Last night after a hard day of studying mark, anna and my self went for a foot bath and a 90 minute massage. It was dirt cheap 70 yuan for the entire deal. CHEAP. So we soaked our feet which was very comfortable and then the girl started slaping and punching my feet and pulling and snapping my toes. Then she proceeded to dig her little fingers into the bottoms of my feet. She is tough for such a little girl. And then she would push my feet really hard backwards i am not sure what that was about- but it ment that she was finally finished torturing me ;). Today my feet feel great.
Well the neck, back,legs and arms are an entirely different adventure. I was dealt a male with very strong hands. So i sat on a little stool and he proceeded to dig into my neck and do very painful things to it as well. He later informed me through the translater that my neck was out and my merdians were off. So has he was digging in my neck his next move was to grab my chin and start forcing my neck sideways meanwhile still digging into my neck. Oh there is more. He puts me into a headlock and starts pulling me upwards. I went with hime because i did not want my head to seperate from my neck. He tried it on the other side and told me pull my body down while he pulled up. I couldn't help but laugh really. Then the fun part he gets me to lay on the bed, on my stomach and once again the torture begins. He was digging into my spine and lower back- of course where it hurt the most. Then he get to my legs and butt. I bet he has never seen a white girls ample behind jiggle aroung that much (remember i am fully clothed and he has a cloth over me as well). I couldn't help but laugh. So as he is digging into my buut/hip i envision my older bother and how he used to show no mercy when he decided to bug us. The massage guy was diggin in so hard that i started laughing- what else was i to do? Then he starts digging into my calves which are really tight so it really really hurt. THEN he grabbed my legs and started rotating them to the side. Oh i forgot what he did to my arms- he grabbed my shoulders and lifted,one at a time, off the table while oushing into my spine and lower back. He then made me sit up and started on my entire arm. He wastreating it like a piece of playdough using both hands and rubbing the heck out of it. He them brabbed my fingers and started snapping my arm up and down, and WHAM one big jolt. It was very funny.
THE AFTERMATH- well today i am so sore i can't even touch my neck and my back hurts just ad much. I also have reminents of his thumb prints on my neck and upper back. Will i go back- maybe. It was crazy. He is very well trained man and know all about alternative medical practices. He looked at my finger nails adn said my yin is weak and that i need to be careful and that i need to exercise more and stretch. He also said i am having digestion problems and that i am getting angry to easily and i need to control myself. So there you have it.
Do you think you will go to a chinese massage parlour anytime soon?
Monday, May 29, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
folk shrine
On the way back from the warriors yesterday we stopped in a little village and worshipped the gods of above, below and in the middle (heaven, earth and water). The vilage was very small. It felt similar to my town except these people felt a little more connected to each other. Some of these people looked like they had never see a white person before. When we entered the little shrine there were only a few people outside,but the time we came out we had quite the little enterage. There were three little women and man who guided us and ansewered or questions. Even though i could not understand them when they talked to me you could see how happy they were to have us. They were laughing and joking and they each played there roles. One lady was the town gossip maybe, it was just really funny. They also told us they had a town medium, divinator. And before long she showed up. She pushed her way into the temple to know what was going on. Then she walked us out of the town and showed us what she can do. She could read energies and she read a couple of the people with us and nailed it right on the head. Se also showed us how she can be a medium- she held her hand to the sky and when she brought it down you could see the chinese characters in the wrinkles of her hands. It was amazing- i don't doubt her but it was an experince like no other.
Anna, sherry and myself are actually going to go back and see if she will tell us about her self and what she does within the community etc. Sherry can speak chinese so whe will help us with the translating and we might even stay out in the village for any evening or two. It will be nothing like i have ever seen or done. It wil be real anthropology- i hope this will materialize.
All of the ladies were boasting about there family. One of the ladies had four generation alive and she had two great grandsons which is very good. I just felt so lucky because my family is great and i have many great brother and sisters and all of the new additions to my family (marla, dylan, troy, dalas and cody do you have a girlfriend?) Well these people new what it was like to have siblings and how to stay connected with each other. The chinese pride themselves on there family, they don't strive to be so individualistic like westerns. Families stay to gether- so maybe my role in our family is the kinkeeper (tries to keep updated on everyone )?
I'll leave you with that, please tell me your thoughts.
Anna, sherry and myself are actually going to go back and see if she will tell us about her self and what she does within the community etc. Sherry can speak chinese so whe will help us with the translating and we might even stay out in the village for any evening or two. It will be nothing like i have ever seen or done. It wil be real anthropology- i hope this will materialize.
All of the ladies were boasting about there family. One of the ladies had four generation alive and she had two great grandsons which is very good. I just felt so lucky because my family is great and i have many great brother and sisters and all of the new additions to my family (marla, dylan, troy, dalas and cody do you have a girlfriend?) Well these people new what it was like to have siblings and how to stay connected with each other. The chinese pride themselves on there family, they don't strive to be so individualistic like westerns. Families stay to gether- so maybe my role in our family is the kinkeeper (tries to keep updated on everyone )?
I'll leave you with that, please tell me your thoughts.
chinese opera
We had a guest lecturer who taught us about traditional opera that is unique to our area in Shaanxi Province. Opera is unique to the area it is in, so it changes and is different in every province or maybe in every large city. The opera focuses on the actors then the music. They wear elaborate costumes and masks. Each color and each dress means something different and dictates the role the actor must play.
