Today was a completely free day. I worked on my project a little bit and caught up on my blog. Then a couple of us decided to walk to Nanjing street (which is like Time Square). It was pretty cool lots of shops to see and walk through. Everyone was also really friendly on the street. Always offering us the chance to buy watches and hand bags. We wouldn't even have to walk in to a store! We did find this mall on the street that was laid out much like Pioneer Mall in downtown Portland. Which we ended up browsing through all the levels and finding several funny store names such as 'Easy Shop' which sold lingerie of all things. There was also a restaurant that appeared to be fairly fancy which was aptly named 'Dollar Shop.' Then we were hungry.
We found a Subway of all things just a block off the main strip. luckily our stomachs saved us from standing in a most fierce rain. It let up a bit, but we decided to save getting wet and take a taxi back. Later tonight we are going out, but we don't know where. We are trying to find a good bar to go to and supposedly Edwin knows a couple places. We shall see!!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Sept 19th
We had an early start today, because we had to drive out to this city that had many chinese gardens. It was supposedly only gonna take us 1.5 hours to drive their, but it ended up taking some where close to 2.5 hours. Though the gardens were some what worth the wait. The bus driver kind of got lost on the way to each garden we were visiting which sucked, but was kind of an adventure.
We then visited a street, but it was not the one we were originally intending to visit I found out. There wasn't much there anyway. I had lunch at this place called KungFu which was this bruce lee endorsed chinese fast food restaurant that was actually pretty good.
After eating we met up with everyone else and got to go to the zoo where we saw a panda. There were a lot of other animals I saw such as a lions and leopards, but the zoo was not as good as what we see in the states. So it was a bit sad to see these animals in such small cages and you could tell it was a little to hot for some of these animals. We did get to see the panda eat an apple which was pretty cute.
We then visited a street, but it was not the one we were originally intending to visit I found out. There wasn't much there anyway. I had lunch at this place called KungFu which was this bruce lee endorsed chinese fast food restaurant that was actually pretty good.
After eating we met up with everyone else and got to go to the zoo where we saw a panda. There were a lot of other animals I saw such as a lions and leopards, but the zoo was not as good as what we see in the states. So it was a bit sad to see these animals in such small cages and you could tell it was a little to hot for some of these animals. We did get to see the panda eat an apple which was pretty cute.
Sept 18th
Today we went to an Art Museum that was really cool. I ended up spending a lot of time on the first floor. Which might have been a mistake, but I really got to take my time seeing the bronze pieces and the sculptures. I was also able to walk through (quickly) painting and calligraphy sections.
We then went to a museum of modern art that was having a biannual event. There were pieces from all over the world, but all shared a common theme which revolved around the People's Square in Shanghai. Most of the pieces followed this theme, but some did not. Such as these awesome dinosaur pieces that we found on the 3rd floor. They were dinosaur bodies that had human torsos, arms and faces grafted on to where their neck should be. I got a lot of great pictures today.
We then went to a museum of modern art that was having a biannual event. There were pieces from all over the world, but all shared a common theme which revolved around the People's Square in Shanghai. Most of the pieces followed this theme, but some did not. Such as these awesome dinosaur pieces that we found on the 3rd floor. They were dinosaur bodies that had human torsos, arms and faces grafted on to where their neck should be. I got a lot of great pictures today.
Sept 17th
Today we arrived in Shanghai at about 6:00am. We had to get off the train really quickly because the train was continuing on further then Shanghai. I had a bit of a problem getting off because of my backpack and I had waited for everyone else in my cabin to get their stuff out. Which left me with very little time myself to get off.
Once getting to our hotel which we took a bus to get to. We had until 2:00pm to recover and eat. It was really strange, once we got to the hotel It felt like it was really late in the day instead of 10:00 am.
