Trip to Xi'an and Hua Shan (Shaanxi province), 4-6 September

We took the train from Beijing. I hated that Beijing West train station because it was so big and confusing (biggest in Asia). Our cabin was really comfortable, it reminded me of the second class rooms on the Titanic. My mommy and I were on the bottom bunks, but I told her next time I want to be on the top. When we arrived in Xi'an, we had to hurry to get our stuff together. When we got all the way out of the station to the taxis, mommy discovered we forgot my Star Wars library book in the train. We went to platform 1 and there were two ladies that we asked and told them we left our book, they went in the train and gave the book back and just as we were leaving the train pulled out.

Hua Shan mountain
At the bottom, we got tickets, then took a cable car halfway up the mountain. It was really scary for me and I was really angry with my mom because she kept putting the camera out the window to take pictures and I was afraid it would fall down 3000 miles. When we got out of the cable car, we went up millions and millions and trillions of steps. When we got to the top of the whole mountain, we looked at the view, I was so scared of the view tht I couldn't look. I got a gold medal and mom got a silver medal. The medals are in my house right now. We bought a lock in the beginning before we walked up, we came to a shop with two women and they offered a lock, we got one, they engraved our Chinese names into it, we went about 120 ft up and put our little lock there, so that when we come back we can see and remember. I have the key at home. Then we went down the steps to the bottom of the mountain, which took a long time. My mommy bought some mountain mushrooms the people were selling.

We also went to the Terracotta warriors. It was really great but most of it was destroyed by bad guys that didn't like the emperor so they stole the weapons the warriors were carrying (you can see they are missing by the holes in their hands). Those bad guys were going to use them because they were real weapons. Some were bronze.

Then we met the person who actually discovered it all one day while he was farming. We asked him what he thought it was when he found it ? (He said he thought it was some kind of temple). He is now about 78 years old. He smiles a lot and we took a picture. There was a picture of Bill Clinton meeting that same man.

The general terracotta warriors had a special hand sign and officers had one hand curved and one hand on side, and plain soldiers just both hands in a straight position like the Sanlitun compound guards. Also the kneeling archers and the standing archer. The two knot on the head was the general. I got a photo with myself as an archer.

They even had color about 3000 years ago but when they dug up the statutes, 3 days later the color disappears. There is still a lot to discover at that place.

Carl, adopted 19 September 2009

There are lots of abandoned cats in our compound. A German teenager named Charlotte takes care of them. She is on my school bus in the morning. Many times I come and spend time with her and the cats. Today I went to visit her and she told me everything about a cat that might be good for us to adopt, the cat was a male and 8 years old. I told my mom she had to come. His name is Carl, and he is really calm. Its very good that he is calm because he won't snatch and try to get our pet mouse. If you want to pet him, put your hand in front of his nose so that he can sniff you, then after five seconds you can pet him he needs to know who you are and he could also get used to you even more! He is technically white but he's got some brown on the top of his head and a bit on his tail. His hair is quite long, he's really fluffy. Tomorrow (on Saturday) we will go with Charlotte to the vet and maybe take him home. NEXT DAY : On the way to the vet, Carl was meowing like every five seconds really loud. At the vet we figured out that he had a ripped out claw that got infected. It really looked hurt. So the doctor put iodine on it. Carl has such a great personality that he was purring, even when the doctor was putting iodine on his paw!! When we first got him home, he meowed a lot and paced around. Now it's been about two hours, and he loves sitting in the window and looking outside at his old home in the wild. NEXT DAY: Carl's paw was bleeding when we got home from lunch today, so we had to rush him to the vet. The vet cut back his fur on the paw and put a big bandage on it. In the middle of the appointment, Carl reached his paw out to me, and I held it and he closed his eyes. The vet also gave him a big collar around his neck so he wouldn't lick his paw. He didn't like it but every time he ran under the couch it got off. We have to give him antibiotics and it's really hard. He doesn't want to swallow them. He even scratched my mommy really badly. We found a new trick now. We crushed up the pill and put it in his snacks. He doesn't like it, but when he gets really hungry he eats it. We have to take him back to the vet AGAIN this weekend. It seems like we're always at the vet.

My school biathlon

The night before I dreamed that I was about last place of 70 children in grade 2 and everyone called me a big fat loser, even the teacher. But in the end, I won 2nd place out of 70 children and got a silver medal and a "WAB biathlon/triathlon I did it". If you come here, maybe I can show it to you.

As we were waiting to go into the pool, I was really nervous. But when they said "go", I splashed in the water and really did my best. But then my friend Tony went ahead of me and we put our shoes on really quick without socks, then I started running, running , there was a person right behind me who was about to pass me and then I really speeded up my engines. On the last stretch, I was feeling really tired, and then I really did go faster. My mommy was right there, and shot a movie of it!

After crossing the finish line, I was panting for about 20 minutes. Then when I stopped panting for a bit, I had a rest and then abut 10 minutes later we went up on the stages. I went up to my second place spot and got my medal, then the first place winner came up, who was from the Netherlands so they flew his flag and played their national anthem.

