Great Wall

This morning we took the bus to the Great Wall. The day started out really foggy, but cleared up as we increased altitude and the day got later. The Great Wall started out as separate defense walls in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC) surrounding individual kingdoms. In the Ming Dynasty (1388-1644) more walls were made to join the separate walls to keep out the Mongol invaders. Millions died during construction. After walking up a steep hill we rode a gondola that took us up the slope to the base of the great wall.

You can see the wall on Google Earth - check it out and follow the length of it. The first words that come to mind when I encountered the Great Wall were steep and massive!



And then, the last words as we exited the gondola house and made our descent to the bus were "gauntlet" and 1 dollar!

The Summer Palace

Before heading to The Summer Palace we had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant. The food was wonderful, but the bathroom was the attraction to be seen. Here are a couple of pictures of the bathroom sinks. (I think this place doubled as a night club....)


Affter lunch, we took a 30 minute bus ride to The Summer Palace. When we parked and got out there wasn't much to see from the outside. However, once inside the palace walls that you are struck with the awesome beauty of it.

The Summer Palace was orignally a small lake and intended as a respite from the heat of the city. Then, it was rebuilt as a birthday present for the Dragon Lady from her Nephew the Emporer. The buidlings are built similar to The Forbidden City. The lake was enlarged by manual labor, and all the dirt was used to make a mountain. On top of the mountian is a temple. We went out on the lake on the Dragon Boat and could see the entire strucure that wasn't visible when you were right underneath it. Words could never do this place any justice, so here are some pictures.

Forbidden City

Today we were busy, busy. We started out at The Forbidden city, followed by lunch, and a trip to The Summer Palace. We had been to The Forbidden City on our last trip- but I feel like we took in so much more this time around. Despite the size of the grounds, it has quite an organized structure. The ground was built of stone 3 meters deep so that someone couldn't dig their way into the palace. The walls are 9.9 meters high and 1.5 meters deep. The Emperor is very protected. The front of the palace grounds were built for the Emperor to conduct business, but only the eunichs and concubines were allowed in the back. Men were seperated from the women. The most fascinating thing to me was that the Emperor did not pick his concubine. The Emperoress picked the women. She always picked fat and ugly women so that she did not have any competition. Also, it was the Emperor's mother that would grant or not grant permission for the Emperor to stay with his wife. It seemed like the Emperor's mother really had the control. Here are some cool things we saw within the walls of the Palace.

You can seee the large stone carving behind us - it weighs more than 200 tons and is carved with lotus patterns and 9 dragons.


You can see the throne reflected in the mirror.


Since the Palace was built to protect the Emperor, trees were only allowed in the back near the exit. The garden of trees is called The Imperial Garden. here trees are 100-300 years old. Since fall is only just setting in, the Imperial Garden still had all its leaves (although most trees were conifers). The tree we are in front of the couple tree, two trees that have grown together. The Chinese believe that the trees are now a couple.



This is a picture of Deer park. The Emperor loved to feed the deer so t he had the rocks brought in from the bottom of some (I'm sure far off) lake, and are very porous. After it rains, the moisture escapes the rocks as fog and cools the garden.

We're Here!

After a very long and uneventful trip we are heading to bed. We are meeting tour guide in lobby at 8:30am. Jet lag starting to set in. Reports from home say that Avery is missing Mommy and is not eatting at school- oh no!

Ok TMS- by now you've probably figured out our flight schedule. Now, can you figure out what time it is in each of those locations? Look at the clock in your class and then use a time zone map to find the times. Here's a hint, add one hour for every timezone to the east and add a day. Subtract one hour you move every timezone to the left. Good luck!

Thompson Middle School Six Graders

Ni hao! Thanks for joining my family in a very special addition of "Where in the World is Mrs. Mulholland-Bower?". In less then 24 hours my husband and I will begin our trip to meet our new son Noah Li Ming Bower. You cannot imagine how excited we are. As we travel across the world, we're going to see many historical and cultural sites and visit different provinces in China. I'll be leaving you clues to help find where in the world I am. Are you ready?

Since we have a very long flight tomorrow, we will be starting out in Providence and change airplanes two times. Below are the clues for the two change overs and our first destination.

Stop #1: Longitude 82 degrees 26' west to 90 degrees 31' west
Latitude 41 degrees 41' north to 48 degrees 15' north
This state touches 4 out of 5 of the Great Lakes
It is one of the leading manufacturing and tourist states

Stop #2 Longitude 35 degrees 40' north
Latitude 139 degrees 45' east
We are in "The Land of the Rising Sun"
The city we arrive in is the capital of Japan

Stop #3 Longitude 116 degrees and 25 east
Latitude 39 degrees and 55 north
The 2008 summer Olympics are being held here
Originally named Peking
Population 13 million

Once you have figured out my travel schedule have your teacher email me with your answers. Good luck!

Lady Bug Invasion!!!!!

I know Lady Bugs are a sign of good luck in Chinese adoption- but I think things may have gone too far in the Bower house. Oddly, we have been invaded by hundreds of lady bugs. They are covering the front windows and door, they're in our curtains, and even in the kitchen. I look out the window and they're just flying everywhere. At first I thought it was kind of funny.... I'm not so sure now. I can only hope that Noah is thriving and going to bring us lots and lots of good luck. Here are some pictures of our front door:

6th Grade Surprise!

My good friend Marice Ann says that I am probably the most oblivious person she knows. Maybe I am. On Monday, we had our weekly grade meeting. I walked in, sat down next to Carlene and started talking about one of our kids and then listened to Tina talk about our upcoming field trip. I must admit it was unusual for Marice Ann to be at our meetings, but she does 6th grade so I figured she may have been free that period. Nothing that unusual- routine business. Somewhere in the background I hear Kathy, our fearless grade leader, say that the rest of the meeting is for Kate to celebrate her leaving to get Noah. "Huh, who me?" I was completely caught off guard!!! When I turned around in my seat I suddenly noticed desks put together to make a table, covered in a table cloth, with a huge basket of cookies, and presents. On the front board someone put the Chinese symbols for Noah. How cool was that!?! I can now see why Marice Ann thought I was so clueless.

Wow! A party for me. There was music,hot cider, and did I mention the best cookies in the whole world. I have only been working with 6th grade for a short time and have felt at home from the start. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful. This send off and show of generousity and kindness- really touched me more then I could probably put into words. I can never thank everyone enough for making this occasion so special.

Below are pictures of the beautiful gifts for Noah: