the room started spinning, I felt naseous and felt sure I was going to faint. Luckily the doctor, the local guide, and my group rushed to my side helping me onto the bed and giving me very hot water and I felt back to normal within minutes. I think I nearly gave our scholar escort Harold a heart attack. After I came back to, I could see the look of relief in his eyes and he informed me that he had been contemplating if he needed to call our contact back home at the National Commitee in US-Chine Relations in the middle of the night about my predicament.</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-74999695646080724492014-07-16T02:29:00.000-07:002014-07-16T17:40:11.343-07:00High Speed Train to Xi'an<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We boarded a high speed bullet train from Beijing to Xi'an. The trip that would normally take a around 18 hours on a regular train only took 5 1/2 on this speed train.</div>
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For the first half of the journey we passed countryside and many small cities popping up that show signs of the rapid growth of China with many cranes and tall buildings going up...</div>
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Lots of farm land...</div>
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A factory city?</div>
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As we got closer to our arrival to Xi'an the mountains began to make a debut in the passing landscapes.</div>
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Once we arrived in Xi'an we saw signs of a large city, but there was definitely a contrast between Xi'an and Beijing. The buildings here seemed to all look similar as opposed to the variety of architecture in Beijing. Xi'an, being a smaller city in comparison, was also visibly cleaner.</div>
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The power lines were crazy!</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-2589855139939301202014-07-16T02:15:00.001-07:002014-07-16T02:15:15.696-07:00Beijing Wrap Up<div>
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We are leaving Beijing and heading to Xi'an on a high speed bullet train. The trip that would normally take around 18 hours on a regular train will only take us 5 1/2 hours on the faster train.<br />
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From my one week stay in China there seems to be an overarching theme of contagions. I encounter them everywhere. From the way the anicent and modern commingle in the subtleties of fashion, food, attitudes and more to the more obvious juxtaposition of the ancient buildings being enveloped by the swarms of looming skyscrapers in the urbanization of China. This theme keeps coming up. Many of the Chinese people seem to live two lives: a public life that is full of publicly acceptable comments, religious choices and feelings about the growing concern of human rights here and then a private life that they only feel truly comfortable talking about within the confines of their own homes or behind closed doors. Also, environmental concerns and the issues surrounding global warming are apparent to all (no deniers here), yet the haze from the pollution is so strong you can't even see the sky most days.</div>
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Chinese culture is a complicated one to put it simply and obviously one that an American like me will never fully grasp with such a short history back home. It is a true testament to the benefits of travel as opposed to just "reading about things in books" though, because I already feel Im have a much greater appreciation and understanding of Chinese people and their rich cultural heritage.</div>
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Here is a photo summary of my favorite pictures from Beijing...</div>
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animals representing the Chinese zodiac line the rooftops of a building while Chiristmas trees hover in the background.</div>
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I don't even know...</div>
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McDonald's has banana pies!</div>
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Fashion is everywhere...these shorts have mushroom characters with multiple eyes.</div>
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Bikes crowd the streets. Perhaps because Beijng has become so populated that the government has had to regulate which days people can drive their cars based on the numbers on your car tag???and there is a waiting list you go on to get approval to even purchase a car (one woman said her friend applied to get permission to buy a car over two years ago and is still waiting).</div>
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A student mural at a middle school depicts the Earth as a sad melting ice cream cone.</div>
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Adorable children, enough said!</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-7780425710801612492014-07-15T16:18:00.000-07:002014-07-15T16:19:34.881-07:00Hello Global Citizens: Inspirational Wu QingA smiling 77 year old unassuming Chinese woman walked into the room and declared in almost perfect English (definitely the best English we have heard since coming to China), "Hello Global Citizens." Over the next hour, we had no idea what was in store for us as the inspirational woman, Wu Qing, took us through the emotional journey of telling the story of her life. She is an amazing and compassionate woman who has been standing up for the rights of Chinese people for 40+ years and has travelled the world as a spokesperson for Women's rights everywhere.<br>
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Her path was already on a certain trajectory from birth as her parents were both part of the outspoken intellectual group of the 1920's that were outcast as "rightist" and were forced to step down from their teaching positions because they spoke out against the communist party during Mao Zedong's cultural revolution. Her mother, Bixing was a writer who wrote about love and compassion and if you ask any Chinese person they would surely know who she is as they probably read many of her writings as a young child in school. Her father was considered the father of sociology in China.</div>
