Below are the 9 most recent journal entries recorded in yushi_zai_nar's LiveJournal:

Saturday, May 27th, 2006
11:53 pm	Wow. Thats all I can say about this trip. It has zipped past like there is no tomorrow. Yesterday I suckered up and paid to hold a panda...wow. She was so cute, she kept trying to eat my hair!!! She is going to be the mascot for the Beijing 2008 olympics...she's going to be so big then, and I can say I knew her when. :) We also got to hold a Lesser (red) Panda. Very raccoon like, also cute, but feisty. Loved every minute of my animal time here in China! From there we boarded a plane back to Beijing and we arrived to rain rain rain. It was pouring. We had to deplane out in BFE and ride a bus back to the terminal, boy was that fun. Then the bus got lost, and we get to our hotel, which after the last place, is a major let down. Its too "western". I've grown to love the hard beds here, I want one. I've slept so good. Today we headed out in rain to the Great Wall. I cannot get over this. Its HUGE. And I can't figure out how guys ran around on that thing in armor, it was so steep in some places! We went to the Badaling gate, and walked up the "hard" side. Of course I had to buy a "I climbed the great wall" shirt" I shall wear it proudly. Today was the last day for 18 of our group members, I said goodbye to some of my favorite people, Misty, Kylie, Marissa, and Mary. They were great girls, I wish they were coming on the extension to Tibet. We had a fairwell dinner where we talked about the sites one last time and then Kevin (our guide if I haven't talked about him already) gave a funny fairwell speech to the people that are leaving. Kevin, I love this guy. He's 24, and our Chinese guide. His dream since he was young was to learn english. His English is amazing. We've taught him so much slang its not even funny. He's always saying, Kevin is the man. He worked so much crap into his fairwell speech he had us rolling on the floor with laughter. His dream is to come to America one day, I hope that I can keep in touch with him and show him around some, where-ever I live. Tomorrow we leave for Tibet at 9:30 am, so I'm going to leave you with this short entry. I cannot WAIT to get to Tibet. Altitude sickness could be an issue, but I'll try my best to not let it bring me down!! Hope all is well in the states!!! Current Mood: excited (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 25th, 2006
9:53 pm	The Terra Cotta soldiers were fabulous. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that these were all hand made for the emperor hundreds of years ago. Talk about an ego... We flew in to Chengdu yesterday, I really like this city, and like usual, the food is awesome. It is the Shezuan province...very spicy, very yummy. Today was awesome. We boarded the bus and headed out for a 2 hour drive to visit a small village, first we stopped off at the area clinic to check it out. Very outdated for us americans, but they get the job done for the farmers. From there we headed into this village, we were such big news that the TV cameras where there! It was the first time this town had seen foreigners. We walked through and then at the end was the Schoolhouse. We got to teach the kids some english and then take pictures with them. They were so cute and they spoke english so well! Very impressive! From there we walked back through the village and sat down in what I guess you could call the town square? There 10 girls from the village danced for us. They cooked us a meal, but I was a little fishy about eating the food there after talking to the health worker, so I stuck to rice to be safe. I've caught the cold that has been filtrating through the group and I want to shake it ASAP. From the village we departed to see the worlds largest Buddha (we made jokes about the largest ball of twine all day, and I really just typed ball of twine...haha). It was....large. Tomorrow we head to see the pandas! I CAN'T WAIT! Apparently I can make a largish donation and HOLD A PANDA. I'm debating about it, but I really think I will, when will I have the chance to do it again?? After that we fly back to Beijing and Saturday we head to the Great Wall, and then Sunday its off to TIBET. I really can't wait. This trip is winding down, and I wish I could be here for a lot longer. Hopefully I'll find net access at the next shackup place. They've been spoiling us rotten with our dwellings... Current Mood: productive (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
