Musings

I’m going to be straightforward with you all; I’m not the best person to be writing a blog entry, it is not my forte. The day started off waking up, as usual, heading down to breakfast, which I thought wasn’t as delectable as the other breakfasts we had in the other hotels (no banana bread?!).

We headed off to the Geological Museum, which seemed to be a cross between Miners Den and a crystal rock display, nothing what I was expecting. We quickly toured the museum part, Lisa quickly describing the rocks and crystals that were on display, and then we moved to the shop, which is always the best part no matter where you are. The high prices made it discouraging for anyone to buy anything but still, taking a gander at what the Chinese had crafted is a spectacular sight.

      After the Museum, we took a drawn out bus ride to the Shaolin Temple which was, to me, a highlight of the trip. The Kung fu that the monks had used to protect themselves against both the wildlife and enemies was astonishing. It is too hard to describe to you what I saw, but I’ll tell you what. Go check out Dr. Moline’s video on the Kung fu show, it is a must. After the show, we went to lunch, which was absolutely delicious, but nothing compared to Kam’s Express Chicken and Shrimp Low Mein. After the scrumptious lunch we headed out to the actual temple part of Shaolin. THAT was a sight to see. It is an active temple and monks are still praying, honoring the God’s of Buddhism. I had a chance to light an incense stick that was given to me by a monk, and place it in the incense pit. That was an experience I was glad to have had. We also went to a graveyard where we saw the tombs of monks that had passed away and been cremated. After what I saw today and what Chisnell told me about Buddhism, I realized that Buddhism wasn’t a religion, it was a way of life.

      After the temple we took another long bus ride to Zhangzhou, the city we are currently located in. We went off to dinner at a local restaurant that has had a history, 100 years being active and counting. After the dinner, we went to what seemed to be alike a 7-11, but it turned out to be a “4” and bought some snacks to hold us down tonight (Oreos and Ice Cream).

      I must be heading out now, I have a Euchre game to be attending (it i for the championship, I’m sure you understand). Domenic Smith and I versus Sean Barry and Sam Doyle. Quite a match up, trust me.

–Kevin Caverly