In opera there are 8 beauties: language, music, sculpture, dancing, painting, audio-visual, poetry and dress/make-up. So each beauty is shown in the opera. Each is shown some how or played out in some fashion.
The lady brought some of her students to show us. They were about 13 or 14 years old. The children are put into these performing arts schools at a young age and this is what they will do for the rest of there lives. The little girl could get her voice into a crazy high pitch- she was amazing. And the little boy was an acrobat.
It was only a brief introduction, i hope to see an entire set in Beijing.
In opera there are 8 beauties: language, music, sculpture, dancing, painting, audio-visual, poetry and dress/make-up. So each beauty is shown in the opera. Each is shown some how or played out in some fashion.
The lady brought some of her students to show us. They were about 13 or 14 years old. The children are put into these performing arts schools at a young age and this is what they will do for the rest of there lives. The little girl could get her voice into a crazy high pitch- she was amazing. And the little boy was an acrobat.
It was only a brief introduction, i hope to see an entire set in Beijing.
daoist temple
I think it was on wednesday that we went to one of the Daoist temples in the city. It was a very spiritual place. They are very intuned with finding harmony with heaven, earth and humans. It was a really pieceful place for me, there were many shrines including that of the 8 immortals; hall of Tai Bai or Venus- god of love, here people pray so that they would recieve children and they would also bring there kids here to pray to pass the national exam; Goddess of the stars; hall of Lu Zu- he was special because anyone could pray to him and he would always respond; hall of medicine god- he made great contributions to Traditional chinese medicine.
One of the monke took us around and showed us around and he also took us to see the living quarters. I had this vision of a strict monastic existance and for them to live in proverty, But it was not that extreme. There houses were nothing fancy but they were not shanties either. Since we are in the age of the 21 century everyone must be connected- so of course the Monk had a call phone- i got a picture- i thought that was really funny.
At 4pm everyday they have prayer- we stuck around for that. It was one of the most beautiful things i have ever heard. They pray in song and it was just such pretty music. There were drums, flute, bells, stringed instruments and a couple others. They recited all of there scripture in song. It was a bit over whelming for me. the music here is just so spiritual and peaceful. The flute was different- i was in awe what more can i say.
For reasons of my own i had envisioned that they would perform there rituals in a very different manner- but it was simliar to western relgion. I just did not want any connection to the western ideals. I guess prayer is very similar if you believe in one god or many gods. I think that i prefer the many gods idea. I'll keep you posted ont those revelations.
One of the monke took us around and showed us around and he also took us to see the living quarters. I had this vision of a strict monastic existance and for them to live in proverty, But it was not that extreme. There houses were nothing fancy but they were not shanties either. Since we are in the age of the 21 century everyone must be connected- so of course the Monk had a call phone- i got a picture- i thought that was really funny.
At 4pm everyday they have prayer- we stuck around for that. It was one of the most beautiful things i have ever heard. They pray in song and it was just such pretty music. There were drums, flute, bells, stringed instruments and a couple others. They recited all of there scripture in song. It was a bit over whelming for me. the music here is just so spiritual and peaceful. The flute was different- i was in awe what more can i say.
For reasons of my own i had envisioned that they would perform there rituals in a very different manner- but it was simliar to western relgion. I just did not want any connection to the western ideals. I guess prayer is very similar if you believe in one god or many gods. I think that i prefer the many gods idea. I'll keep you posted ont those revelations.
terracotta warriors
we visted the warriors yesterday. And let me tell you i can see why it is classifed as a UNESCO world heritage site and why it is the 8th wonder of the world. The first emeperor of the Qin Dynasty (225-207 bc) started building his tomb when he was twenty some years old. The site of the warriors possess very good Feng shui because the mountains are to the south and the river is to the north. The site was discovered in 1974 by a farmer who was digging a well and he brought a head of one of the warriors. Archaeologists started to dig at that site and then in 1976 they found pits 2 and 3. There are 3 pits open of approximately 500. They estimate that there are 8000 warriors and alot are still buried. In 1997 they found bronze work of rare birds and animals- however thie is closed to public. In 1987 they found two chariots buried; unfortunately it was in thousands of pieces and took 8 years to restore. The reason why he built the army and all of the artifacts is because he needed all these things in the after life. The one chariot even had air conditioning! It had a door and two windows. But the emperor planned on travelling his land in the afterlife so he wanted to be comfortable.
He built 4 types of men- archer, charioteer, cavalry, and infantry. All of these forms were outfitted with different types of armor, dress, hair and shoes. They were also painted and they all looked different.
One of the swords that was unearthed contained chromium which wasn't invented until the 30's. I like that fact that it was in china some 2000 years prior.
I am sure if you search it on google you will be able to find the musuem, Xian terracotta warriors.
He built 4 types of men- archer, charioteer, cavalry, and infantry. All of these forms were outfitted with different types of armor, dress, hair and shoes. They were also painted and they all looked different.
One of the swords that was unearthed contained chromium which wasn't invented until the 30's. I like that fact that it was in china some 2000 years prior.
I am sure if you search it on google you will be able to find the musuem, Xian terracotta warriors.
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