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Wu Qing taught English at the university level for 40 years and was determined to follow the law in her daily life. So, she memorized the constitution and eventually was elected to the Chinese congress. Through this role she diligently held weekly meetings every Tuesday to hear the concerns of her constituents. She boldly voting against corrupt people and spoke out against corruption many times. On multiple occasions she was "punished" for her outspokenness by not being allowed to leave the country for years at a time. In 2011, the government employed many of it's members to launch a fear tactic campaign against her re-election and even intimidated her students that tried to vote for her anyway. She lost the election that year and stepped down from her position. Since then, she has opened a school in Champing helping teach younng girls and women from rural communities how to start their own businesses, other basic skills and helps them to live a life they can be proud of. She has also travelled to Rowanda and other African countries to help women as well.</div>
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She drew the Chinese character for listen on a board for us and began to dissect the meaning of the individual parts of the word through her own interpretation. She believes we should all listen to each other, even kings and political leaders, with the compassion of 15 hearts. When we heard her speak, she spoke about the lack of love in the world and the need to educate today's youth to be global citizens. "Nationalism is dangerous and kills," she said. By the end of our short visit with her, many of us were in treats and all of us were in awe.</div>
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If you'd like to read more about Wu Qing, please check out this <a href="http://thefuturemakers.net/2013/04/25/qing-wu/">article</a>.</div>
Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-34473566273589006712014-07-15T06:14:00.000-07:002014-07-15T06:14:00.722-07:00CAFA-China Academy of Fine ArtsWe visited the Central Academy of Fine Arts exemplary works art exhibition. On exhibit were some of the best works chosen from both this year's undergraduate and graduate graduating class.<br />
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-79842342067575905522014-07-13T23:09:00.000-07:002014-07-13T23:09:14.959-07:00Lama Temple<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Visiting the Lama Temple offered a very different perspective into Chinese culture and daily practices. It was actually quite refreshing to see so many people, even young people, excercising their religious beliefs (especially those connected to Tibetan Buddhism).</span></div>
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In the above picture you can see the temple behind the statue of what I am assuming is a representation of Mt. Kailash, but don't quote me on that. You can see the smoke from the incense offerings billowing up around the statue; a nice reminder that this temple is a living temple and is actually in use as opposed to just a archeological site.</div>
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The art and Buddha statues combine both Han Chinese and Tibetan styles.</div>
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I am spinning the Tibetan prayer wheel...</div>
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People holding their bundles of incense into the hot flames to light them.</div>
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A group kneels down in front of the entrance to one of the many temple shrines and prostrate themselves.</div>
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Three Buddhas or bodhisattvas line the back wall of this temple room...</div>
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The last room holds the largest of the Buddha statues and is craved from a singular piece of Sandalwood.</div>
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I tossed in a small offering...one US coin and one Chinese yuan cent coin.</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-75407504269198064322014-07-13T03:58:00.000-07:002014-07-13T03:58:00.050-07:00Temple of Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We had a free day today, so everyone grouped up based on similar interests and we had a small group of five that visited the Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple. The temple of heaven was a temple utilized for annual prayers for good harvest during the Ming and Qing dynasties. While some of it's practices pre-date Taoism, it is generally described as a Taoist temple. In 1998, it was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.</div>
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This young couple were having a wedding photo shoot at the beautiful site.</div>
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The Chinese government encourages their elderly population to be active and you can see many of them doing tai chi, badminton, hacky-sack, yoga, stretching and other various exercise activities in many of the parks. The Temple of Heaven was no exception and even had a hug area with outdoor gym equment. This man was utilizing the gymnastic bars to perform contortionist twists and stretches.</div>
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There are also many different groups scattered throughout the grounds playing various instruments, dancing, playing cards and Chinese chess, and much more.</div>
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Here I am standing with the temple behind me through the gateway.</div>
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Our group for the morning temple visits...</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-81841051777559156812014-07-12T09:30:00.000-07:002014-07-12T09:30:01.489-07:00Teahouse Variety Show<div>
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We visited the Laoshe Teahouse for an evening show. We got to experience Chinese opera, theatrical dances, Sichuan opera face changing, puppet show and more. At this Teahouse you get an old </div>
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glimpse into "Old Beijing" before the cultural revolution and even in some instances performances that incorporate traditional garb and themes from Imperial times; yet many of the lyrics or topics in songs sing or poems recited hit on more modern lifestyles (the picture above is of my roommate Leah and I standing out front of the Teahouse. She teaches music at a K-8 school in Chicago).</div>
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The loose leaf tea here was very potent!</div>
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A snapshot of the playful hand shadow puppet show.</div>
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A woman sings a story about the village in the Chinese Opera style</div>
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A giant Chinese zodiac style rabbit lights the lobby when you enter the Teahouse.</div>
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Clara smiles as Erin responds to the cloyingly sweet treat she just experienced!</div>
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A variety of lanterns light the room</div>