11:22 pm	here I am again, I actually have had a bit more free time, so I can write again. We went out to the Han Yangling tomb today to participate on the dig, we also went to a new museum out there which showcases the findings. Its basically a mini terracotta army find, its amazing. We got to help on the dig with the guy who helped uncover everything...thats a poor sentence, but I'm not going to sit here and play with it...deal people deal. :) I purchased a book of the museum and had him sign it, I couldn't pass up on the suvenier. Have I told you already about how great the shopping is? No propoganda yet Paul, but I'm working on it. Anyways, the dig was unbelievable, we helped uncover a stone walkway, a guy in our group found a leg from one of the soldiers, apparently we did a lot of good. We went out tonight and had dinner at a Dumpling restaurant. Most people are complaining about the food, but I'm really enjoying it. Yeah its a lot of similar things, but its great to get away from the norm. We went out on the town to find Kindra a camera replacement, and ended up coming home empty handed. We took a cabride back to the hotel and almost got the driver to sing, he then popped in a Sarah McClachlan CD and nearly hit a group crossing the street....I love the way they drive here. They drive so insane, yet nobody is yelling and screaming, I sense no road rage, its awesome. Tomorrow we head out to the Terra Cotta Army, I can't wait. Hopefully I'll be able to write again tomorrow. Current Mood: happy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
10:48 pm	let the good times roll Finding an internet connection has been a joy, sorry I haven't been able to post more, besides being run around a lot with little free time its hard to find a computer. We're in Xi'an now though, and have a lab at the hotel, hopefully I can write nightly. This trip is unbelievably amazing. They may be running us hard, and we may not get to spend as much time at sites as I'd like, but the trip has been a great experience. I've made lots of great friends, and seen so much. I jinxed myself on the food though, the past two days have been sub-par, maybe we got spoiled at first. I want more Peking Duck! We've all become a super close group, which is good, I seem to get along with everyone. We've got two guides on this trip, Leo and Kevin. Kevin has been on our bus, and he's awesome. He's fairly new to the tourguide trade, but he's a great guide...I wish I could share pictures! He took us out to eat tonight to a "hot pot" restaurant, they put a pot of water and boil it at your table, and then cook various meats and veggies in it. The food wasn't awesome, but it was an interesting experience. I can't get over the staring here. We get stared at everywhere we go, sometimes blatently. Its getting obnoxious, but its part of their culture. I've done a LOT of shopping. I can't believe some of the prices here. Jade, Pearls, and Silk are all extremely cheap. Gotta love that. Last night was a trip and a half...they took all of us to a crowded Beijing train station and boarded us to Xi'an overnight. We got sleeper cars, which was a new experience to me. Had to love that the toilet was eastern again too. We pretty much just passed out and enjoyed being rocked to sleep by a train speeding through the Chinese countryside. Xi'an is amazingly beautiful. MUCH better than Beijing, and we saw a blue sky today! We went to the Wild Goose Pagoda and then visited a museum where Leo wrote our names out in Chinese characters for us. After that we visited the Wall. Xi'an is the only completely walled city left in China. Tomorrow we start the work with the Dig at the Yang Tomb...I can't wait. I'm exhausted though, so I'll leave you all with that. P.S. I miss you Mr. Jenvey....I hope camping with the Cuz was fun. Safe travels...I love you. Current Mood: accomplished (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 19th, 2006
10:22 am	well here I am into day 3 of this crazy & amazing trip. I want to go on and on about all we've done here, but they're running us ragged, and it's 12:30 and I have to be up at 6:30 in order to get crackin. We've seen so much so far, yesterday we went to the Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, and Tian'anmen Square. All amazing places. It was our first real excursion out into this dusty, smog-filled place. Dispite that, it was amazing. The Forbidden City and the Temple were both breathtakingly beautiful, I wish I could upload pictures to show you all how awesome it is. You'll just have to take my word for it. They did not give us a lot of time though, they rush us around like cattle, I don't think they took into account how hard it is to organize 56 people. Moooooooo! Tian'anmen square was crazy. You could barely see the buildings on the other side because of the smog. We had a group photo taken there, and I kid you not, 30+ people surrounded our group to take pictures of us....we also get stared at everywhere we go. The peddlers are fierce, and the beggars make the Detroit bums seem polite and civil. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. Today we listened to speakers from Chinese Universities speak to us about minorities and then Chinese customs. Both facinating. I gave my business cards to the minorities professor, I'd love to speak with him more about the topic. After that they split us up into groups and sent us out on a scavenger hunt. I was in group D, and we had the "difficult" task of going out and finding these three remote temples. Everyone else had fairly easy tasks, go figure. We travelled mainly by foot, but we also got in a bus ride, subway ride, and a smooshed cabride. We got to travel to parts of the city that most tourists don't go to....it was a little freaky, yet very interesting. After the crazy task we went to the People's University (with no dinner mind you...we were supposed to