Fieldtrip to Lama and Confucian temples.

Yesterday was Friday here in Beijing. As always on Friday, my day begin with a nice long Chinese test, followed by more preparation and an oral test. I think I did pretty well, but it was a pretty stressful morning. Thankfully, afterwards I went with a group and ate a tremendous amount of food and got back to campus just in time to leave on my philosophy class fieldtrip. As the bus was already full, it was difficult to find a seat. Also, Professor An allowed CET students who were not enrolled in his classes to attend the field trip as well (though they had to pay their own way), so it was a crowded bus. I ended sitting at the front of the bus with Professor An, which was actually very interesting. He asked about what I wanted to do after college and I told him my plans of continuing my Chinese education. He seemed very excited by this prospect, and began telling me tales of his troubles with establishing a Chinese program at Clemson. Apparently at this point, the Chinese program at Clemson is only behind the French and Spanish programs, which says a lot for the shift in language priority in the US.
Professor An is originally from Beijing, and I took advantage to ask him some questions about the city. A few of the other students and myself are interested in going hiking somewhere in the mountains near Beijing, and Professor An seemed very happy to tell us about prime hiking opportunities and even offered to organize a trip for us. Very exciting.
When we finally arrived at the Lama temple (Tibetan Buddhism), I was surprised to find a parking lot full of tour buses. The temple was overrun with tourists and gift shops which seem inappropriate for a temple, but at this point I'm never surprised to see an overwhelming number of people everywhere. The temple was very beautiful and had even recently been repaired and newly painted in certain areas. It was nice to have Professor An with us, as he could explain anything that we had questions about. My only qualm with the Lama temple (other than the crowd) was the ridiculous use of incense. Sometimes, I literally could not keep my eyes open because of the smoke. People were praying and lighting incense in every corner of the temple.
We next headed to the Confucian temple, which was right across the street. I thought that was incredibly interesting, and was even more impressed when I was told that China has never had a war waged because of Religion other than one rebellion. Even the scholars from both temples would share information with each other and visit each other regularly. Unfortunately, the entire Confucian temple was under construction, so there wasn't too much to see. There was one large archway and a few statues that weren't obscured by scaffolding. There were some interesting parts of the temple compound though. Apparently, in the distant past, the temple also served as a university for the brightest students in China. Also, there was a bridge in the temple that was covered in these little red, wooden tablets. Professor An explained that students come here and right down their concerns for their education and hang them on the bridge in the temple in the hopes that Confucius will aid them in their studies. There was even one from an American girl that said "I hope I do well in 7th grade." Overall, it was really interesting and I would love to go back if the construction is finished before I leave.
There's a new album at my Webshots site called "Temple Field Trip." Check it out for all the pictures from yesterday.