March 23: Reflections from the Last Few Days
Hannah: Before visiting the Lama Temple, I had always been interested in
Buddhist religion and philosophy, but now after seeing the temple, I realize
what a huge impact the Buddhist faith has had on this country and this
culture. When I get back home, I'm definitely going to continue researching
Buddhist ideas and implementing certain aspects of the religion into my own
life.
Noura: The Olympic training school we visited was really cool. The kids
doing wushu (Chinese martial arts) was really incredible.
Jessica: Seeing the gymnasts [at the Shichahai Sports Academy] was really
sad. It made me so sad to see that little girl, who was so young and so
talented, crying because her foot was hurt.
Lily: Seeing the young gymnasts training really got to me, too. I was
expecting it [the intensity], but it is still different seeing it.
Katia: I was really nervous about the train [overnight sleeper train from
Beijing to Xi'an], but I slept through most of it. It was a good
experience; I don't think that I would've done something like this
otherwise.
Ava: Xi'an is a fun contrast to Beijing. It seems like there are more young
people here and more people out and about.