Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Surprise Trip Home, Terra-Cotta Soldiers

Well its been awhile since I've updated everyone so I thought I'd take some time and finally update this for those who have been checking in every now and then! Well if you didn't know I made a surprise trip to the states! I got the opportunity to surprise Kimberley Michelle Riley for Ring Dance. With the help of my dad and friends I arrived in Houston where my friend Mike picked me up at the airport and drove me to College Station to meet Kim at the Texas Hall of Fame, our favorite dance hall! I finally made it to the hall at 12:30AM where I quickly found my friends Melanie and Daniel(Kim's fake Ring Dance date) and we started looking for Kim on the dance floor, but we couldn't find her and Russ. Somehow they walked around us and made their way behind us! It was the moment I had been waiting for over the last few months! Kim had her back to me and I walked up to her and grabbed her hand asking her "Would you like to dance with me!?" She quickly grabbed on to our friend Russ, Melanie's Fiance, and said "No, I don't think so?! I just stood there until she realized it was me! Then the tears started rolling and hugging and shaking for about ten minutes! Russ bought us a few beers and we enjoyed the rest of the night dancing away! The next day we traveled to Cameron to surprise my mom! I think she nearly had a heart attack when I walked in the door! My dad was like oh I think Gery(my uncle) drove up so he went outside to greet Kim and I! I just simply walked in and my mon grabbed me and totally lost it! It was a good surprise! We then went out to Bob's Steak House and had an amazing Texas Steak!

The next day was Texas A&M's 71st Annual Ring Dance! Russ and I hung out while the girls had an adventure around town with hair and make up. We picked the lovely ladies up at Kim's Condo and then made our way to Rudder Auditorium to take pictures with the big ring! It was way exciting to finally get to take ring pictures. This event was very special for both of us because we where suppose to go the year before, but I got terribly ill after getting all dressed up! Kim ended up taking care of me while I was in bed sick all night. After pictures around campus we made it to Cafe Capri where we enjoyed some amazing Italian Food!

The dance was amazing with three live bands, a casino room, ice sculptures, and cake! We danced the night away! Following Ring dance we went back to the Condo for board game fun!

I spent two weeks back in the states and got to see friends and family and spend some quality time with my Sugar Momma Kimberley Michelle Riley! I helped my family around the house and also helped Kim move from her Condo to Houston!

I returned to China on May 14th! Happy Mothers Day!

The first weekend back I went with my friends Jespar and Sabine to Xi'an to see the Terra-Cotta Soldiers! It was an amazing trip and it was with three countries represented. Jespar is from Sweden, Sabine from Germany, and myself from the USA! We took a train with a hard sleeper from Beijing! In Xian we rode bikes on the city walls! Xian has the only completly intact city walls in China! We also visited the Big Goose Pagoda and the Muslim district of Xian.

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.

Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had work begun on his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211 --206 BC).

The State Council authorized to build a museum on site in 1975. When completed, people from far and near came to visit. Xian and the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses have become landmarks on all travelers' tinerary.

Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor.

The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.
No. 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994. Archeologists came upon

No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses. Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It has put Xian on the map for tourists. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

Well Now I'm back in China for an indetermined amount of time! I'm having a lot of trouble with my class do to the teaching style. For anyone who is considering studying Chinese in China, I'd recommend a tutor with private lessons and finding a job teaching over studying at Beijing Cultural and Language University. The teaching style is just not up to par and is really difficult for American and European students. I totally prefer my tutor and hince that I have started to just attend her lessons and study on my on in the past week. In class I am constantly frustrated and distracted because it seems to be going no where and I make no progress! This has made me consider my options of study here! I have a few options which i am debating over as I type this.

Option 1: Return to the USA and stay in Cameron and possibly find a job working for the rest of the summer! At this point I'd rather be in Cameron working than in Beijing constantly frustrated and feeling lonely.

Option 2: The other day I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things because they items I needed I knew could only be found in the local Beijing Wal-Mart! What a life saver! Well as I was walking around I noticed an American gentlemen walking around with a small group of Wal-Mart employees, it was obvious this man was someone who was in charge at Wal-Mart. So I decided that I should take action and make a contact. I introduced myself and told him about me and that I would be interested in an internship with Wal-Mart China for the rest of my time here. He told me to contact him next week so I can discuss any options available. So we'll see how things go! However this option would require me to move to Tinjian about 3 hours away by train and find new housing. We'll see how this goes and what will happen

Option 3: Tough it out and be completely miserable here in Beijing.

I like Option 2 if anything comes through next week, but if nothing does come through I'm going with Option 1. We'll see how it goes! Much needed prayers would be appreciated!