do that on the task, but had no time) and visited the Friday Night English Corner. Students gather to practice their English there. For an hour and a half I was surrounded by Chinese students, up to 15 at one point, and was fired at with questions. The time flew by, and it was great to be able to help these students, some of them spoke so well. One girl even had the manorisms down! Tomorrow we're off to the Summer Palace, and then the Peking Man museum, and then off on the train to Xi'an. Mooooooo!! I don't think I can ever enjoy American Chinese food again. The food here is tops. Everything I've tried so far has been delicious, and the table set up here is ideal. You get a small plate, chopsticks, soup bowl, and a tea cup, and in the center is a "lacy susan" type thing where they bring out tons of different dishes to try. I love it. I think I'll entertain this way from now on, you know, all those dinner parties we throw. By the way, please cherish the next toilet you use. Hug it even for me. Here a western toilet is golden, usually its a toilet in the ground, and you can't flush toilet paper so the smell is like fresh Georgia Peaches in the hot sun........ Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
5:39 pm	I'm here!! Well we made it. 14 hours on a plane is not fun, but well worth it. I have to keep this short and sweet because I have to get to breakfast and then onto the program! The hotel is swank, they are pampering us for sure, can't say thats a bad thing. We went and had a traditional Peking Duck dinner last night. I loved it, we ate it in a pancake with chinese onions and a special sauce. We're off to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City today...I'll post more later. Hope the States are treating you well. Chris & Meagan, hope the kids are well. I can't access Yahoo mail, but I can use my school email, so if you need to get ahold of me its au1338@wayne.edu. :) Current Mood: excited (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 15th, 2006
9:32 pm	9 hours.... ...and I'll be on my flight to Newark, 14 and I'll be on my way to China. I'm giddy and nervous at the same time. I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep last night, yet I'm sitting here unable to sleep. I guess thats what the 14 hour flight is for tomorrow? I just can't believe the time has finally come, I've been waiting for this day since December. I'm so thankful that I have this opportunity, and I'm so thankful that this trip came in such a bleak time in my life. I lost a big part of me, but I hope that i can rebuild that part with something new that I learn on this trip. I just wish she was around to see it happen. Paul left on Friday for his big trip, he's now in Utah and hopes to meet up with The Cuz in Reno, and it sounds like Ryan (my brother for those of you who don't know him) will be there as well. All around excitement for the Jenvey-Arnold household! I wish we could experience these trips together, but you can't win them all. I'm glad that he was able to find something to entertain himself with while I'm gone...and of course it deals with the bike! Not too much else to say, I'm going to try and catch some sleep here....signing off for the last time in the USA. :) Current Mood: optimistic (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
12:47 pm	ONE WEEK One week and I can finally do something that is of interest to me careerwise. Hot damn am I excited. I've got so much I have to do to prepare. I got a suitcase big enough that I could pack myself in. I feel that since its not a bike trip I need to go all out with packing since I'm not limited! Its hot pink too. Big and Hot Pink. Leave it to me to be obnoxious and tacky in a reserved country. I pooped out bigtime this past semester, no deans list this time around, but its all good. All I could think about was this trip, and I couldn't quite get into the semester. We're all allowed one blow off though, so its all good. Paul leaves on Friday to trek to Erik in Reno....SOLO....on the bike. I'm nervous. Its one thing to travel on the bike and I'm with him, its different when I'm not there. Shit scares me. He's well equiped though, but the other retards out there scare me. Like I said previously I'm not allowed to be nervous since I'm going to China (thats what he always says to me). I got a new camera for the trip....Canon Powershot S2. I can't quite use it correctly though, BUT ITS ALL GOOD. I'll have some amazing pictures when I come back. I cannot wait to get to Tibet to photograph the mountains. I know I'll see other cool shit, but I love mountains. Its going to be unreal. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 8th, 2006
1:10 pm	t minus 8 days 8 days newark 13 hours and 35 minutes later I'll be in Beijing. I'm still wrapping my head around the trip, its going to be intense and awesome. I'll blog more later, I'm still trying to get everything done that I need to get done! Hopefully I'll be able to access this site from China, we'll see. If not, you all will have to wait in anticipation for my arrival home for stories. :) I haven't been sleeping well, all I can think about is this trip! Current Mood: tired (1 Comment |Comment on this)