Today is our final day in Chengdu. Tonight I am taking a 32 hour train ride back to Beijing, and my friends are going to Lijiang, which is a part of Yunan province on the Tibetan plateau (I am a little jealous). When the Chinese government took over the Tibetan region, they divided it up for political reasons, so many Tibetan people live in what is now Western Sichuan and Yunan. In fact, some people say that if you want to see real Tibetan culture, just go to Sichan or Yunan and avoid the hassle of trying to get to Lhasa. Even in Chengdu, one can see the Tibetan influence. There are lots of monks and tibetans in traditional dress walking around the street, and even some monks staying at our hotel. There are lots of thriving Buddhist temples, and lots and lots of small stores selling Tibetan or Tibetan Buddhist trinkets.
Speaking of Buddha, yesterday we went to Le SHan, which is now home to the world's largest Buddha statue (after the ones in Afghanistan were destroyed). It was pretty amazing, he was carved into a cliff facing a large misty river, and he was so large that about five people could easily sit on his big toenail. He was built around 800 AD, and was original covered in gold and jade. Now all that has worn off and besides the face, which is still painted, the Buddha is natural stone colored.
It's interesting. In Europe, I saw lots of Japanese tourists going to Cathedrals and museums full of medieval and renaissance religious iconography. I always wondered what sort of meaning it would hold to some one not raised in a western judeo-christian framework. Even as a non religious person, going into a large cathedral or seeing something like the pieta fills me a sense of awe, and I wondered if it wasn't part of my cultural history, or if I didn't really understand really what Christianity was (e.g., saints, the madonna, the trinity, etc) what would going to a cathedral be like. Now after going to numerous temples, I think I have an idea. They are incredible and beautiful, but they don't evoke in me the same reverence that they seem to do in most Chinese people. They also really make me realize how little I know about Buddhism. Every temple I go to is full of statues of different buddhas and gods and bodhisattvas, all of which make me more and more confused. Here even more than in Beijing, the hindu and tibetan traditional religious influences seem to come through in Buddhism.
Another interesting thing is that everywhere in Chengdu is plastered with Christmas decorations, from chic department stores and western chains (not too surprising) to mom and pop tea houses and little restaurants. It's kind of interesting to see a city decked out for a holiday no one celebrates but I have to say it is very festive.   ¶ 9:31 PM

  I am currently at an internet cafe in Chengdu, surrounded by dozens of young people all playing computer games. In Chengdu it is a misty 50 degrees, which isn't too bad except there isn't any heat in the city, meaning that inside is often colder than outside, especially in our hotel room. Our hotel room, besides being freezing, is about 25 kuai (3 dollars) a night, which is incredibly reasonable, however, also means that it doesn't come with some things we Americans tend to take for granted, like toilet paper or hot water. Today my friends and I (I am travelling with three other girls on the program) went around Chengdu and saw, among other things, the largest statue of Mao in Sichuan (and maybe in all of China, we're not really sure). We also went to several parks and temples (including the largest Taoist temple in Chengdu). In one park they had a choir of middle aged and elderly people singing traditional songs accompanied by a small orchestra made up of several erhus, a violin, and an accordian. At school, ,y friend Bai Xin and I took a folk song class, so we recognized some of the songs. The choir director some how found out and then made us come up and sing with the choir, and then handed me a microphone and made Bai Xin and I sing a duet. It was fun and embarassing at the same time.
Tomorrow on my 21st birthday, we have decided to go out to the Sichuan Panda research center and see the pandas. I'm kind of excited, it sounds like a unique way to spend a birthday, and sure beats my usual birthday routine (study like crazy for finals and watch everyone stress out).  ¶ 2:07 AM

  I am now completely done for the semester. Today was our final exam, and unlike Swarthmore, our teachers have already graded, processed, and given us our grades for the entire semester. Of course, it is easier when the class has 8 students and 4 teachers. It's funny, but now that the semester has ended, I finally feel like my Chinese has made a lot of progress. I don't know if it's just that I'm beginning to notice it, or if it is just now that my Chinese has gotten better. On the one hand, I'm very thrilled that at last that simple conversation doesn't require all my concentration, and I can express myself reasonably clearly, but on the other hand, I feel like I am just finally getting adjusted, and now I am finally prepared to deal with living in China.
Today I also bought my train ticket to Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province, pop 9 million and home to the Panda reserve), so I am definitely going. It's a 30 hour train ride from Beijing to Chengdu, and I plan to spend a week there and then come back a little early to Beijing so I can have time to relax and see more of Beijing before going home (it's embarrassing--I haven't even been to the imperial palace. It's one of the first questions people ask me, and when I tell them I haven't, they get this horrified incredulous look on their face as though what could be more worth my time than going to the imperial palace).
While it's kind of nice to be finished, it's also so strange. After spending everyday together for a semester, I will probably never see my teachers or most of my classmates ever again, kind of a somber thought.
I don't know if I'll be able to check e-mail in Chengdu, so if not, then hope everyone has a good week, and good luck to all of you studying for and taking finals!!! Don't get too stressed out.  ¶ 10:53 PM

  Today I went to see Chairman Mao's body. We figured that in December on a weekday afternoon, there wouldn't be as many people there, and I think we were right, but there were still so many people there that at four abreast, the line stretched all the way around the mausoleum (or maosoleum). The line however, moved fairly quickly and it took less than 20 minutes to enter. We were the only non-Chinese people there. In front of us was a family with a young child. As soon as we entered the mausoleum, the child began to cry, and the parents seemed horrified that their child was not showing proper respect. The inside of the mausoleum was 70s communist chic, with dreary marble and red carpeting. Outside, one can buy plastic flowers for 2 kuai (25 cents) to place in front of a white statue of Mao in the vestibule. Besides the option of going to place flowers and bow, however, we were kept constantly moving, even when we got to Mao's body, which was kind of yellow and puffy and draped in a big flag. After seeing his body, we were exited into the gift shop selling incredibly tacky Mao memorabilia (funny how some things are the same in every country).
This was actually our second attempt to see Mao. Yesterday, my classmates and I went to Tiananmen to see Mao, only to find the square full of German flags (it's kind of weird to see the German flag flying under the portrait of Mao)--it turns out Schroeder is visiting China. As we went to the mausoleum, a soldier approached and stopped us. He mumbled something, and then waved a camera. It turned out that his unit wanted to take their picture with us. We agreed, not knowing that they all wanted separately to be photographed (there were afterall, about 30 people). The soldiers all seemed incredibly young, about 17 years old, and very very bashful. More and more people came to watch us and have their picture taken until after about 20 minutes, we finally ran away.   ¶ 3:52 AM