So our group is now in Berlin, and I am loveing this place. Despite the language barrier I have enjoyed it more than I did London. The people are nicer and are willing to work with us about the language, especially when we try. In reguards to this I have been surprised at how much of my high school German has come back to me and how much I have missed learning it.

I am sitting in a internet cafe above Dunkin Donut in Berlin, Germany. The people here are very fun to talk to. most of them are always curious about where we are from, and it is a pretty easy guess. I am really thankful that most of them know enough enlgish to communitcate with us. Otherwise i would be lost in translation. The food is amazingm but it is a very hearty meal. They really do love thier meat and potatoes. We have already traveled through Cambridge and London.

We just got back from 5 days in the Tibetan country. There we experienced how others live. Here in Chengdu it seems that the most important thing is to get where you need to be and get there fast. Everywhere you look you see people working whether is be business men on their phones, taxi drivers weaving in and out of traffic, or people selling food on the streets. Everyone is trying to make money and make it count. After spending time in Kangding and Tagong we got a different look at what life is like for these Chinese and Tibetans.

Today we visited the National Library to learn more about NZ children's literature. Lynne Jacket, who has been working with the collections for 30 years, gave us a fascinating history of the collections and then helped us find all the books of authors that we will study in depth for our final project. Lynne's enthusiasm and knowledge of the authors, both biographical and literary output was invaluable. We were able to consult handwritten reviews of all materials added to the collection until 1992 and also tap into the online Oceania reviews called The Source.

I'm not sure one can really understand what stereotypes one has until those stereotypes are challenged. I think that this trip to China has both challenged the stereotypes we hold as Americans, and the stereotypes the Chinese people hold about us. It always surprises me who knows some English here, and clearly it surprises the Chinese people when we ask them, in Chinese, what the price of something is, or tell them that we aren't interested in buying it.

I find the people of Tibet very interesting. We have visited two cities, one with a mixed ethnicity and one mostly if not all Tibetan. The people of the rural city (Tagong) lead harsh lives by out standards. They use coal or wood for heat in there homes without venting the fumes to the outside. They only heat one or two rooms and the rest of the house is pretty much at the outside temperature. These are a tough and hearty people who don't complain and just take on their live mostly cheerfully.

We visited a Children's Cultural Palace in Chengdu where we saw children as young as three playing music, dancing, painting, drawing, or practicing calligraphy. They appear to be learning some ancient Chinese arts. Our Chinese translator and guide, Melody, told us why a few of her friends send their child to the Palace. It seems most children are there for an interesting form of babysitting, or to enhance their college applications by knowing an art form. Few are sent to help keep traditional arts alive.

We made it to Wellington on Tuesday. We took a 5 hour train ride and 3 hour ferry ride. The ferry was HUGE!!

Before I came here I thought that many people in the West had a tendency to romanticize Tibet as being somehow intrinsically more magical and mystical. After having been in Tibet for a few days now I see that there is something special about the landscape here. While visiting the grasslands at Tagong I saw that there is a somewhat calming and mediatative sense that comes out of the landscape. A vast expanse with the Himalayas in the backdrop, and a gold roofed monastary shining in the sun.

I am really enjoying China!