Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Wednesday July 17, 2009


Today started with what became our usually routine. Breakfast on the buffett. An Atkins dieters worst nightmare of carbohydrates. Good think I am a carbo loader. Fried noodles and dim sum are a few items. Breakfast was somewhat normal however meals later in the day had things like snake, turtle, chickens feet, and chickens heads. Heads sticking up out of the roaster. Everything was good.

Wednesday was a day when paperwork was being processed, so our group paid a visit to the Hunan Provincial Museum. Our group learned that bamboo, poetry, and embroidery are the specialties of Hunan province. A group of archeaologists unearthed the grave of a woman from the Han Dynasty. She was not a mummy but was placed inside several tombs with coal. The woman was so well preserved, an autopsy revealed honeydew seeds which were still in her stomach. Blood also ran out of the woman during the autopsy. She is said to be 2,000 years old. We saw her, skin and hair intact. Kind of gross yet I was totally fascinated all at the same time. Other items of cultural significance were found in her grave. Several items of clothing including a gauze garment. This was significant, because it proves there was advanced textile technology during the Han Dynasty. As one can tell, we were totally fascinated by the whole thing.

Sidney was in tow the entire time, and she was a trooper. We also ate at Pizza Hut. It actually tasted quite good and very much like cheese pizza at any Pizza Hut in the United States. Pizza Hut is not a cheapo food in a rundown atmosphere like many of the same restaurants in the United States. Instead, the restaurant had a somewhat trendy feel and was feeding the up echelons of Changsha. I was glad to finish and go back to the hotel for one on one time with Sidney. This environment was also very stimulating for a girl who never has been outside of the orphanage. She did extremely well.

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