And my mommy also did a great job in her triathlon. She ended up in fourth place, so she only got an "I did it" ribbon.

Halloween Birthday Party

On Sunday, I went to a the spooky birthday party of one of my school friends, Jasper. Everyone dressed up in costumes like Halloween and they told scary stories. In the beginning, I was thinking of being a Kung Fu Master with a light saber, but then when I saw the ninja sword in my weapon collection, I thought that was a better idea. When I brought that to the party even the guards looked scared (the party was inside the Australian Embassy).

Bahamas Cafe Express

Bahamas cafe has a new rail line, the Bahamas Express. It only takes 3-4 seconds to go to the Bahamas Cafe from my room. There are 3 cushions inside, three advertisements and the Train Rules. I have also taped lights so that you can see when it's dark. Also a little cover for protecting you when the train is in motion. There's even a notebook to write your thoughts about the journey. If you're a regular person who doesn't work at the Bahamas Cafe, it costs 1 rmb. If you work there, it's free.

Bahamas cafe back in action

Last week my mommy had a party and me and Ming-Wei and Ming-an ran the Bahamas Cafe. We started out selling cookies and water, 1 RMB each. When we ran out of cookies, we sold mini Swiss chocolates for 1 RMB. Business was very good because there were like 50 people at the party.

We have a new mouse named "Slider". He is really cute, all white. He was a lab rat that we saved from death. The cutest thing about him is when he makes his nests and when he runs on the wheel. During the day he sleeps and at night he runs. I can see him from my bed. He has two nests. In order to make them he uses the newspaper we put in his cage and he shreds it up and stuffs it in his nests. There is so much newspaper in his nest that it looks like he won't fit but he does. He likes to eat pumpkin seeds and popcorn. He sometimes eats too many pumpkin seeds and gets an upset stomach, which makes a mess all over his cage.

Killing time

On the ride to the airport in Taipei, we made up a new game. Mommy was sick of rock/paper/scissors and “find the car colour”. So it’s the “ask a question” game.

Almost when we had arrived at the airport, we decided to put my answers up on my blog:

If you could go to any age, what would it be? I would go to age 23. (Mommy: but you'll miss high school?) Isn't college higher than high school? I can attend my graduation.

If you could be any animal? Cheetah, because it’s really fast and a meat eater.

What is the most important quality in a best friend? Needs to be silly. Everyone in grade 1 thinks I am the silliest.

What is your perfect vacation? Going across the US, from New York to California.

Who is your favorite past president ? FDR, because he sent soldiers to help out in WWII, and he was a friend of my great grandfather.

What do you want to be when you grow up? An actor, and number two is a scientist, studying the ocean.

(Adrian’s question) What company would you like to own? DreamWorks.

What is your favourite instrument? electric guitar

What is your favourite sport ? Mini golf.

What is your favourite song ? Pop song from Club Penguin, playing in my igloo now.

Taipei, again

We went to the changing of the guard at the Martyrs Shrine. It was kinda scary being really close to the soldiers. I directed a film that my mommy shot. I didn't really know that those were real weapons at first. I read the history of all the battles. I love history. I went to the Chiang Kai-shek and Sun-Yat Sen memorials. When I die, I don't need such a big memorial. I also went to the zoo and the Science Museum. We went to a shopping mall where they had elephants you could ride through the halls (not real ones, just for kids), and we saw "Night at the Museum 2". I gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. My mommy got to meet the president of Taiwan.

Taroko Gorge Taiwan

We went to Taroko National Park on the East Coast of Taiwan. We took a short plane trip from Taipei to get there and a train to get back. The plane was an hour long but the train was three hours!! The scariest part was the small bridge, I was thinking what would happen if I was going to fall down. We went to a beach, Seven Stars Beach. We went on a hike into the forest. I love hiking. They even showed us a rock named after Barack Obama! Then we went to a marble factory. I wanted to buy something, but my mommy said it was a tourist trap. During the bus ride, I read "Encyclopedia Brown".

Taipei 101

I went to the 89th floor to see the top of the 101 Taipei tower, the tallest building in the world. I could see all of the view of Taipei, I even saw it through a telescope. It only takes a few seconds to get to the top, and you can see on a computer screen inside the elevator how fast you are going. The exit is the most fun part, you can see the big yellow "super big wind damper," and the "wind damper babies" which are my favorite. There are four of them, their names are : Cool Black, Rich Gold, Lucky Red and Smart Silver.

Here is some information from the internet: "A wind damper is a gigantic, spherical weight that protects the tower from earthquakes and typhoons. Newsweek Magazine has hailed Taipei 101 as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World and Discovery Channel included the building in its Seven Wonders of Engineering. Taipei 101 stands proud at 508 meters and boasts of the world’s fastest elevators at 1,010 meters per minute. That’s about 37 seconds from the fifth floor to the 89th."