We went to this place that was referred to as a garden. Upon arriving there it didn't seem like much of a garden, but more of a place with many many shops to buy over priced goods. Though I found out after walking around a bit there that there was a garden in the center of the area that you had to pay to get into. Instead I went with Brooke, Sylvan and Christian to areas surrounding this shopping complex. We ended up heading towards the Bund which is a large walk way that goes right along side the river next to these huge old banks. We took a detour before we got there and found a discount mall which turned out to be really cool. Lots of cheap stuff that is probably sold to the people who try and sell it on the streets.
We eventually made it to the Bund which was really beautiful. Not much to do but look at the scenery. After a brief walk on the Bund we made our way back to the hotel. We were meeting everyone back at the hotel at 5:30 to go to dinner.
We went to dinner and then took a bus to go to the top of one of the huge skyscrapers on the other side of the river. It was really cool at the top, being able to see large portions of the city at night. I also was able to get my girlfriend a pearl necklace at the top of the tower for a good price. You got a free pearl for presenting your ticket at the top of the tower and for just a bit more you could get it mounted for a necklace.
Once getting to our hotel which we took a bus to get to. We had until 2:00pm to recover and eat. It was really strange, once we got to the hotel It felt like it was really late in the day instead of 10:00 am.
We went to this place that was referred to as a garden. Upon arriving there it didn't seem like much of a garden, but more of a place with many many shops to buy over priced goods. Though I found out after walking around a bit there that there was a garden in the center of the area that you had to pay to get into. Instead I went with Brooke, Sylvan and Christian to areas surrounding this shopping complex. We ended up heading towards the Bund which is a large walk way that goes right along side the river next to these huge old banks. We took a detour before we got there and found a discount mall which turned out to be really cool. Lots of cheap stuff that is probably sold to the people who try and sell it on the streets.
We eventually made it to the Bund which was really beautiful. Not much to do but look at the scenery. After a brief walk on the Bund we made our way back to the hotel. We were meeting everyone back at the hotel at 5:30 to go to dinner.
We went to dinner and then took a bus to go to the top of one of the huge skyscrapers on the other side of the river. It was really cool at the top, being able to see large portions of the city at night. I also was able to get my girlfriend a pearl necklace at the top of the tower for a good price. You got a free pearl for presenting your ticket at the top of the tower and for just a bit more you could get it mounted for a necklace.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sept. 11
We went to an area called Weifang where we visited a kite shop and a wood block print shop. I took us about 3 hours to reach our first destination which was the kite shop. This was all well and good but I wasn't feeling good (8 days of breakfast/lunch/dinner being chinese food) so the bus ride didn't add anything to the experience.
Finally arriving at this China renowned kite shop we had to quickly play a game of frogger to reach the establishment that was across the street. Upon entering we were quickly herded into the back so we could see where they made the kites.
We found that many of the colorful patterns on the kites were actually screen printed instead of painted. Though some of the smaller detailed stuff was done by hand and we saw a girl putting some dots on what appeared to be some kind of bug kite. We moved further back and saw where they did some of the larger screen prints for the really big kites. There was other doors and we looked in one that was pretty far back. It was filled with sewing machines and there were boxes filled with completed rain jackets and material to make the jackets (aka sweatshop). Besides the potential sweatshop in the back the kite shop was kind of cool. We learned that in Weifang kite flying is actually a competitive sport. I bought a crazy looking stuffed cat for lauren I should post a picture of it.
We quickly loaded the bus and drove 2 blocks to the print shop we had planned on visiting, but turns out the printer wasn't home at the time and was actually at a wedding. So Ying quickly made a call and found a print shop that was just a little ways down the street.
We hurried to the knew print shop where we got to watch him pull some proofs and then actually got to pull a print of our own. After I pulled my proof the printer said it was the best of all the prints made (gloat gloat). There were 2 tiny dogs that were just running around under our feet just being horribly cute. The day was pretty great, but I was happy to sleep tonight.
Finally arriving at this China renowned kite shop we had to quickly play a game of frogger to reach the establishment that was across the street. Upon entering we were quickly herded into the back so we could see where they made the kites.
