May 21, 2007
Head Coach Chris Willis

We flew out of Tulsa to Chicago to embark on the longest flight anyone in our group had ever taken. The trip from Chicago to Shanghai was 14 hours. This was enough to watch four movies, eat three meals, and still be bored. When we finally arrived in Shanghai, we were met by our Chinese guides Simon and Claudia (their English names), and they gave us a brief description of the city as we drove from the airport to the city.

Although our bodies were on 2am (CST) we had to stay awake to make the transition smoother to our new time zone. So, our guides took us to the Yu Gardens located in the city. It was a beautiful combination of buildings, ponds, landscaping and sculptures. We were then taken to the Bund, one of the busiest walkways in all of China, where over 1 million people will visit in any given night. It is located on the Huangpu River between Pu Dong and the old city of Shanghai. From it we could see where Tom Cruise jumped from one skyscraper to the next in Mission Impossible 3.

After our short tour we had our first Chinese meal, which was family style, served on a lazy susan. It gave us all a great opportunity to utilize our chopstick skills.

Finally, we were ready to check into our hotel and get some much needed rest. We hope you enjoy our daily blogs.

GO LIONS!!

May 22, 2007
Junior setter Sarah Joles

Today was our first full day in Shanghai! We began our adventure at the Shanghai museum which is famous for its 120,000 pieces of Chinese artwork. After the museum, we headed toward the TV tower, a very modern structure that can be spotted from all over Shanghai.

We went to the observation floor which was 259 meters high! We rode the elevator to the top, and it went 21 feet per second!!! After the TV tower we went to a Mongolian BBQ restaurant and then to a Silk Rug factory. We learned how the rugs are hand woven, and for the silk in cotton rungs, the worker has to tie 625 knots per inch. For the silk on silk, the worker has to tie 1750 knots per inch.

We had the afternoon free so we split up into groups and went shopping downtown! It was definitely an experience of a lifetime! There were lots of people coming up to us trying to sell us things. Let's just say they were VERY persistent! To get home, we had to flag down a Taxi! It was my first taxi ride and it was scary as ever! The traffic here is amazing and they don't drive between the lines, they pretty much drive where they want, whenever they want! They are very aggressive! Most people ride bikes in which I was almost ran over by TWO of them!! What a day!! Can't wait for the rest of them!
 

May 23, 2007
Junior hitter Katie Gage

We departed the hotel at 10:00 this morning. We never leave hungry because of the American style breakfast though. We load up pretty well.
 
We left for the Jade Buddhist Temple. It was a beautiful shrine built by a monk 120 years ago. He was on a pilgrimage and left 2 jade Budda statues there for people to worship. At times, it felt as if we were intruding on the people that were there for religious means but it seemed normal for our tour guide, Simon. We got to experience the monks  chanting that was very ceremonial.
 
For lunch we went to a Traditional Chinese meal which seems to be 15 courses! We have finally figured out that once we see the watermelon, the meal is done. There was a really cool show afterward of several servers. This restaurant was unique in that the servers were on roller skates (kind of made me thing of the Sonic Drive In!). They did a figure skating type routine that was really neat. It was at lunch that we got a taste of our first REAL Chinese bathroom. This consisted of a hole in the ground (like a toilet bowl buried) that we were required to relieve ourselves in. Some girls couldn't bring themselves to do it, but I though, "If those little servers on roller skates can do it, so can I!!!"
 
Today we also had our first game. We arrived on the college campus to be greeted with MANY students (all staring of course) and a beautiful main hall. Unfortunately we played in a not so beautiful gym that was very hot and humid. There was a mix-up in our skill level because they must have thought we were just there to mess around. They had called their intramural team to come play us. After we warmed up, they called their real University Team to show up. We didn't play our best but we did win 2-1. 
 
At the game one of the girls noticed a very tall man that they identified as Adam Morrison from Portland. It prove to be the #2 NBA Draft pick from last year. We were all very excited and got some pictures with him. We gave him our hotel and we might meet up for him later for an outing.
 
