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.
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