We found that many of the colorful patterns on the kites were actually screen printed instead of painted. Though some of the smaller detailed stuff was done by hand and we saw a girl putting some dots on what appeared to be some kind of bug kite. We moved further back and saw where they did some of the larger screen prints for the really big kites. There was other doors and we looked in one that was pretty far back. It was filled with sewing machines and there were boxes filled with completed rain jackets and material to make the jackets (aka sweatshop). Besides the potential sweatshop in the back the kite shop was kind of cool. We learned that in Weifang kite flying is actually a competitive sport. I bought a crazy looking stuffed cat for lauren I should post a picture of it.
We quickly loaded the bus and drove 2 blocks to the print shop we had planned on visiting, but turns out the printer wasn't home at the time and was actually at a wedding. So Ying quickly made a call and found a print shop that was just a little ways down the street.
We hurried to the knew print shop where we got to watch him pull some proofs and then actually got to pull a print of our own. After I pulled my proof the printer said it was the best of all the prints made (gloat gloat). There were 2 tiny dogs that were just running around under our feet just being horribly cute. The day was pretty great, but I was happy to sleep tonight.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Sept 10th
This was our 2nd day with our partners. Pan Zhifei and I finalized our idea, and he would be buying the clay necessary for our animation. We then, after lunch, toured the art gallery which was fun but kinda boring because a lot of the stuff starts to look the same. The oil paintings we looked at were really very beautiful which made me wish I could paint (I guess I should try first).
After the tour I bought a poster tube from their student store for 15yuan ($2.30) which probably would of cost about 20-30 dollars in the States.
Not much else to report for this day.
After the tour I bought a poster tube from their student store for 15yuan ($2.30) which probably would of cost about 20-30 dollars in the States.
Not much else to report for this day.
Sept 9th
Today we visited the Temple/Mansion/Grave Yard of Confucius. The whole complex was quite large and beautiful with many trees dotting each courtyard. We had a tour guide with us who knew a lot about the place, but was quite bossy and a bit annoying at times when you wanted to lag back and take a picture or look a little bit longer at something. Oh well, we got to see most everything there even if it was at a fairly rapid pace. It would have been nice to stop and sketch a little.
The Temple and Mansion were fairly close to one another while the Grave Yard was quite far away. We were told that at the Temple only boys were taught about the 6 skills of a gentlemen. I can't remember all of them off the top of my head, but a few are archery, poetry, chess (I think), and 3 others. I luckily was able to snag a quick video of our tour guide talking about theses skills so if I decide I really need to know it for some reason (jeopardy) I can review the tape.
Speaking of Confucius the 'last name' of this family line is something sounding like "Cong". I only heard it over and over again that day and felt ashamed to ask how to spell it in English, but that is besides the point. One of the Chinese students from the University is a descendant of Confucius having the 'last name' of "Cong" (I use 'last name' in single quotes only because the Chinese last name comes first and they call it their 'first name' all very confusing of course).
After the speed walk tour of Confucius's place of work and his resting place we had lunch at what we were told was a very good restaurant that many Chinese government officials would eat there when they visited the Confucius Compound.
The lunch was fantastic, it seemed quite similar to what we normally eat at a Chinese restaurant in the states. Or, that is what it tasted like to me. All the meat cuts were delicious and there was fresh cut watermelon (which is served almost everywhere here (probably the safest fruit to eat or something)). Soon we had fed our hunger and were off to our next destination Mt. Taian.
On the bus we found out the original plan was to allow us to start half way up Mt. Taian and hike the rest of the way up. Which was supposedly not that bad a 2-3 hour hike and most of it were stairs, better then the stairs we found at the great wall we were assured. Though we arrived so late to Mt. Taian that we all had to do the 2nd option which was ride a Gondola up to the top. This is what I was planning to do in the first place to save my feet from more blisters.
When we hopped into gondolas I was partnered up with our bus driver, jimmy (a student from the university and photographer documenting us like wild animals), and one of the tour guide girls from the school. I jumped in first and scooted all the way over expecting to squeeze in all 6 people who were left, but we decide to split up 4 and 2. The whole ride up I didn't understand any of their Chinese, but thats to be expected. I'm sure they were talking about how I was off balancing the gondola and how I would be at fault when we plumeted to the earth, because they moved as far away from me as possible and pointed at me.