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A theatrical sword show...</div>
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A man performs the traditional Sichuan mask changing or face changing opera act</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-3310235953110461692014-07-11T15:33:00.002-07:002014-07-11T15:33:49.870-07:00Plenary Session of the 5th Annual US-High Level Consultation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our Fulbright Hays delegation was invited to hear diplomats from both the China and U.S. governments speak about our bilateral rationships, goals for the future, education, and environmental concerns. Many announcements and proclomations were presented; including a plan to create 1, 000 scholarships for students from historically black universities to send students to study in China.</div>
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We were seated in the second and third rows, so it was prime real estate for catching glimpsrs of State John Kerry, the top female Chinese offici Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Michelle Obama's chief of staff,and NBA basketball star Yao Ming. I also had some great converdations with representatives from National Geographic's education department.</div>
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My favorite is when the choldren came out and sang "We are the World" and "Auld Lang Syne." It was very touching, and I have to admit that the softie in me got a little choked up.<br />
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Inside the Great Hall of the People adjecent to Tiananmen Square</div>
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Proof that I'm a real delegate!</div>
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My friend Erin, a fellow Fulbrighter and history teacher from Maine, and I on the elevator in the Great Hall of the People on our was to the plenary session...</div>
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The guy to the left of John Kerry was on of the first American students to come study in China 35 years ago and the man on the right is a Chinese man who studied in the US, worked in Silicon Valley, and created China's equivalent to Google.</div>
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On the left in the cream blazer is Sam, an English teacher from Kentucky and a fellow membet of our Fulbright teacher delegation and on the right, badketball star Yao Ming towers above...he is so tall!</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-85524622724817470632014-07-11T07:04:00.000-07:002014-07-11T07:04:16.936-07:00Dandelion School<div>
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We visited a very unique, privately funded middle school in Beijing that was built specifically for the children of migrant workers. The 9th graders had just graduated and will hope to be accepted to various high schools next year.<br />
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Lucy and Bai Jing were my students for the afternoon. We got yo know each other a little, they practiced thei English and I sketched a portrait of them...</div>
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The giant woks in the cafeteria kitchen.</div>
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Front of the school building. Many artists from around the world have come to the Dandelion School to create murals and do collaborative art projects with the students.</div>
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A couple of the girls decided they wanted to entertain us by singing "Let it go" from the movie Frozen!</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-92031112633666710472014-07-11T06:05:00.000-07:002014-07-11T06:05:03.195-07:00Wangfujing Market<div>
Some of us went out on an excursion on our own and got to experience the metro as well as the crowded Wangfujing market. When you first enter the market you are bombarded with a multitude of bizarre smells and exotic foods. The boys in our group were determined to chow down on some of the unique food offerings; which included scorpions, silkworms, spiders, seahorse, and entire squids. I am proud to say I was brave enough to try a silkworm that was offered to me by fellow art fulbrighter, Gerry. It was not tasty to my taste buds, but it wasn't terrible either!</div>
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Entering the busy market</div>
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Hundreds of vendors are jammed into the market shouting deals and reaching out to grab your attention...</div>
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Reams of fabric line the walls in a store front.</div>
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Walk right up and pick out which delicacy you would like to eat! :)</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-23911739637176123422014-07-09T07:23:00.001-07:002014-07-09T07:23:37.903-07:00Hutong Visit<div>
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Most of Beijing has a buzzing modern city feel to it, akin to any large US city. Most tradotional "old Beijing" style neighborhoods have been demolished to make way for the growing demand for housing and constant growing population and subsequent lack of space. In recent years, China has made an effort to preserve the few remaining small, one story, courtyard style neighborhoods. These are called <i>hutongs. </i>I don't know if all the remaining hutongs are this way, but the community we visited has been transformed into a quaint and trendy hangout spot fit with cafés, bars with local musical acts, and shops galore. Many of these venues arrived as a response to the ex-pat community. <br />
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We were treated to an amazing dinner (most delicious yet) in the home of a local chef, "Martin." His grandfather was the imperial chef for the last emperor and created the secret recipe for the delicious carrot balls we devoured.</div>
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The area backs up to the river and no cars are allowed. So, there are lots of bicycles and rickshaws constantly zooming past.</div>
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Evidence of construction is a constant in rapidly expanding Beijing; even in the hutongs. </div>
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A table outside of a restaurant in the hutong is strewn <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">with lotto scratch offs and yogurt drinks...</span></div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-76695638681225598202014-07-07T06:38:00.002-07:002014-07-07T06:38:49.633-07:00The Great Wall<div>
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Here I am in all my sweaty victorious glory!</div>
