Author Archives: Kent Edward Krymowski

The Board Walk

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When we were in Dalian we went to the boardwalk for a couple hours and had the chance to ride a couple of the rides and see the ocean. In total we went on three rides and quickly learned how the rides in China are a little bit more extreme. We started out by accidently riding the bumper cars which hit just a little harder than the ones we are used to in the United States. After getting a little beat up on the bumper cars we decided to ride the go carts which went pretty fast. I even spun out a couple times on the turns. The last ride, the one I the picture was the craziest of all. We thought it would be a quick ride that went upside down a couple times the ended, however, we were wrong. The ride lasted over five minutes and it seemed like it lifted you over the ocean and just when you thought it was over the ride started up again. Even though I was only able to go on a couple rides this small stop was a blast and it was nice to do something exciting.

The Red Star Restaurant

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On our last day in Beijing we went to a restaurant that we called the red star restaurant. We were still getting used to China and all of the propaganda was still a little new to us. This restaurant is where I realized how much the people of China really value Mao Zedong. The food at this restaurant was a little different and there were people singing on the stage while wearing shirts with Moa Zedong on them. This was also where we were first served a whole chicken that was chopped up and placed in a bowl. I’ll never forget how scared I was when I pulled a chicken foot out of the bowl. After we continued to look through the bowl we found a head and the other foot. It was interesting to find out that this is pretty common in china and a lot of other restaurants do the same thing. While this restaurant was a little weird at first I’m glad we went because it gave us the opportunity to see something we are not used to seeing.

The Terracotta Warriors Museum

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The picture shows pit one at the Terracotta Warriors Museum. I found the warriors to be one of the most interesting things we saw. The long history and intensive process to save them makes them that much more amazing in person. I also learned while we were at the museum that not all of the warriors have been uncovered yet because they do not yet have the technology to properly preserve them. When the warriors were initially buried they were full of color, when they make contact with the air this color is lost almost immediately. Its little facts like this that made the terracotta warriors so interesting to me. We also learned that a little ways away is where the emperor is buried. We also learned that his body hasn’t yet been uncovered because it is surrounded by traps to protect him in the afterlife.

Olympic Park

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Today we visited the Olympic Park in Beijing. We were able to see the water cube and the birds nest but we were only able to go inside of the birds nest. Most of the signs were still up from the 2008 Olympics. This was interesting to see because I remember watching the Olympics on TV when they were hosted here. It was a cool feeling to sit inside of the birds nest and think about the records that were broke there. It was very impressive to see how everything was laid out even though we were in the middle of Beijing.

No Waste

Something I’ll never forget about China is how they use all the resources available to them. Whether it was using all the space available on a farm or not wasting any parts of animals the Chinese value everything they are given. The picture below shows a street vendor selling different parts of a pig that would normally be thrown away in the United States. This is something the United States could definitely learn from. I know personally I have thrown away food just because I didn’t want it. After traveling to China I have a new respect and appreciation for all the food I am given.

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