The top of the mountain was very awesome. You could almost see forever if it wasn't for the smog or mist as I like to call it. I bought a headband, or what I thought was a headband, at the bottem of the mountain. I learned later, much later that you were supposed to tie it to some tree at the top, but I was back at the bottem of the Mt. at this point. People also write stuff on locks and attach it to a metal fence around a statue thats at the tip top. So we fooled around for a long time on the top of China before coming down.
All and all was a good day. The sight we saw were definitely worth seeing and I got some awesome pictures. More coming soon. (sorry for the slow updates)
The Temple and Mansion were fairly close to one another while the Grave Yard was quite far away. We were told that at the Temple only boys were taught about the 6 skills of a gentlemen. I can't remember all of them off the top of my head, but a few are archery, poetry, chess (I think), and 3 others. I luckily was able to snag a quick video of our tour guide talking about theses skills so if I decide I really need to know it for some reason (jeopardy) I can review the tape.
Speaking of Confucius the 'last name' of this family line is something sounding like "Cong". I only heard it over and over again that day and felt ashamed to ask how to spell it in English, but that is besides the point. One of the Chinese students from the University is a descendant of Confucius having the 'last name' of "Cong" (I use 'last name' in single quotes only because the Chinese last name comes first and they call it their 'first name' all very confusing of course).
After the speed walk tour of Confucius's place of work and his resting place we had lunch at what we were told was a very good restaurant that many Chinese government officials would eat there when they visited the Confucius Compound.
The lunch was fantastic, it seemed quite similar to what we normally eat at a Chinese restaurant in the states. Or, that is what it tasted like to me. All the meat cuts were delicious and there was fresh cut watermelon (which is served almost everywhere here (probably the safest fruit to eat or something)). Soon we had fed our hunger and were off to our next destination Mt. Taian.
On the bus we found out the original plan was to allow us to start half way up Mt. Taian and hike the rest of the way up. Which was supposedly not that bad a 2-3 hour hike and most of it were stairs, better then the stairs we found at the great wall we were assured. Though we arrived so late to Mt. Taian that we all had to do the 2nd option which was ride a Gondola up to the top. This is what I was planning to do in the first place to save my feet from more blisters.
When we hopped into gondolas I was partnered up with our bus driver, jimmy (a student from the university and photographer documenting us like wild animals), and one of the tour guide girls from the school. I jumped in first and scooted all the way over expecting to squeeze in all 6 people who were left, but we decide to split up 4 and 2. The whole ride up I didn't understand any of their Chinese, but thats to be expected. I'm sure they were talking about how I was off balancing the gondola and how I would be at fault when we plumeted to the earth, because they moved as far away from me as possible and pointed at me.
The top of the mountain was very awesome. You could almost see forever if it wasn't for the smog or mist as I like to call it. I bought a headband, or what I thought was a headband, at the bottem of the mountain. I learned later, much later that you were supposed to tie it to some tree at the top, but I was back at the bottem of the Mt. at this point. People also write stuff on locks and attach it to a metal fence around a statue thats at the tip top. So we fooled around for a long time on the top of China before coming down.
All and all was a good day. The sight we saw were definitely worth seeing and I got some awesome pictures. More coming soon. (sorry for the slow updates)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sept 8th
Today I met my partner in person for the very first time. His name is Pan Zhifei and speaks a fair amount of English, but he can read English like non-other.
We started sharing information about ourselves to each other. I found out he is 20 and has 3 sisters and is originally from Jinan. Also that he is an animation major. He was very interested in the type of art I did so we spent a good amount of time comparing/showing our art.
We couldn't decide what to do our project on at that moment so we decided it would be best for both of us to think about ideas for when we would meet again in 2 days.
The campus they have is very beautiful, but not like Oregon. They have lots of surrounding mountain areas that look beautiful. Of course it appears a little rough around the edges, but what college campus isn't. After touring all the facilities we ate dinner then went back home.