After our once again traditional Chinese dinner, we went on a boat cruise. We saw the city at night. It was beautiful! The buildings here all seem to be skyscrapers but they all have some sort of LED technology on the sides of the buildings. These lights create moving pictures, patters, colors, etc. The weather was practically perfect and it made for a great close to a wonderful day. After the cruise we went back to the hotel to crash. They have done a really good job of wearing us out so we sleep well and so that we are ready to wake up at 6:00 due to our jet lag....

In Christ,
Katie

May 24, 2007
Junior libero Teyoni Wilson

We had the morning off most of us went shopping. Some spent the morning in a taxi looking for the right stores downtown. Another group of us found a great department store across the street with endless shoes! It is great that we all are now comfortable enough to venture out on our own. We even crossed the street, which is quite an adventure here!

We all met up for lunch at a local restaurant. It was set up, as most of our meals have been. A large glass lazy susan in the middle with different choices of food which the whole table shares. There is always rice with a few different meat and vegetable choices. We were all excited to find Westernized toilets in the bathroom!

After lunch, we headed to the Shanghai Sports training center for our second match. The training center had a different building for every sport including: women's and men's volleyball, tennis, golf, water sports, and synchronized swimming. The ages of the students ranged from 13 to 30 years of age. The women's volleyball athletes train 10 hours a day and have only 4 hours of educational classes a week. They reside at the center. We were greeted by a 24 year old athlete who had been there since she was 15, she made Tessa Woods look small! That's hard to do! We had the opportunity to play their 16-17 year old teams and...we learned a lot. Their style of play is very consistent and controlled.

We all went to dinner at a local restaurant. Our tour guides, Simon and Claudia all took us to the club dancing. We all had a great time out on the town.

Teyoni Wilson


May 25, 2007
Senior libero Amy Barnicle

Today was the last day in Shanghai. We had our last amazing breakfast buffet, and then we went to take the Maglev train to the airport. The Maglev train is supposed to get up to 480 Km/hr, but ours only got up to 430 Km/hr. It took us 7 minutes to get to the airport, and in the bus it would have taken 30 minutes. Once we got to the airport, we had to wait for our luggage to get there (the bus took our luggage)

It was kind of sad to pack up our things and say goodbye to Shanghai and Simon, our wonderful tour guide. The next time we pack up our things it will be to come home. In the meantime we keep ourselves occupied and always willing to try new things by repeating our favorite phrase since we have been in China: "How often can you ________ in China?" We fill in the blank with anything such as eat
Chinese food, sleep on an extremely hard bed, etc.

The plane ride was an interesting one. Our new tour guide, Claudia, got sick on the plane. It was a rough (literally) 2 hour flight; however I was constantly comforted by my seat-mate, Cherie. Cherie is in the process of obtaining her pilot's license, so she kept informing me about what was going on. When the ride got a little bumpy Cherie started telling me that she was getting a little worried. She didn't know why it was happening. This made me even more nervous since she actually knew what was going on more than I did! We were all a little worried about the landing, but it went smoothly.

It took an hour to get to the restaurant to eat dinner. A rumor had been circulating that we would be having an American meal tonight. As we entered the restaurant, the rumor was confirmed. I definitely smelled barbeque. Unfortunately, we got on the elevator and then entered a definitely Chinese restaurant. What had been an okay day then turned to a pretty good one when the food turned out to be delicious and new. We also got to witness a small dancing show at the restaurant.

We checked in to the hotel about 7:30. The beds are a little bit softer than in Shanghai and there are several things to do here such as swim in the pool, workout, etc., but all of these activities cost money. Tomorrow will be a fun-filled day of seeing many popular sites in Beijing such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Hutong.

Amy Barnicle
 

May 26, 2007
Junior hitter Ashley Hill

Today, was our first day in Beijing, we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Hutong. Tiananmen Square is one of the greatest sights in Beijing full of political history of China. The Forbidden city where royal family lives was truly a sight to see.

We walked for two and a half miles from the south side to the north side taking two hours! We then stop for lunch after which we met a family from Hutong, which is where a typical family would live. The way these families live is unbelievable and you must see it to truly understand what its like.

