Todaiji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara

Today, the Roberts Fellows were tasked with getting us from Kyoto to Nara for a day trip.  We came, we saw, we road a train.  It was pretty cool actually.  Good mass transit systems are just awesome and the ride to Nara gave us a great view of the country.  I know I keep saying what a beautiful country Japan is.  The problem is that no matter where we go, we just see more beautiful views.  Among other things, Nara is notable for deer.  According to the Shinto religion, deer were the messengers for a god coming to the city.  This means that the city is full of tame deer.  Do you want a mellow experience?  Stroll along a tree covered walkway lined with ancient stone lanterns and filled with tame deer.  It felt like something out of Disney movie.  Admittedly the hoards of school children detracted from the serenity a bit, but they were having fun so it just added to the festivities.  Among other things, we saw the largest bronze Buddha in the world at the Todaiji Temple and President Gilbertson bought a roof tile that the Roberts Fellows decorated, which will be placed on top of the temple.  Anne and I also accidentally ordered children's meals for lunch because we couldn't read the menu.   :)

P.S.  Make sure that you are checking the video stream too since there are videos inside the temple, among other things.  www.tout.com/brianthesoc

On the train to Nara!

Nara!

The Three Story Pagoda

Todaiji Temple (look at how small the people are at the entrance)

This tile will be placed on the roof of the Todaiji Temple

This is a Japanese Happy Meal (it was yummy!)

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

Deer in Nara

More Nara deer

Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple

Kyoto is a beautiful city.  It is very clean, organized, and has a relaxed atmosphere to it.  I've enjoyed our time here a great deal.  They even have lots of nice coffee shops.  :)  Today we visited Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple.  We made use of the public bus system, which is very convenient and took a long stroll too.  The rain put a bit of damper on things, but the Roberts Fellows were good sports and persevered despite the weather.  President Gilbertson arrived this evening and we are about to head off for dinner so I am going to let the photos speak for themselves.  Yes, I did include a picture of my toilet.  Tomorrow, we head to Nara for the day.

View of Kyoto from an overpass

Heading in to Nijo Castle

The moat by the entrance

Gardens inside Nijo Castle

Who is the brave group of world travelers?

It must be the RF14s!

The streets outside of Kiyomizu Temple

The entrance to Kiyomizu Temple

In the hotel rooms there are both the Teachings of Buddha and the New Testament

Two words: heated seats.  Posh.

China finale on the Great Wall and then off to Japan

Yesterday we had a great last day in China with a trek to the Great Wall.  We also visited the Ming Tombs, a jade factory, and a cloisonne factory, but the Great Wall really stood out.  It is still one of the coolest places I have ever been.  This was a section of the Great Wall that I have not previously visited.  I believe it was the Juyongguan section.  While this is a bit of a simplification, this section is basically a short loop that starts with many steps going straight up.  The steps keep going, and going, and going.  Certainly Jinshanling and Simatai have plenty of hills and steps, but I must say that Juyongguan wins in terms of pure and unrelenting climbing.  It was great.  There are lots of great Touts as the Roberts Fellows all made it to the top and I've put lots of photos below.  Thanks to some delays at the airport (mostly spent sitting on the tarmac) we spent all day making our way from Beijing to Kyoto.  The trip was long, but uneventful and Kyoto seems like a wonderfully laid back, but clean and efficient city.  I look forward to having the opportunity to explore more tomorrow.  I'd like to offer a final congratulations to all the Roberts Fellows who overcame the challenge of the Great Wall and made it to the top of the mountain pass (especially Rehanna!).  As Mao would say, you are all now heroes!

Touring the Ming Tombs

At the jade factory

Are we going to climb all the way up there?

Not that we were counting, but Kristen and I made it to the top in under 30 minutes.

Success!  All the RF14s conquered the Great Wall!

Oh no, the Roberts Fellows are falling off the Great Wall!

Seriously, those were a lot of steps.

Like a lot of steps...

Note, that is only the first tower and not the top

Such a studious group at the airport.

Hello Kyoto!

So that is what a Japanese ham sandwich and egg salad sandwich look like...

Summer Palace, Hutong Tour, and Marlin's Birthday!

I've made up for the lack of photos and video with several of both today.  After the challenge of self-guided navigation yesterday, we took it easy today and hopped on a tour bus to visit the Summer Palace and then went over by Houhai Lake to ride some rickshaws on a tour of the hutongs in the area.  After a breather in the afternoon, we met down in the hotel restaurant to celebrate Marlin's 22nd birthday!  While we spent part of the afternoon conspiring to acquire a birthday cake, the Capital Hotel actually beat us to the punch and, having noticed his birthday on his passport, had already arranged to have a cake for Marlin.  I just finished putting students into taxis where some are going to see Peking Opera while others are going to see an acrobat show.  The few of us still around the hotel are going to stroll over to Tiananmen Square to watch the lowering of the flag.  Anyway, here are the pictures.  Make sure to check tout for several videos.  Great Wall tomorrow!

The Summer Palace

Music at the Summer Palace

Sidewalk calligraphy

Hello friends!

The Long Corridor

Learning about freshwater pearls

Hutong tour with Kai

Happy birthday, Marlin!