Tomorrow we will be going to the mansion area of Confucius and then to Mt. Taian.
We started sharing information about ourselves to each other. I found out he is 20 and has 3 sisters and is originally from Jinan. Also that he is an animation major. He was very interested in the type of art I did so we spent a good amount of time comparing/showing our art.
We couldn't decide what to do our project on at that moment so we decided it would be best for both of us to think about ideas for when we would meet again in 2 days.
The campus they have is very beautiful, but not like Oregon. They have lots of surrounding mountain areas that look beautiful. Of course it appears a little rough around the edges, but what college campus isn't. After touring all the facilities we ate dinner then went back home.
Tomorrow we will be going to the mansion area of Confucius and then to Mt. Taian.
Sept 7th
Not much happened today. Slept in a little before waking up and packing. Had a light breakfast and then we said our good byes to the girls who ran the hostel and took a group photo. Then we were off to the train station. We had to take a cab to get there which was an experience in and of itself. Our cab driver, though last to leave where we were all picked up, beat everyone else there by about 10-15mins.
The train ride was uneventful as well, but I had never been on a train that moved that fast before. It was a great experience and I wish the states had passenger trains like this one.
We got to Jinan around 6pm where we were greeted by people from the college. We then boarded the bus and went to have the biggest dinner of my life time.
They served probably around 15 individual dishes to each of us at this absolutely massive table. It looked like a sea of porcelain and food. There was around 5-8 toasts that happened that night welcoming us to the university. It was very nice being brought into a community with such open arms.
After attempting to eat 5 times the amount my stomach can hold we got to go to bed, but had to wake up at 6am to get in a shower. We rarely get more then 5-7 hours of sleep.
The train ride was uneventful as well, but I had never been on a train that moved that fast before. It was a great experience and I wish the states had passenger trains like this one.
We got to Jinan around 6pm where we were greeted by people from the college. We then boarded the bus and went to have the biggest dinner of my life time.
They served probably around 15 individual dishes to each of us at this absolutely massive table. It looked like a sea of porcelain and food. There was around 5-8 toasts that happened that night welcoming us to the university. It was very nice being brought into a community with such open arms.
After attempting to eat 5 times the amount my stomach can hold we got to go to bed, but had to wake up at 6am to get in a shower. We rarely get more then 5-7 hours of sleep.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Sept 3rd..!
-Sept 3rd 11:37pm
It was an awesome day and I will write more and add pictures later. Just so you know, the main part of the day was gallery visiting in the 798 Art District. Simply an amazing place! Somewhat like Pearl District but thriving much more.
-the rest...(coming soon)
I saw many great art pieces today. One of my favs was the traditional Chinese Dragon made of camouflage cloth that the artists actually took out and recorded themselves dancing with it. This made me think of the military might China has and will continue to be in the world. I enjoyed meeting all the professors and artist at their various galleries/studios. Seeing all these studios makes me wish that I had a similar setup for myself in the states. Many of the galleries followed a similar setup with gallery attached to a medium sized studio.
The art university that we visited was absolutely amazing. The facilities appeared to be top notch. I visited the digital arts area first finding many rooms in the basement with great comp setups and the area it was in had a somewhat future/scifi atmosphere with the use of glass and stainless steel. It was also probably the doors with round windows at about head level that made it feel scifi to me. Also saw welding and sculpture dept. areas, nice large spaces with plenty of room to work. Though I did not get to see a dorm. I wanted to, but I didn't really know who to ask and felt akward asking some random student. Though I did see the outside of the dormitories which appeared to be fairly nice. Each room had its own balcony and appeared to be fairly large (I wish I had a balcony freshmen year).
