More kung fu training!

We have been working on the same routine for 3 days. We are actually improving! After all of this practice I have started to appreciate the art of kung fu even more.

Our instructor is unbelievable. All the kids at the school can flip through the air and make it all look effortless. The guy teaching us, we call him smiley, because he was dead serious at first but smiles every once in a while when we mess up! He's so funny!

Tonight we will be performing our routine in front of the monks! I'm a little nervous! We leave our countryside hotel tomorrow morning. We will be riding a 5 hour train to make it back to beijing. I can't believe that these are our days here. I don't want to leave!

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A day in the life of a monk

Today we got the chance to live a day in the life of a buddhist monk it was a definite culture shock. We began our morning at 4 am. We walked to shaolin temple and met the monks in the temple thay they normally pray in each morning. The prayers lasted about an hour and consisted of standing, walking, bowing, and praying to buddha. I couldn't believe that the monks do that ritual every morning.

After the morning prayer we went to a small building for breakfast with the monks. We ate soup and bread. After breakfast we went to the courtyard and swept it for the monks. The monks were very appreciative of our help because they have to sweep the courtyard every morning. Our morning was really interesting and I learned a lot about monks by observing and participating in their daily routine. It was so cool to be able to see something so different and unique.

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The zen music show/performance!

Last night we went to a small outdoor theater in the middle of the mountains. I cannot describe the scenery because it was so gorgeous. There was a beautiful bridge in front of huge amazing mountains.

There were dancers and warriors performing all over the scene. There were colors flashing all over the mountains. I honestly can't explain how inxredible it was. There are no words. Pictures wouldn't have done it justice. That performance was definitely one of my favorite things we have done so far. The effects and stories being told through dancing and music was very inspiring and unique. I loved it.

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Training at the kung fu school and viewing the zen music show!

Today we went to the kung fu school. It was awesome but sooo hard! We were taught how to do kung fu moves that were very very very physically demanding. The master that taught us was at first very impatient and irritated with our lack of correctness but after a while he warmed up to us and laughed at Emilie and I!!

He kept smiling every time we attempted a difficult move and would come over and correct it immediately. No matter how small the mistake was he would come over to help because he wanted it to be perfect. We took pictures with the students at the end of our two hour class/lesson.

Tomorrow we will be returning to thr school to have two more classes which will total in 4 hours of kung fu training... And we thought yesterday was hard! Its unbelievable how young some of these students are. The ages vary from 5 years to 20. The students live at the school year round and I couldn't believe that they can only go home once a year!!! That's crazy!

Kung fu was awesome. Physically demanding. But incredible. I can't wait for tomorrow!!

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Visiting the kung fu school and shaolin temple

Today we went to shaolin temple and listened to a monk speak about the history of the temple and the life of the monks. It was very interesting. We had to be completely silent when he spoke.

After visiting the temple we went to the kung fu school. I couldn't believe how many kids were training there. When the bus pulled in, we saw hundreds of kis dressed in bright red shirts and black pants.

We went inside and watched the little kids spar. These little boys and a few girls were only 5 or 6 years old! They were unbelievable! The ages ranged from 5 to 20 years old. Everyone was so talented. Today we are going back to the school to learn a few kung fu moves and then we will be watching the kids again. I can't wait!

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Peanut butter

We visited a market today and bought PEANUT BUTTER! We have all been craving it for the whole trip!! Finally!!

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Riding on a train!

This is the first time I have ever been on a train! Its a blast! I was expecting it too be much more bumpy and sickening but we are doing great!

When we walked into the train station I couldn't believe how many people were jam packed into such a small space. The halls were very congested and we were a little afraid of being separated but everything went fine! The train is much faster than I expected it to be. Everything is rushing by so fast and normally I would be a little motion sickness but I am too excited to be motion sick!!

Even the transportation on this trip is fun! Even if I am a nerd I am loving every minute of it!! Before we got on the train we were able to stop at a grocery store!! This is a very big deal to us because we have been eating tons and tons of meat so it was great to stop and grab some fruit and candy! All of us have been craving peanut butter and luckily the grocery store had some!! We are going to have a peanut butter party tonight and I wouldn't be surprised if we all just ate it plain!!

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