So here is my recent life in pictures...
About a month ago I went on a field trip to the zoo with all 250 of my students. I stood in front of each animal and said its name and asked questions like, "What color is it? How many legs does it have? What is it doing? etc. " Apparently it was a rare event to have a foreign teacher at the zoo because we got quite the following. People would just follow me around and repeat my English. This is me and some of them in front of the panda.
The last weekend in May, five girls from the branch and I got on a train and headed to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. The train ride was like a slumber party and after some clever flirting with the cook we were invited to the dining car for free soup for breakfast.
The Terra Cotta Warriors were discovered by a Chinese peasant in the early 1970's while he was digging a well. An emporer in ancient China had them made to protect his tomb. It was like China's answer to the pyramids and quite impressive. They are still unearthing them. They have barely scratched the surface and the sight has been called the 8th wonder of the world.
At 4:30am (sunrise) they raise the Chinese flag over Tiananmen Square. It is a very significant experience for a Chinese person to attend. So I, in an effort to be Chinese, left my house at 3:30 in a taxi to have the experience. It was the quintessential Chinese moment, complete with crowds, bad smells, spitting and unexplanable patriotism. Other than that, the flag raising was pretty normal and uneventful but I do feel in some way, so much more Chinese.
That night 44 LDS Young Single Adults from around China climbed in a bunch of mini vans and headed for the Great Wall. We hiked for about an hour to the wall and up to one of the guard towers where we built a fire and had roast duck and chicken and spent the night. It was awesome!! Although there were parts of the wall that were so steep they made you want to die a little bit.
Me on the wall on the way back home. It was very misty and gave the wall a mysterious feeling but ruined the photo opps.
After getting back from the great wall a couple of friends and I went to Wanfujing (like Bejing's Time Square) for a culinary adventure...Chinese Style. This is me with a giant scorpion in my mouth. It was fried and not all that bad, not nearly as bad as the grasshopper, which I also ate but worse than the seahorse.
Last weekend I went to see the Forbidden City since I had not been there yet and it was cool but a lot of it was covered for reconstruction. I also got to go see the spot where China was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel.
That night I met up with some friends and went to a famous teahouse We are all Mormon so we had hot water instead of tea. I have actually become a big fan of a nice cup of hot water. This teahouse had all of the traditional Chinese entertainment including Chinese Opera, singing, a kung fu demonstration, shadow puppets, Chinese acrobats, and presentation of Bian Lian or Changing Faces. A man (pictured below) is a kind of magician and changes masks very fast without using his hands. I can't figure out how and he even let me look at his cape and hat.
I am wrapping up the last week of school and am spending all of my free time rehearsing for the big English Show on June 14th. It is my worst nightmare come true. It includes me on a stage in front of 1,000 people, dressed up like Fraeulein Maria singing Do Re Mi accapella solo and dancing around the stage with 15 little Chinese girls. It is what nightmares are made of.
I leave for the states on Saturday June 16th and I will miss China so much!! I love it here and could live here forever if I ever had the chance.
