The Holy Land of China

While some people may consider "Confucianism" a religion, I believe it is mainly a philosophy. Nonetheless, it has a strong influence on peoples beliefs and way of life in China.

Confucius was born in a city that is only an hour away from Jinan (where I reside) so a few colleagues and I paid a visit to gain a greater understanding for the "great sage" or "the first teacher".

Confucius lived during the Warring States period in China (500 BC) so his philosophy speaks towards creating a harmonious society. He emphasized the importance of family, study and morality. He thought that political leaders should come to power based on their moral merit and stressed virtues and etiquette.

When the Communist Party took control in 1949 they denounced Confucianism and any other religion.

However the Confucianism ideology is the basis for Chinese society--even though the people are (for the most part) not religious, Chinese people believe morality and having good virtue is very important. That's why Qufu, his birthplace can be regarded as a "Holy Land"

The inner city is pretty small and is completely surrounded by a city wall. Confucius' temple and house takes up about 1/5 of the entire walled city.

Pictures outside of the wall: 

Apparently Qufu is the #1 tourist sight in China (hmmm not so sure I'd agree...)

For such a small city, the roads were well paved and the infrastructure was well taken care of. It appeared like a lot of time went into the landscaping and the visual appearance

The first sight we saw was the Confucius Temple

This probably says welcome to the tourist destination--the "Confucius Temple, Confucius Home, Confucius Forest"

This sign talks about the six virtues that Confucius considered important. Confucius thought that leaders and heads of state should be virtuous

A wine cauldron 

This is the pavilion where Confucius taught a number of students

Tablets were everywhere from various emperors 

Apparently this tree is 1000 years old

Teaching pavilion--the architecture is the same as the Forbidden City 

Many of the buildings burnt down and then were rebuilt 

Confucian Temple

Mythical creatures on the side of the roof--the animals represent the importance of the building

As soon as you walk out of the temple, tourist stands are everywhere

Confucius! Kong zi in Chinese

Tourist group of primary school students 

A table and seats for tea

Beautiful painting on the ceiling 

Inside the city walls, there is one main road that passes by the temple and the house of Confucius. The forest is about 2 kilometers from the city wall--so you can walk or find transportation there.

Confucian garbage cans 

This is the bell tower right in the center of the city

These are a type of turnip (I think) and taste like a radish. 

Typical tourist snack in Qufu

Next up I visited the forest where Confucius is buried 

It is the largest cemetery in China--many of his ancestors are buried in the forrest 

Some mythical creatures guarding the grave. Im not sure what they are or what they represent

This was one of Confucius' ancestors. I wonder why his burial sight is so much more extravagant than the others. 

Some burial sites had gravestones, some did not. You can tell the importance of the person depending on the size of the mound and the size of the gravestone. 

After walking around for a while I got a little creeped out that I was surrounded by so many dead people. But the forest was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. 

After leaving the forest there were food stands and tourist stands everywhere. 

This is an egg pancake

Some archery 

Hand painted crafts

Im not sure what these are--some kind of stone. People where cleaning them and selling them everywhere

Within the city walls there are maybe 2 hotels. I decided to stay at the Qufu Youth Hostel which was well located and very comfortable. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Despite the LARGE class size of my senior 1 students (sophomores) I decided they should experience one of the most important traditions of Thanksgiving--the food! 

On Wednesday/Thursday both of my classes had a small feast--I made stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and mini pumpkin pies. 

I was a lottttt of work--everything was made from scratch. Unfortunately turkeys are very hard to find here (plus there is no way I'd be able to cook one in my little convention oven). 

Most foods here are not cooked with butter, so some of the students found the food way too rich. Some also told me it made them feel like crap afterwards.

Living here has really forced me to reflect on how unhealthy American food is--even though Chinese food is swimming in oil, it consists of mostly vegetables and a little meat (no additives). Most meals include some grain (rice or steamed bread). It's rare to see obese people and I cannot think of an instance that I felt gross or bloated after eating. 

Overall it was kind of nice to spend Thanksgiving cooking and fun to share it with my students...but I really miss my family and friends. 

There are many things I really enjoy about living here--I have a good job where I can really develop and gain experience as a teacher, the students are great (I just wish they would communicate with me more), I am saving so much money, I have had so many opportunities to travel and explore the culture, and have met many new people...

but the biggest thing is the loneliness. Although i distract myself going out with people on the weekends and skyping or face timing it isn't the same. The casual come-and-go relationships will never give me the same feeling or comfort as my family and friends at home.

Thinking about how thankful I am for all of you today--and booking my ticket back to America for my holiday break! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

Street Food Galore

Street Food

If you walk along small road or alleyway (sometimes even busy roads) in China you will find a wide variety of street food. My favorite street food is sweet potatoes or steamed stuffed buns. If you go for a casual walk in the evening here are some of the street food you might find: 

A stand of fermented or pickled vegetables 

Here you pick what vegetables, meat and spices you want stir fried together--quick and convenient

Crayfish

Yup that is a chicken...

Bagged milk

Pancakes (egg and fried bread) 

I think this is tofu--it is cooked in boiling water then the guy adds some spices and sauce to it

The typical seating for street food--really uncomfortable little benches. In China you do not leave tips, so service is not an important part of the dining experience. Also this way people won't sit around for a long time after they eat--they will leave their table to someone else. 

This is an egg pancake with some kind of ham (mystery meat), lettuce and fried bread in it. Some people call this a "burrito" but nothing about it resembles a burrito except the way it looks. 

Chinese BBQ--you pick the skewers you want then they BBQ it and put on some spices (cumin, salt..) that are amazing

A variety of fruit

Here you pick the skewers you want (a variety of vegetables in the back, tofu on the left, and then meat in the front) and then the guy below cuts them and puts them in a bowl with a little bit of flavoring--its kind of like a Chinese salad. 

Besides sweet potatoes, hard boiled eggs, and steamed stuffed buns I'm still a little afraid of trying the other street food. Mainly because of the unsafe food standards and the desire to make a profit 

(there is a common problem with vendors using old food or recycled oil to make more money)

While many people travel by car, many people travel by motorbike or various other kinds of small vehicles. If you're walking around during rush hour you have to be careful because motorbikes share the same space as pedestrians do. 

Also people honk to tell people they are behind them (it's seen as a way of communication) so it is noisy and people honk like crazy. 

Halloween

Halloween in China! 

As an international program, of course we have to have a Halloween Party. 

This consists of the students dressing up and taking pictures of each other for 2 hours. 

Since we have so many Senior 1 (sophomore students) we made the party in 2 rooms and tried to organize activities. We had a costume "scavenger hunt" the limbo and a wannabe dance party (if only we could have gotten a strobe light...) Chinese students are much more inhibited and don't really just dance--they like choreographed dances. 

Its pretty hard to find costumes here next to the big chain superstores like Tesco, Walmart or Carrefour--most students order them online

The pollution and fog arrives in Jinan for Halloween...spooky

Mall decorations 

My favorite costume 

 This year Halloween seemed to be catching on more than last year. Many people carved pumpkins (although the pumpkins here are not nearly as big as in the US) and there was actually a lot going on in terms of parties on Halloween. There was also a haunted house--but it was through a Japanese company (who apparently have a very erie sense of "scariness") so I passed on that one. 

I had class the period before the party started and had such a hard time keeping their attention--the girls were all putting on fake eyelashes and doing their makeup 

Since they wear uniforms and girls generally do not wear makeup this is their opportunity to pamper themselves and go all out. 

Overall--successful Halloween :D