My hair still smells like incense

Another day packed with adventures, but today, it was a little more low-key. We went to the city of Taizhou to see Tiantai Mountain and to visit a glass-carving factory.

Tiantai Mountain is considered "the cradle of Buddhism." It was made a national park in the late 1980s. On the side of the mountain, there are several temples and a monastery. Many Buddhists from Singapore, South Korea, and mostly Japan make the pilgrimage to Tiantai. According to legend, the mountain was once carried on the back of a turtle. The gods needed to cut off the turtle's legs to support the sky, but they had to do something with the mountain or it would sink into the ocean. They took the mountain off the turtle's back and placed it on dry land.

We started out at Sui Pagoda, a very tall tower made from bricks. It looked like a game of Jenga- ready to topple at any moment. People used to be able to climb the tower in the center, but that stopped as it became more fragile. The tower is over 1,300 years old.

Then we walked on to the monastery. First we went to a pond full of koi and turtles, which was kind of like the fountain of youth. The turtles live to a very old age and if you take time to relax and breathe there, you will as well.

Next we had the opportunity to walk through the sacred temples. It was very different from any of the cathedrals throughout Europe. You had the sense that you were in a very holy place, yet it was not as stark and cold as the stone churches. There were so many colors! Colors on banners and flags, colors on lanterns, colors in bouquets, and colors on the statues for the gods. Many of the gods were all gold- there was so much gold! We kept going to room after room filled with these gold idols. There were large carts with burning candles and huge cauldrons with burning incense. There was a distinct aroma filling the air.

It was also interesting to see the monks everywhere. They were stationed at each part of the temple and were walking around. We asked them if we could take pictures and they directed us where to go. They smiled and were very friendly. I don't know how they could stay cool in their robes- it was sunny and hot!

The students, US and Chinese, did not seem interested in much of the tour. However, I hope that they appreciated the opportunity to see a place so important to so many people in the world. Oddly, it was overwhelming and peaceful at the same time.

We moved on to lunch in Taizhou and had "Chinese fast food," which is nothing like the mall food court. There was so much food to choose from and the restaurant was loud and crowded. It was worse than our normal dinners because I didn't have a clue what I was getting! I picked at my vegetables and ate ALL of my rice :)

We had an hour to shop and explore before glass carving. The students took this chance to look for knock-off designer shirts for 20 yuan (roughly $3). It was funny to watch the Chinese students barter and to read the butchered English words on the t-shirts. I bounced around from group to group, but ultimately ended up following Blair, Thomas' host. This guy is hilarious! He loves his designer labels and nice cars, but is one of the nicest, goofiest kids I have ever met. He loves music, especially "Poker Face," or "Park Face," as he calls it. Blair was bopping around to the store music the whole time.

The glass carving factory was a great experience. First, we walked around the show round and saw pieces the size of your hand to pieces the size of a wall. It was very impressive to look at all the fine detail. Next, we watched exactly how it is done. The artists draw the image on the reverse side of the glass in marker. They flip it over and coat the glass with water. Then, they use a variety of drill heads to etch out the image. They worked so quickly! It only takes them a day to do a door-size carving and one guy was carving one plate-size piece after another.

The best part of the day was when the students got to try. Many of them made their own! It was much more difficult than they thought, so they really understood how much time and practice goes into this art. I took a lot of pictures and video of the process. Hopefully you will like the pieces when they come home!

I have to hurry & get ready for dinner. We are meeting at Linhai Language School for a party tonight! Our students are supposed to perform a song or dance- I'm anxious to see what they came up with :)