Pandas and Dufu's Cottage

 

Emei Pictures

 

Emei Shan and Chengdu

First of all, we made it safely back to Shanghai and are getting ready to start school tomorrow. Emei was so amazing, we saw about 20 monasteries, climbed 66,000 stairs up and then back down, and did this all in five days. Emei is one of the four holy buddhist mountains in China, and is often regarded as the most beautiful, which at this point I would have to agree with. The mountain is a retreat from the heat in Sichuan, but not from the spices... My friend Ian and I got to stay in monasteries with the monks, and just had an amazing, life changing experience. The views surround the mountain, not only the nature, but the architecture were just breath taking. At the top is a 120 foot tall golden buddha, and one of the most beautiful views that I have seen in my life time. Chengdu was an amazing city as well, home to the Giant Panda, and the home and gardens of the Tang dynasty Poet DuFU. The food here is great!!! One of our favorite things to eat is called "hot Pot", which is basically as soup broth that is continuously cooking in which you cook meats, vegetables, and noodles... it was so fun, and spicy. The peppers here make your tongue numb, your eyes water, and clear out your sinuses. I am very glad to be in Shanghai, its very much like New York, and just has this great energy to it and so much culture. I will try to be posting more, but unfortunately I found out that this site is blocked by the government, but that is what proxies are for.. ha. Talk to you guys soon!!

CJ

The Last Supper, Its go time!!

Its nine hours till take off, and I can assure everyone that even though it may be getting late, I have no intention on sleeping. I am so excited to head out, and yet not so much due to the whole 28 hours of travel.... yup its gonna be a long one. I start off in JAX, then to ATL, then LAX, then Shanghai, and finally Chengdu. The next time I will be on will be in China, so I will say goodbye until then. Here is a picture of my last American meal, because I don't think that they will have meatloaf in China.... Let me rephrase that; I don't trust any meatloaf in China. See you later!!

bye everyone!! (再见大家!!)
Charlie (季克利)

Getting ready to head out.. of the country that is.

Its about five days out and its kinda hard to believe that I am actually about to head to China. This is more or less a test just to make sure that this blog works. I will keep you updated on my travels, as the 26 hour flight approaches along with the new school year.

CJ