Mar 9, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Greetings Friends,
Here’s my first of several updates I’ll be sending while traveling.
What a great day today! And I’m so happy to be able to share with you! (Gosh, it used to just be sharing with 1 postcard at a time — now I can share so much more easily) I have enjoyed 2 great days at my qigong teacher’s, Grandmaster Mingtang Xu’s, Kundawell Institute in Beijing. Mingtang offered me a room to stay in for these 2 nights here too which has been such a treat! They are usually for his patients – but since they’ve just started up again after the Chinese New Year, they have some extra space – it’s like a 5-star hotel and is such a generous gift! I’m thankful for the warmth and comfort given the cold outside! 🙂 (It snowed yesterday!!)
Today I attended more classes at Kundawell – anatomy, Image Medicine, and meditation – the class on Image Medicine was taught by a Russian woman I met 5 years ago at Shaolin and now she’s a professor here! – we got to practice scanning each other on receiving info on the physical, informational and energetic anatomies of our bodies – way cool! One woman student I’ve befriended, Arvin, from Latvia, LOVES qigong and this practice of medicine. She’s quite talented and says she has big goals, “like really big” – traveling to the moon and such — Mingtang has told us many stories of such experiences with his own training with his teachers when younger. 🙂
I also spontaneously met my friend Patrick from Hungary who is now living in Beijing! I met him 5 years ago when traveling with Mingtang in Europe and it was so awesome to see him again. We already planned a trip for him to come to Zhengzhou this Friday to meet Dr. Zhao (whom I’ll be studying with and will take the train to be with him tomorrow) and then Patrick, I and Kundawell’s anatomy teacher from Brazil, David, will take the train on Saturday to Hua Shan (Mt. Hua – one of the 5 sacred Taoist mountains) for a weekend hiking adventure – maybe we’ll make it to Xi’an too). Also of note is that the 3 of us (David, Patrick and I) had lunch together for a total of 33 yuan – $5 for all 3 of us combined — I love Chinese food and the prices! 🙂
Gosh, I also just love walked the streets and alley ways (‘hutong’) in old Beijing! There are soo many good things to eat! I just went to buy some fruit and got some favorite snacks (shan zha pian – which is a form of dried plum made into wafer like treats, hei zhi ma hu – which is this yummy black sesame seed flour that you add hot water to for a most delicious breakfast :), roasted chestnuts – that are still warm when they put them in a bag for you, and a yummy yogurt drink (suan nai) — they serve them in these clay cups and ask that you come back the next day to return them :))Tomorrow morning I take the train to Zhengzhou to meet Dr. Zhao and his family. Not sure what internet access I’ll have for the first few days…but I’ll send updates as I do. Still have to get some pics up too.
Much love to you all!! I’m so happy I can share with you! xoxoxoxo
Much Love,
KarenJoy
P.S. The picture of me below is on the top of Kundawell Institute — and I also include some of the alley ways in old Beijing 🙂 — More pics on Facebook 🙂 xoxo
p.p.s. Thank you to all of you for your notes you wrote back on my first email!!! I haven’t been online much so haven’t written back to each of you AND I soooo appreciate your emails and love. thank you!!
Gosh, I also just love walked the streets and alley ways (‘hutong’) in old Beijing! There are soo many good things to eat! I just went to buy some fruit and got some favorite snacks (shan zha pian – which is a form of dried plum made into wafer like treats, hei zhi ma hu – which is this yummy black sesame seed flour that you add hot water to for a most delicious breakfast :), roasted chestnuts – that are still warm when they put them in a bag for you, and a yummy yogurt drink (suan nai) — they serve them in these clay cups and ask that you come back the next day to return them :))Tomorrow morning I take the train to Zhengzhou to meet Dr. Zhao and his family. Not sure what internet access I’ll have for the first few days…but I’ll send updates as I do. Still have to get some pics up too.
