pkblogs

I figured it out! I checked out the Blogger troubleshooting and found that in China blogger.com blogs are mirrored so they are not blocked by the gov't (for now anyway). So, (hopefully they won't read this) but I just type in http://pkblog.com/name of blog and it will get through the &&&^^$% firewall or whatever it is. Now I just have to figure out how to upload photos. But I think I can do it using one of the David's computers...we have three of them all with Macs. We'll see. Anyway, I will keep posting to my blog & some peoples better be writing to me soon....

Steph

Forbidden City

Hello there,

We had a really good day today, though it rained & rained. I didn't mind at all because I had my Keen wet shoes & my umbrella. We first toured the Temple of Heaven and the surrounding park. This was just inside the old city wall and where the emperor would go twice a year to talk with heaven & pray for a good crop. Now it is surrounded by a huge park where you can see people doing their tai chi, etc. in the morning.

Our next stop was Tianamen Square, but by then it was raining. We got off the bus & were surrounded by hawkers selling umbrellas for $1. As we walked through the Square (huge!) the rain came down in buckets, we were sloshing through the rain! It was great!, but others didn't agree. We went down into the pedestrian underpasses and waited for a few minutes with many, many Chinese, really interesting & I do believe they found our group really interesting as well.

When it slowed a bit we continued on to the Forbidden City. At first I was not really impressed. The first two palaces or gates were covered in green scaffolding (cleaning up for the Olympics). & I thought I would be disappointed...but no...walked through another gate to the servants quarters and it became more impressive, though another gate to the emperor's private buildings and Wow! It went on and on and on. I wish I could show you photos!!! When we get some free time, I will see if I can use one of the guys computers to upload some photos for you.

Maybe Matt, I will send them to you a couple at a time, and have you upload them to my blog. Would you mind? I'd really like to share some with everyone.

Anyway, it was still raining, though not as hard. After a short rest at the hotel we went to the Drum Tower and the Old Hutong area. Fascinating! We got to take a pedicab ride through the hutongs (old small alleys filled with homes). AND THEN..we got to have a meal at one of the homes of a family! They were so so friendly, the little old man talked and talked (In Chinese, Prof. Rick translated for us) about the changes in China in the last few years and how good it was for the country. His daughter and son-in-law cooked a great spread for us (I actually liked almost everything!) and showed us around their small home. It was, of course one of the better homes as they have this little tourist business going on. I will send photos!

And all through the rain, we were all drowned rats all day, but I didn't mind, it's really warm anyway. So now, Denise and I went to a different internet cafe. It's huge! And much cleaner than the one I was at yesterday. Lots of young people playing those internet games. You have to show them your passport and pay three (sahn) yuan ( about .50 cents ) for one hour. It seems to work really well. Except, of course for my blog. I have a couple of ideas to try, but am not optimistic. We will see. We think our gov't is 'Big Brother', nothing like here!

Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall. A ski lift to the top and then toboggan back down when we're done. In the evening, we go to the Peking Opera. Now this is travel! Thanks Taxpayers : )

Love ya, Steph (Mom)

Somebody...write to me!!!

Blog doesn't work!

Hi Everyone,

Hey, my blog doesn't work over here! I can go in and make new posts, but when I try to view the blog online, like to see if anyone has written anything., I can't view it! Not good! So, I will post to it from my email, but I can't add photos or see what you've written.

So, I must resort to email, and even that is not too consistent. I do have a yahoo mail that seems to work more conistently. It is librarysteph@yahoo.com
Use either that one or this eartrhlink one. OK?

I may try to email Matt some pictures and see if he can post them to my blog, that way I don't have to try to send out lost of photos through email, which is slow and takes up email space. But first I need to have time to figure out how to do that on these computers or from one of the other participants. Hey, I am going to send out a group photo that one of our people took and emailed to us. It's from San Fran.

Tomorrow we go to the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. It'll be nice to get some sightseeing in of all the places we've been learning about. The next day we go to the Great Wall. Right now, I'm on my way to meet up with the group at a Muslim (yes, Mom) Muslim restaurant. It's one of Prof. Belsky's favorites. I really don't like the food at the hotel, we ate there last night and for breakfast. Too much meat and fish lots of the veggies are different, too. Not too worry, I won't starve, there's always rice, bread and McDonald's.

Today, we sat at the Ministry of Ed and listened to talks from high officials about the ed system of China. I caught up on my journal and practiced my Chinese language words. Anyway, I must go now. I will get some free time tomorrow or the next day & will write more. Hope everyone is doing well. Oh, the weather here is not too bad, really muggy, but today it rained a bit, so the temp was only in the low 80's. Let me know, Matt, how all my critters are when you get home Saturday, please.

Love to all, Steph

Culture Shock!

Hi All,

We are here after a long plane ride & got to our Chineses hotel. Culture Shock! We are in an interesting area of the city. Lots of local Hutongs (small alley ways, etc.). I Can't find an internet cafe yet & we are off to the Ministry of Education this morning, so I just don't know when I will be able to really sit down and tell you about things in a more detailed way. There are five people with computers & they are kind to share, but I hate to be on here for very long. Anyway, I am fine, hope everyone is OK & my cats have food & water. I will write longer as soon as I get a chance.

Steph

Nihao (Chinese Language Lesson)

Nihao (Hello),

Nihaoma? (How are you?
Wo hau. Ni ne? (I'm fine. And You?)
Wo jiao Stephani (My name is Stephani)
Xinghui (Nice to meet you)

Cesuo zai nar? (Where is the bathroom?) Very important one!

xiexie (Thank you!) Also very important, it's said [sheshe] short e sound

Zaijan (Goodby)

I also learned the numbers, but have no more time right now. Hopefully, at the airport or in China I will have more time to work on this blog. Now I am an expert on Chinese history and geography. We've had several really wonderful speakers this last two days, long listening days though. We pack up and leave Vallhambrosa Retreat tomorrow by 8:00 AM & fly out to Beijing at 11:00. The flight is about 12 hours, we'll be in Beijing the afternoon of the 28th.

The group is really interesting, a good mix and Dr. Belsky will be a really good scholar guide. He knows China & the language very well, but is calm and laid back "No Worries, Mate" I think, should be his motto. When I have more time, I will pop up a photo of the group that we took today. We went out for a Chinese meal this evening, I think I will pick up a couple of plastic forks, because using chopsticks is really frustrating!!

I have lots more to say, but I am using one of the group members computers & must end for now. Zaijan!!!

Home

Just a few photos of home and the animals that I can look at when I'm lonely.

A gift from France

N 40° 40' 20" ; W 74° 2'42.4" This Wonder nomination was a gift from France to another country. It was designed and built in Paris and then shipped across the Atlantic in crates. For newly-arriving immigrants this statue was a symbol of hope and opportunity.

European Wonders

1. N 51° 4' ; W 1° 48'. Look at the low longitude co-ordinate. Also, there is a replica of this wonder in the Columbia River Gorge near the Maryhill Museum.

2. N 48° 51' 32" ; E 002° 17' 45". This one has a low longitude number also, but it is to the east of the Prime Meridian, instead of the west. It is named after the person who designed it and it's in the center of the European 'city of love'.

3. N 47° 44' 00" ; E 10° 19' 02". This building is in the beautiful Bavarian Alps and is one of the most photographed buildings in Europe. It was designed by Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria.

4. N 41° 53' 24" ; E 12° 29' 31": Gladiators, Christians and lions. Need I say more?

More Info: S 33° 51' 35" ; E 151° 12' 50"

This Wonder nomination is in the Southern Hemisphere (big hint). I was there when I was on a year-long teacher exchange program and lived in Naracoorte.