The instructions made it look easy...

I don't actually have any photos today because the students were operating as independent small groups  so I didn't see them for much of the day.  When we finally rendezvoused at a coffee shop near Jingshan Park, I simply forgot to take photos.  For all those family and friends who are reading this, I promise that everyone is okay.  Everyone, however, was challenged by the task of going to three different locations and testing their negotiating skills against the master salespeople at the Pearl Market. I think that everyone was satisfied with at least one of the "bargains" that they were able to negotiate and I like to think they gained an appreciation for the difficulty in coming to agreement on price with a party that has opposite motivations and there is not clear definition of what the "right" price is.  Alas, we are so used to seeing price on a label that bargaining for something as simple as a t-shirt can be both exciting and frustrating at the same time.

Perhaps the greatest challenge that students faced was finding the Alley Cafe located across the street from the east gate of Jingshan Park.  Sounds easy right?  Jingshan Park is a major landmark, right?  To varying degrees all three student groups got lost.  There was confusion about where they were, which subway stop to take, and on more than one occasion what direction they were going.  They all walked farther than they expected.  In some cases they walked much farther than they expected.  Frankly, they struggled at times to decide as a group where to go next and how to get there.

It was challenging for a reason.  Being a leader requires dealing with uncertainty and helping a group work with that uncertainty (um, I think it is this direction, but I am really not sure.)  Being a leader require balancing your own beliefs against the beliefs of others (I know you think it is this direction, but...)  Sitting in the lobby of the hotel this morning the students were well rested and excited to venture off on their own.  Several hours later as students grew hot and tired, the uncertainty and interpersonal negotiation became more of a challenge.

I will say that I am proud of how well everyone persevered and it was great when we finally had the chance to sit down and share our adventures for the day.  There were many ups (ask Jordan about her jade necklace) and there were some downs (don't ask about trying to find a cab outside Jingshan Park).  Importantly, everyone worked hard and worked together.

Tomorrow we are back on a conventional tour.  We will ride rickshaws through some hutongs and also visit the Summer Palace.  Students also have the option of seeing a show in the evening and some are planning on going to some Peking Opera while others are planning on going to see an acrobat show.  As for me, I need to get some sleep.

Worms, scorpions, starfish and snakes, oh my!

Busy day today.  First we toured Tiananmen Square.  Then we headed north through the Forbidden City.  We stopped for a bit at a silk factory and then toured the Temple of Heaven.  After an afternoon siesta (and a 5 mile run by Justin, Marlin, and I) we tested out the subways by going to the Silk Market.  We split into three groups for dinner and, in the interest of diversity, one group went to a Chinese restaurant, one group went to an Indian restaurant, and another group examined the authenticity of Tim's Texas BBQ, which was apparently run by some Brits.  I was with the group at the Indian restaurant and, despite our surprise that this was only the second day that they had been open, the food was really tasty.  After dinner, we checked out Wangfujing, which was unfortunately closing early for some reason.  However, they did not close before some students had the chance to sample some unique street food (see photos below.)

Now that students have had a taste of Beijing, we will be breaking them into small groups for self-guided activities tomorrow.  No help from the professors!  Basically, they will have to navigate to the Pearl Market to haggle for something, find their way to the Lama temple, and finally find a secret location where they will receive their next clue.  Okay, there aren't really any next clues, but their goal is to meet their trip leaders at the last location.  Ann C2, if you are reading this, I'll give you a hint.  They have tasty coffee.

RF14s in Beijing!

Learning how silk is made

At the Temple of Heaven

Are we having fun yet?

They were so sincere about doing well their second day open that I thought I would give them a little "press"

Authentic Texas BBQ?

Was Marlin the star or is something fishy going on?

That's good snake.

A few movies, a few naps, some bad airline food and we are on the other side of the world

First, I cannot ask for a better trip to China. Sure, we had to sit on a plane for 14 hours, but everyone was on time, check in, security, customs, and transportation to the hotel all went off without a hitch. My contact met us with some cell phones and before long we were all headed off to walk around Qianmen Street to see a bit of Beijing and find a place for dinner. We settled on a place on a nice looking restaurant with a table large enough for everyone to sit together. As many readers may know, traditional Chinese food is eaten "family style" with one person ordering so I took a shot at a combination of dishes that have a few new things, but mostly be friendly to the Midwest American pallet. Of course, this also meant that I had an excuse to order some of my favorite dishes. Notably, we celebrated our first meal in Asia with Peking duck, which was a first for all but one student. We parted ways after dinner to stroll through some hutongs before heading back to the hotel

On a side note, I really like the city of Beijing on a personal level. I just like being here. This personal experience is only enhanced by having the opportunity to experience the city through the eyes of students who have never been there before. Certainly there was some anxiety, in particular right before take off, for students and parents alike (you know who I am talking about :) ). However, once we arrived I was pleased to see how ready students were to put themselves "out there" whether it was trying new food or heading off without any faculty members in tow (although cell phones were mandatory). It's going to be a great trip. I think that I have all my technology working right so expect regular "Touts" as well as daily posting of photos and commentary on this blog.

The Capital Hotel at night

Our first meal in China!

Walking the hutongs near Qianmen Street