School’s Anniversary
For the Academy’s anniversary the master’s usually put on a performance. For two weeks the Sheifus have been practicing at night in the dark because they don’t want the students to see them practicing. All we could hear was the sounds of the swords, the staffs hitting the ground and the sheifus yelling. This year was the first year the academy asked students to perform. A big bus full of people from the Shandong district, a few Chinese police officers and friends of the head master came to watch the performance.
The student’s performed first and they were great, but when you the masters performed you could tell they were masters and not students. Master Guo did a dummy form and it was cool but I don’t know anything about Wing Chung so I didn’t really understand it. My master did a drunken sword form and it was so cool! He moves so fluidly and fast. I don’t think I could ever move that fast in my life. Two other Shaolin masters had staffs broken over their head, leg and backs. You could see the staff splinter and hear it break.
After the performances we had a nice lunch and rested for training in the afternoon. After a fun morning I didn’t feel like having power training but I had to go or else Scott would probably tell my master to beat me.
I have been craving bananas for the past 4 weeks. I went into town to buy groceries and I picked up some bananas. I didn’t know that I had to get a special ticket from the produce isle in order to pay for the bananas downstairs. When I got to the counter to pay the lady wouldn’t let my buy the bananas and I couldn’t go back upstairs because the other students were waiting for me.
It rained this week during the mountain run again. But I was able to make it up and down the mountain 4 times. It took me a little over an hour to do it maybe next time I will be able to do 5 runs up the mountain. We went to Yantai on Saturday to do some shopping and hang out. It rained all day, my pants and shoes got soaked all the way through trying to walk from store to store. But it was still a fun trip, it’s always fun when there are a lot of the students going out together; we get a lot of attention from the locals.
There are so many people leaving the academy it’s sad. It breaks my heart a little when we have to say goodbye, I can’t imagine being one of the students who stays here a year or longer and has to say goodbye to the students who come and go.
I moved to the third floor with two other girls. I like the third floor its cleaner, quieter, and better because that means I’m closer to Scott and don’t have to climb stairs to go in his room and ask him to feed me. The only problem with this room is that it is super crowded. I am going to ask to be moved to the second floor to Brittany’s room because her roommate just left.
My shaolin group had dinner with our Master because two girls left this week. It was fun to go out with our Master and talk and make jokes. The restaurant we went to was great. I’ve never had Chinese food like it in the States. We had sour ginger fish soup which was really yummy, we had spicy “meat” with cucumber, fried/steamed bread with condensed milk dipping sauce, and noodles. I think it’s funny when I look at a menu and the description says “meat” not chicken, pork, beef, just Meat. I don’t usually eat those dishes.
During application class Master was my partner and I didn’t understand how to do a certain move so he would demonstrate it on my arm but I still wouldn’t understand. So each time he’d do the move a little bit harder and faster as if that would help me understand how I was supposed to make the other person feels. I thought he was going to rip my arm off but he didn’t. My ankles were hurting from kicking the punching bags and I couldn’t do the usual power training moves so Sheifu made me do 500 burpies. Yeah that’s right 500. The burpies were my idea because he told us to do duck hops up the hill and bear crawls up the hill. I asked if I could do burpies instead so he said ok “5, 100” meaning 500 burpies. Yay me, I lost count after 160. I had to beg him to let me do the ab workouts with the rest of my group and stop doing burpies.
I am so sad that I am leaving; I leave in a few days to go back home. Scott took me to the duck restaurant this weekend with Brittany, Jeremy, Donna and two other new students. I don’t even like duck but this was delicious! After that we went to the cake shop and to the bath house.
The bathhouse is like a hostel/hotel with a big hot tub and saunas. You can get massages there also. There is a big room with recliners that you can sleep in or you can get a private room. I got a private room and didn’t go down to the bath part so I’m not really sure how it works or what it looks like.
On Sunday it was Ash, Mathieu and David’s birthdays so I got them a birthday cake. We had a little party in me and Brittany’s room (I moved into her room a few days ago because I thought I was staying for another month and her room is AWESOME and not as crowded as my room on the third floor). Scott got the boys birthday hats and we even had candles! It was a fun party.
Xoxo,
Kc
Now for My Last Blog
I hate saying goodbye
For my last day at the academy I took videos and pictures of people training. Sam would make fun of me every time he’d see me with my camera and call me a stalker. During class we taught Rong Sheifu the word “Friend”. It’s really hard for him to pronounce the “end” part but he kept repeating it for 10 minutes and I think he got it.
For my last night at the academy a few of us went next door had sodas, ate some dumplings, and I tried squid for the first time and it wasn’t bad. It’s so hard to say goodbye, I really hope I see these people again. I can’t imagine not knowing them; it’s so weird to think that a month ago I didn’t know any of them.
This morning I had to say goodbye. I tried really hard not to cry and I didn’t until I had to say goodbye to Scott and Mathieu at the airport. Scott and Mathieu picked me up at the airport at 11 pm when I first arrived in China and they dropped me off at the airport when I left.
Halfway through my flight to China I wanted to turn the plane around and go back home. Now that it’s time to go home I don’t want to leave. At first I thought 5 weeks was too long but now I know 5 weeks isn’t long enough. This trip to China was exactly what I needed. I met some amazing people and I am so lucky to have been able to experience this. I will miss everyone so so so much.
Now it is time for me to say Goodbye… for now.
Xoxo,
Kc
Dropping Kc to the Airport
Kc and Rong Sheifu
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