Campus Blogs

Hello this is Kelsey! This morning we headed off to Lan Ha (or Ha Long Bay) in basically one of the fanciest buses we have all ever been on! We got to take a nice ride in our limo bus while 4 others got a luxury van (this van had massage chairs). After about a 2 hour ride, we awaited the boat in the lobby. Then we headed off in the tender boat to our actual cruise ship which would take us to HaLong Bay. We were greeted by staff once we arrived on the ship, and took our belongings to our rooms. Our rooms were very fancy with a nice little balcony, shower, decorations, and robes (which some people strutted around in during the evening). We then had lunch in the dining room which consisted of a delicious 4-course meal--if lunch is like this, what must dinner be like!? Lunch was very relaxing and the view from the window was breathtaking. Later on, some of us took the tender boat and a bus to visit the Trung Trang caves. This was definitely the most jungle we have seen so far on this trip! The caves were full of 4,000 year old formations and was nice and cool outside--that's a big plus. We even got to see some bats inside the cave perched up on the cave ceiling. We then headed back to the ship, and in the evening some of us got to go swimming. I was planning on swimming, but it was in the open ocean and I thought we were going to go ashore to swim. I decided not to get in out of fear of sharks and jellyfish as some of us watch too much Shark Week! Then after swimming to cool off there was some nice smoothies and juice drinks that we can order on the sun deck. It was a nice relaxing time just hanging out on the ship! We had a buffet dinner which was very delicious with options like shrimp, chicken, potatoes, corn, and sushi! We then got to see some old pictures of the Friesen Family during their young days in Vietnam and watched some clips from the film Indochine --definitely some cute pics, and definitely a French film! We finished off the night by debriefing and hanging out on the sun deck. The next morning some people got up at 6 am for some Taichi but most of us just had a light breakfast at 6:30am. Then we headed out in kayaks at 7:15 am to explore some dark and bright caves. It was definitely very hot and hard to row, but it was worth the experience as everything looked like scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean!  The cave opened up to the other side of the mountain to a nice lagoon. We even got to hear some monkeys that were on the other side of the mountain, but we didn't get to see any unfortunately. Then we headed back to the ship for brunch and packing. After leaving the ship, we took the bus back to Hanoi. This has definitely been my favorite and most relaxing time during my time here at Vietnam. It was a good boost to enjoy some time in the outdoors and also reflect with my peers on our overall experience with the laid back lifestyle of Vietnam, and also relaxing the great opportunity we have in our education as many places we have seen don't have the same chance to receive stellar education. We are looking forward to exploring the rest of Vietnam and coming home in about 2 weeks!

“Paul! Paul! Let’s go, we’re gonna be late! Cmon!”
Paul checks the clock. “Loren it’s freakin 2 AM.”
“Oh..”
My middle of the night sleep talking that woke both of us up, fueled by the fear of oversleeping our 5:45 AM departure time from the hotel, didn’t constitute the ideal way to start the day.
But as it turned out no one overslept. On time, we all stepped on to the bus that weaved it’s way through Shanghai, giving us, or at least those who were awake, a final glance at China as we made our way to the airport.

Check in. Lines. Customs. Waiting. Security. Standing. Flight. Sleepy. Layover. Sitting. Flight.

We finally make it to Hanoi. The officer to approve our visas to get us through customs, though, seemed a bit rusty at doing the job efficiently. He may or may not have been waiting for some cash lubrication to help speed up the process. We didn’t oil him up, so in accordance with the rest of the day we waited AGAIN until he finished.

Our ever-smiling, energetic Vietnamese tour guide, Tony, greeted us at the airport. The bus, our final transportation of the day, took us from the outskirts of the city into the center. Slowly but surely, as we got closer to our hotel, the slowness and lull of our day came to an end as Hanoi’s inner city hectic, chaotic, every man-for-himself traffic engulfed us. We arrived at our hotel and we step off the bus. Beeping, honking, chatter. A blanket of humidity. Street food smells, motorcycles whizzing by. Welcome to Hanoi.

During our time in Nanjing, we visited multiple places including the Ming Tombs and the Nanjing Massacre Museum. The Ming Tombs we’re surrounded by a large park filled with trees, semi-cleaner air, and animal statues. These statues served as guards for the first Ming Emperor who was buried there. When we visited the Nanjing Massacre Museum on the second afternoon, I was both intrigued and saddened by the statues, photos, and panels of script that I passed. The museum itself was constructed beautifully, but the stories that I read and the images I saw were hard to process all at once. While the museum was constructed to memorialize the survivors and victims of the Nanjing Massacre, I was surprised to read about China’s hopes and proclamations for peace at the conclusion of the museum’s displays. I hope that this goal can be achieved for the Chinese citizens as they continue to remember this tragedy.

Our last day in Tibet was spent outdoors in the grasslands and valleys. We began the day with a morning hike through a valley that overlooked the monastery and the rest of the town. On the way up we were able to see a lot of the animals that the people use in their daily lives such as yaks and sheep. We concluded the hike, ate breakfast, and prepared for our trip to the grasslands and Buddhist temple. The bus ride there gave us some opportunities to hike a little bit through the grasslands as well as get some photo-ops with some of the animals. We continued on our  way and eventually reached our destination which was a massive mountain range with a river running through that created a pass. We ate lunch at the opening and then proceeded to hike and take in the sights. The last thing we had to do for the day was visit the Buddhist monastery in the town nearby. We arrived at the front gates of the monastery and were warned by our guide that a sheep who has been blessed by the High Llama lives in the monastery and is prone to attacking outsiders, especially men. We were told that we could tour the grounds on our own but to be careful because we would be on our own since most of the monks had the day off. After walking around for a little bit, I ended up meeting the sheep. After it began to get up and move toward me, I decided that it would be best to run down the hill toward my group and let them know where it was. After letting them know, some of my classmates decided to go look for it. Phrases such as “it’s not even that scary” were said but quickly ended when it started chasing the group. It especially went after two of the other guys in our group. To escape they hopped a rail and climbed onto the roof of a nearby building. In the end we made it safely back to the bus and left. Great day.
This was one of my favorite days because although I was excited for the hike, I was not excited for another monastery tour. I thought it would be just like our last one. I quickly realized not to assume anything will go according to plan and it ended up being one of the funniest parts of this trip thus far.