The last place we visited was a digital art studio. It was a converted storage building with a added wood 2nd floor. They had a great computer setup downstairs for the studio workers. I also found out that some of them did other forms of art such as pottery and calligraphy. They had a very large dog, one of the ones that has the long straight hair hanging down (like a large rectangle mop). Then there was a smaller dog, but can't remember what it looked like it was rather skiddish. We were also told that they had had a third dog, but someone had possibly stolen him. It was close to dinner time so the people from this studio took us to a rather nice restaurant for a 12 course meal. The meal might have been 14 or 16 courses, but we were all getting stuffed so we had to cancel what ever dishes hadn't come yet. We then said our good byes and it was off back to the hostel. Back to pass out on my bed from a large day and once again a huge dinner.
It was an awesome day and I will write more and add pictures later. Just so you know, the main part of the day was gallery visiting in the 798 Art District. Simply an amazing place! Somewhat like Pearl District but thriving much more.
-the rest...(coming soon)
I saw many great art pieces today. One of my favs was the traditional Chinese Dragon made of camouflage cloth that the artists actually took out and recorded themselves dancing with it. This made me think of the military might China has and will continue to be in the world. I enjoyed meeting all the professors and artist at their various galleries/studios. Seeing all these studios makes me wish that I had a similar setup for myself in the states. Many of the galleries followed a similar setup with gallery attached to a medium sized studio.
The art university that we visited was absolutely amazing. The facilities appeared to be top notch. I visited the digital arts area first finding many rooms in the basement with great comp setups and the area it was in had a somewhat future/scifi atmosphere with the use of glass and stainless steel. It was also probably the doors with round windows at about head level that made it feel scifi to me. Also saw welding and sculpture dept. areas, nice large spaces with plenty of room to work. Though I did not get to see a dorm. I wanted to, but I didn't really know who to ask and felt akward asking some random student. Though I did see the outside of the dormitories which appeared to be fairly nice. Each room had its own balcony and appeared to be fairly large (I wish I had a balcony freshmen year).
The last place we visited was a digital art studio. It was a converted storage building with a added wood 2nd floor. They had a great computer setup downstairs for the studio workers. I also found out that some of them did other forms of art such as pottery and calligraphy. They had a very large dog, one of the ones that has the long straight hair hanging down (like a large rectangle mop). Then there was a smaller dog, but can't remember what it looked like it was rather skiddish. We were also told that they had had a third dog, but someone had possibly stolen him. It was close to dinner time so the people from this studio took us to a rather nice restaurant for a 12 course meal. The meal might have been 14 or 16 courses, but we were all getting stuffed so we had to cancel what ever dishes hadn't come yet. We then said our good byes and it was off back to the hostel. Back to pass out on my bed from a large day and once again a huge dinner.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Sep 1 or Sep 2..
Sept 3rd 8:15am:
So yesterday for me was a ton of fun. My bag weighed in under the 50lbs limit at 49.5lbs. I ended up carrying the t-shirts that had been made for the trip and an extra bag. Then it was 50mins from Eugene Or to San Francisco Cal. Then 12hour+ flight from San Francisco Cal. to Beijing China. We got into Beijing at about 2:30pm Sept 2 (11:30pm Sept 1 Oregon time). We flew with a large portion of the US parolympic team and when we got off the flight we were greeted by the mascot of the parolympic games. Which is a cow with multi neon colored appendages and an over sized head that was so big that it had the ability to topple over the person inside of the suit if it fell to much to one side. Of course I got my picture with it. Very tired at this point, but unable to sleep we had a very long drive from the airport to the hostel.
Upon arriving at the hostel I was exhausted from all the traveling, but since It was not late enough to sleep we just hung out and played with the little black cat that resided at the hostel. We would also stare at the 'lucky cricket' that resided in a tiny wicker basket which was then placed in an even larger cage. Though this cricket had to be one of the biggest crickets I had ever seen. Which got me wondering what kind of chirp a cricket that size can produce. We later found out that night, but luckily it did not bother me when I was trying to sleep.
For dinner that night we went to a place about 10mins from where we live and had a huge dumpling dinner. It was so delicious!! We had every kind of dumpling the place had to offer. The ones with meat (I think chicken, though I am still not sure) were my favorite. Probably because they closely resembled pot stickers. After stuffing my face completely I was ready to pass out in my bed from a food coma. Night night.
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