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Hey Amanda, Did You See the Panda?

Good day everyone!

Today marks the first major turning point in the journey. Three weeks to go! Can you believe the JE gang has been gone for 11 days already? Take a moment to look back through the site so far and you’ll quickly realize how much they have already done in just over a week!

The group has spent the past week touring sites and visiting schools in the Chongqing area. It is obvious from the reports and pictures that there are so many things to see and do in that area alone. With a country so rich and deep in history, one could spend a lifetime in China and never scratch the surface of amazing discoveries.

We have a A LOT of photos today, two student reports, more sound files (you don’t want to miss these!), and insight as to what the group is doing and plans to do next. They visited the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center and then performed later at, and with, an area middle school.

Well, let’s just get this day moving with a report from Lena Glickman. Lena shares some thoughts about the past day and just being in China. Here’s Lena:
 

Lena Glickman, Chengdu, China 4/3/08

Religion is something I have sometimes scoffed at. I have pronounced religious theories as crazy and occasionally lost some respect for people with such faith, something I have never been able to muster. But I’ve found that I cannot scorn something with such power to inspire. The Buddhist stone carvings at Dazu are an example of the beautiful art that religion has inspired. As I have found in my meager attempts and exploration of making art, if you have nothing to express, nothing moving you, your art will be boring and without effect on its viewer. The beautiful thing about these stone carvings we saw today was that their creation was fueled by strong beliefs and love for Buddhism.

I really liked looking at the carvings but think I would have liked it much more if I was without a tour guide, a set viewing time for each carving and a large group of people. Art, I mean real art, is too important and sacred for that. Just as the Chinese took Indian Buddhism, mixed it with their own Confucian beliefs, and made it their own, I think we should interpret art by ourselves, in our own way, so it can mean whatever we want it to mean to us. Just like religion, the feeling is real, so is your faith.

We left Dazu, dreading the four hour ride to Leshan before us with our stomachs full of food completely unlike the Americanized Chinese we have and the soda they always serve at restaurants. (It gets annoying. As we drove, the bus bumping along the messy roads, we watched rice paddies and lush, green mountains pass us. We watched the terraces covering every open space and people working hard in poor towns. Bright smiles appeared on their faces as they noticed the foreign and strange Americans passing them in their comfortable bus.

Traveling often gets me in a thoughtful mood and, as we passed all of this, I thought to myself that maybe we’re all of the Chinese people we pass; everyone looking at the website at home; us as we bounce along through China, just looking for something to inspire us as much as Buddhism did the artists who carved at Dazu.

This journey continues to give the kids an opportunity to look at their experiences with a deeper thought process. They are bombarded with sights and sounds and information about this incredible place and are forced to challenge their preconceived ideas about so many things. These young people will return home in three weeks and will look at their own country in a new way. They will take the time to think about the things they see and do, rather than just take them for granted. They are learning, whether they know it yet or not, to appreciate so many things they have here at home.

Let’s see the pandas! Here are photos from the trip to the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu and some photos of some very cute Chinese kids!
 

Aaah, They are so cute!

Makes you feel fuzzy all over.

So, I have been saying that the group has been in Chongqing, or the Chongqing area. Here is Tom to explain the confusing mini-journey they have been on the past couple of days:

We actually left Chongqing and then went to Dazu, to Leshan yesterday as well as to Dujiangyan, which is near Chengdu. We visit the Panda Reserve outside of Chengdu City today and then will have a performance at a middle school, also somewhere in Chengdu. It is a little confusing.

We will leave for Qufu tomorrow morning and then things will slow down a bit. We've built in some time for R&R when we arrive in Qufu. [Tom]

Sooo, Chongqing to Dazu, Dazu to Leshan, Leshan to Dujiangyan, from Dujiangyan to Chengdu. From Chengdu to Jinan, from Jinan to Qufu. Okay, go that everybody? Yeah, sure you do. My head is spinning . . .

We have the FIRST PERFORMANCE PHOTOS of the journey! These are great! The gang did their performance, the middle school did one of their own, and then they performed together. These performances are a way of sharing our American lifestyle through music, dance, and movement. Mike Roberts and Meg Van Dyck have done an incredible job of creating and developing the kids through their performance effort.

Let’s check out the photos!
 

Encore, Encore!

Let’s hear what Victoria Crowther has to say about the Pandas and the performance. Victoria, you’re up!
 

Victoria Crowther, Chengdu, China 4/3/08

Today we woke up at 7 and headed off for breakfast at 7:30. We left the hotel shortly after and went to the Panda Breeding and Research Center where we all had a great time. The pandas were so cute (naturally) and we also learned a lot about them. For example, the average adult male eats about 30 pounds of bamboo per day. We also learned that when pandas are born there body is not fully developed. After two weeks they start to grow black and white fur; after 6 weeks they can open their eyes for the first time. After about 100 days they take their first steps. It was very exciting to be learning about pandas but I was a little upset when I heard that there are only about 1,000 pandas left in the world. 

We went to lunch after the morning at the Panda Reserve.

After lunch we went to Chengdu Longquan High School where, for the first hour or so, we were shown the campus of the school by one of the English classes. It was lots of fun. I became friends with a girl whose name meant ‘super” in English. After we were done touring the campus we sat in on an English class where we and the students read “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns. I had read this in my English class at the beginning of this school year. The teacher would take a line from the poem and discuss the meaning of the line. It was a different approach but I liked it. After that it was time for us to perform for the students, an “informal” performance to over 1,000 students. It was a joint performance and we only did four of our acts. I was in three of them and was so scared before the show started. Once the show got underway I was fine. After the performance was over we got to take pictures and spend time with our new friends. The time went by so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to leave. 

Today had come and gone so quickly and it was so much fun!!

Autographs!

I love the last photo above. I can hear the cab driver say, “Where to?” and you say “My Hotel, please!” And the cab driver says, which hotel is your?” And so begins the Abbott Costello ”Who’s on First” version of “My Hotel!”

We’ve got a couple more sound bites from Mike. Here he explains what you’ll hear on each. Mike:

The panda recording is self-explanatory. But the other two come from our visit to a middle/high school on the outskirts of Chengdu. Our guide was the outrageous English Department head (he's the guy with the sideburns, mustache, eyeglasses, dark blue suit, and some sort of amplification system hanging from his neck). I never lived in the 1970's, but after meeting him I regretted that I hadn't. Well, we have one recording of him giving us the schpiel about the school.

The Middle School in Chengdu is a beautiful collage of conversations - my favorite recording yet. When we arrived at the school we were guided through the campus by a delegation of students, teachers and administrators. We found a number of good English speakers and our students and chaperones alike gravitated into separate conversations. As I wandered through the crowd I picked up bits from these conversations - Kurt speaking about his family, Cassidy and a young Chinese boy talking about school, Victoria showing pictures, Taylor talking about dancing, Carol talking about bringing kids up in China, and of course, the outrageous English department head. Tom told the students that the Chinese were "thirsty for American culture." Most of our kids dove in head first with a group of strangers and we were barely able to pull ourselves away at the end of the afternoon. [Mike R.]

These are great, Mike. Every picture tells a story and so do the sound bites.

So, the end of the Chongqing phase of the journey comes to a close. Now it is off to Qufu by way of Jinan. There is a lot to do and see, with performances mixed is as the group visits the home of Confucius. Qufu is a wonderful place.

Another big day. Thanks for joining us!

See you tomorrow!