Finally home again…well my Chinese home

After what seems like an eternity of travel both in the last two weeks and especially today I’m home again. I can once again sit on the computer for hours on end and stress over lesson plans for classes in will be teaching in less than 48 hours. As a quick cap, the trip was

Le Shan – Giant Buddha

We took a day trip to see the Le Shan Buddha. The drive to Le Shan was beautiful. The countryside in the Southwest is so different from Shandong. It is lush and green with various crops. The Leshan Giant Buddhawas built during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at

Chengdu and the Panda Reserve

After leaving Xi’an we met up with the tour group in Chengdu Saturday morning.  That after noon we went to the Giant Panda Base. Really quick a few things I’ve learned about Pandas: 1. they are very picky eaters, there are 5 varieties of bamboo of which the Panda will only eat one. 2. they

Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors

My two week escape around Southwest China started in the ancient city of Xi’an.     We left Weifang Wednesday morning and took the train to Qingdao. Katie wanted to hit up Jimo one final time and with to objections we all tagged along.  I ended up purchasing 3 more pearl necklaces. We caught a taxi to the

Off to see the world!

Okay really just off to see Western China but hey to most here that is the extent of the world. I’ll be away from a computer for the next 15 days so no guilt trips for not updating! June 30: Qingdao → Xi’an July3: Xi’an → Chengdu July 4: Leshan July 5: Chendu → Lahasa