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We made the trek up to the section of the Great Wall located outside of Beijing that was a stronghold during the Ming dynasty. The benefit of getting up there early in the morning was that it was slightly less hot...the downside is that the fog was thick so it was hard to capture a great photo. <br />
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There were lots of little side openings where you could catch a glimpse of beautiful mountain vistas. I wasn't able to capture a picture of them, but there were lots of dragonflies buzzing around!</div>
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We rode the cable lift up, did a two hour hike on the wall and got to dry our sweaty brows with the breeze on our way down the toboggan! Check out my video above!</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-40013667752120601222014-07-05T06:52:00.001-07:002014-07-05T06:52:40.481-07:00Dashanzi 798 Art District<div>
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This area of Beijing used to house rows of factories in an industrial park. The 50+ year old decommissioned factory buildings were turned into contemporary art galleries and studios in the mid 1990's and continue to be home to many unique art exhibitions, shops, street vendors, murals, performers and more!<br />
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When we arrived our group broke into smaller groups to explore...the place is so big we never ran into anyone else in our larger party. I could spend days weaving in and out of the maze of galleries...getting lost again and again!</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-20426213803209670312014-07-05T06:28:00.000-07:002014-07-05T06:28:52.386-07:00Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City<span id="goog_693094277"></span><span id="goog_693094278"></span><br />
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Standing in Tiananmen Square before entering the Forbidden City</div>
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So serious, so still...</div>
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The picture of Mao Zedong that adorns the entrance facing the square is a painting that is replaced annually...it weighs a whopping 4 tons!</div>
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The artistic garden area in the square is redone every year with a new design</div>
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The three levels of lions guarding the various levels of entrances in the Palace complex signify the rising importance as you get closer to the royal inner sanctums...outside they are made of marble, next bronze and finally gold.</div>
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The female lions clutch a baby lion under their paws</div>
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Look how playful he is!</div>
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The male lions clutch a ball (signifying that they are the ones to play and make important decisions while the females tend to the children)...also notice how this last golden lion, which is located in the Imperial concubines quarters, has his ears down. This sent a message that the imperoror was not to listen closely to the contradicting advice from all of the concubines.</div>
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This shows the repainted exterior as it would have been during Imperial times. The Chinese government adorned this area with layers of gold leaf in preparation of the 2008 Olympics.</div>
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Royal garden...the rocks were brought from the south by the people in exchange for a year free of taxes</div>
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Our guide "Vivian" showing us the pose the concubines would stand in while the Emperor chose his Empress...there were often as many as 3,000 concubines (many of which waited in lonely solitude never to even meet the busy emperor) . The forbidden city was ripe with paranoia as many deaths happened as they poisoned each other as a way to rise the ranks...the emperor would eat with silver chopsticks so that the suspected poison would react with the metal and change the color of the silver before the emperor could take a contaminated morsel</div>
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<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-41904653739746821422014-07-03T10:06:00.001-07:002014-07-03T10:09:12.654-07:00Next Stop BeijingThe last 3 days have been a blur! We, the other 15 teachers going on the trip to China and I, have been bombarded with information on Chinese history, cultural perspectives, etiquette, food, the Mandarin language, and more. We have shared our hopes and goals of what we wish to get out of the experience and how this will impact our students upon our return. And, of course, we have had many laughs as we have just begun to get to know one another.<br />
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I am sitting at the gate waiting to board the 13 hour flight from San Francisco to Beijing. I have never seen a "double decker" plane before...way cool!<br />
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462971579587206172.post-47498755043453914592014-06-29T14:45:00.001-07:002014-06-29T15:11:54.088-07:00City by the Bay<div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed exploring San Francisco this weekend. Was lucky to have the good company of Libby and Micah to show me around!</span></div>
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Taxidermy "unicorn" in the window at Paxton Gate</div>
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Taxidermy explorer mice...</div>
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Look at this cable bus I spotted!</div>
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Golden Gate Park (you can see the iconic row of houses from Full House directly behind me.</div>
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Such a dog friendly city, they are everywhere. Apparently there are more dogs in SF than children.</div>
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The giant redwoods in Muir Woods.</div>
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The Ferry Building</div>
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Bay bridge</div>
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Beautiful assortment of mushrooms inside the Ferry Building.</div>
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Me with Libby!</div>
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The grates on sidewalks have dancing skeletons.</div>
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Libby and Walter the cat.</div>
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Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346143119703521220noreply@blogger.com0