We will end the FPU Alumni and Friends tour of Italy, starting in just a couple of weeks in Rome.  What can we say about Rome?

It is one of the great cities of the world.  It has been central, influential in Western and world history since ancient times, through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and modern world. It has been a beacon, full of corruption, the eternal city and in deep need of reform.  It has been a center of reform, a world power, a leader in the expansion of Christianity, both for and against modern world developments.  It was the last stopping place of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

We wouldn’t have Star Wars’ battle between “The Republic” and “The Empire” without the history of Rome. Rome’s history has been central in the West’s political and cultural education for centuries, almost continuously for more than a thousand years. It is the home of saints, theologians, practical philosophers, has a deep literary heritage, and is itself an architectural marvel. 

We will not have trouble finding what to do.  Here are some things to ponder, an idea or two from several ages. Italy Guides offers once again a good overview.

For the church, of course we must see the Vatican and Sistine Chapel.  I want to look for Raphael’s School of Athens. I had a print of it in my office for several years; many students and colleagues talked with me about it.  It is paired with a less famous painting, Dispute over the Holy Sacrament.  They are intended to be a pair to be seen together.  You can read a meditation on these two as an example of Christian culture by the prominent early church historian, Robert Louis Wilkin at First Things (beginning about 2/3 through the essay). 

What about ancient Rome?  We will want to see The Colosseum and The Pantheon a temple to all the gods.  And we will take a special visit to Ancient Ostia the ancient Roman port.  Rome is filled with ancient history.

For the baroque world, the unique, modern Catholic culture, we will see the Trevi Fountain, seen often in movie scenes.  Perhaps we can also get to the small church Santa Maria della Vittoria where Bernini’s sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, an experience she describes in her autobiography. 

After Rome, some of us will be traveling on for an extra few days in Naples, Pompeii and some relaxation on the island of Capri! 

The beating heart of this Tibetan mountain town is Buddhist so, naturally, we started off our first whole day in Xiahe by walking around a large monastery. A monk showed us around and taught us more about Buddhism in Tibet and life in the monastery. It was very humbling to see the dedication that monks and many of the Tibetans on Xiahe have to their religion.
After a wonderful Tibetan lunch, we had some free time. Some of us student shopped for things like prayer beads and colorful scarves. It happened to be Fran Martens Friesen’s birthday, so we had a little birthday bash with pastries from a local bakery and presents.
Next, we walked to a small art school of about 15 student, ages 16-29 from underprivileged nomadic families. We got to see lots of beautiful art by the students, get a short art history lesson from the art teacher, Tenzin, and play games with the students. I was blown away by the paintings and drawings of the students and really loved everything Tenzin is doing. I was actually informed that the art school takes volunteers for a month sometimes, so I hope to return to Xiahe for a longer stay in the future.
We spent our evening in large tents in the foothills outside of Xiahe. After dinner, we got to watch the sun set behind the rolling hills and see a performance of Tibetan singing and dancing.

Today was a day full of eating and trying to bike off those calories. We started the day by looking through the streets for breakfast. A small group of us stumbled upon savory dumplings for one yuan each (about fifteen cents)! We then went as a larger group to the Xi'an city walls for a morning bike ride. The walls go around the old city and give a nice view of the surrounding area. It quickly got into the 90s and stayed humid as well, but everyone made the fourteen kilometers. In the afternoon we went to the Xi'an Muslim quarter and got to explore the great mosque. We learned some history about the local Muslim population which is much larger then I realized beforehand. The rest of the Muslim quarter was full of local delicacies like mystery meat on a stick and fried squid. Tiny alleyways revealed more local culture like vendors trying to sell knockoff Michael Kors purses and Gucci shirts. For me the most memorable part of the day was putting my feet in a tank full of fish that nibbled at my feet.

We woke up at the crack of dawn to get onto a bullet train to go to Langzhong. We got there in the afternoon and then went to get massages. The old city is amazing, the buildings are all made of wood and there are tons of stores to buy fun trinkets. Silk is one of the bigger products of this city so a group of us all bought silk shorts handmade each for a dollar. The next day we visited a Catholic Church in the town and a museum that explained the college entrance exams. Now we are on a train to the next location

Hello from Chengdu! We spent today at Chengdu Technological University, also known as CDTU. This vocational university was founded in 1913 and has around 13,000 students. CDTU works to prepare students for jobs for organizations such as Foxconn and Intel. (Next time you use your Apple product, think of CDTU students!) We were greeted by CDTU’s International Office and given a brief tour of their manufacturing technology. We visited an English class and were given free time to socialize with the students. Afterwards, the students demonstrated a few of their creations, from drones to robots to virtual reality. We were then split into smaller groups for a campus tour, during which we cycled through four different activities: Chinese character calligraphy, archery, Han dynasty clothing, and the university museum tour. At the end of the day, many WeChat QR codes were scanned and friendships were forged. Today’s events were rewarding because China is now the place where my friends Kai, Mao, Melissa, and Toby live.