Ashley Hill

May 27, 2007
Freshman hitter Ashlee Russell

Today was probably one of the biggest highlights of our trip to China, as today we visited the Great Wall. During our one hour and fifteen minute bus drive to the Wall, we stopped off at a jade factory. While at the jade factory, we learned about the different types of jade, as well as to tell the quality of the jade. To check the quality, you tap the jade piece with a Chinese coin and listen for the pitch it gives off, the higher the pitch the higher the quality. After our lesson, we were able to shop around the factory. We then continued on to the Wall. Once there, we were up for the major challenge that lay before us, the climbing of the Great Wall. Some teammates were more ambitious than others on just how far to climb. We found the climb to feel a lot like pre-season in volleyball, in that it was quite taxing on our bodies. However, also like pre-season, we found the reward for our hard work at the end to be just as great. The view from atop the Wall was astounding and a once and a lifetime experience. Another highlight after the climb, was the ice cream waiting for us back at the bottom.

After the Wall, we continued on to lunch for another traditional Chinese meal, in which for the first time we were presented a whole fish to eat. At my table, the fish went virtually untouched. We then traveled to a local tea house, at which we were introduced to our first tea ceremony. There we tried four different kinds of tea and were shown the proper drinking technique, including hand placement, which I perfected quite easily. Another interesting technique learned involved slurping, which most Americans find quite rude, but here in China it shows a true love for the tea.

After our tea ceremony, most of our group continued on to an acrobatic show, which I'm told was very fascinating and fun. A fellow teammate and I, however, continued on a quest for Pizza Hut, which we soon found. There we ordered what the Chinese call "The American Special" (pepperoni and cheese), who would have thought it? All in all, the day was the best one yet. I hope the final few days hold just as much in store.

Ashlee Russell

May 28, 2007
Senior hitter Sarah Hoffmeister

Yesterday was pretty hard to top, but today was just as interesting. We started off at the Temple of Heaven in the morning. It's not just a temple, it's more like a gigantic park. It was beautiful, with green grass and cypress trees. Claudia told us we would see lots of people doing tai chi, playing hackey sack, dancing, or playing checkers. They were everywhere! Most of us were invited to join in and play with the tai chi balls, or play hackey sack. It was so much fun to see how the older generation gathers to exercise out in the beautiful parks. If I lived here I would definitely spend time relaxing there. There were three main buildings inside the park. It is called the Temple of Heaven because the emperor used to go there twice a year to pray to heaven. The first building, the largest one, was where the emperor prayed in March for a good harvest. Later in December, he returned to give thanks to the heavens for blessings. There was even a pathway for the god of heaven that no one was allowed to walk on.

After we left the temple, we went to lunch. It was a lot like the rest of our meals, but still very tasty! The afternoon took us to a place called the Summer Palace. Claudia told us a story about a woman called the Dragon Lady. She worked her way up from a middle-class girl, to a concubine, to the most powerful woman in China. She never became emperor, but she ruled behind young emperors who could not make decisions for themselves. The Dragon Lady and the royal family, who lived in the Forbidden Palace where we visited a couple of days ago, retreated to the Summer Palace during the hotter months of the year. It really was significantly cooler there. A large lake took up about 3/4 of the Summer Palace. The rest was covered with large shade trees, and a corridor (the longest in the world) that stretched along the lakeside. We saw the courtyard where the Dragon Lady imprisoned a young emperor for ten years to maintain her power. Claudia told us a pretty crazy fact about the Dragon Lady who lived there. She was a "luxury lady", as Claudia says. She had over 80 chefs who prepared food for her every meal. At each meal, she had three tables, holding over 120 different dishes! One table was for eating (she would only select 4 or 5 dishes to eat out of all of them). Another table was just for looks, and the last was for smelling! All the money she spent on one meal could have fed 5,000 peasants for a whole day! The Dragon Lady loved the Summer Palace so much that she paid to have it rebuilt twice when it was destroyed in the wars. We saw a giant marble boat as we took another boat across the lake to leave the palace.

A stop at a freshwater pearl shop was pretty interesting. They have been great about showing us the processes of each handicraft at the factories we've visited (silk carpet, copper, jade, silk bedding, and pearls). They cut open a live oyster and let us guess how many pearls were inside. 22! It was pretty cool. After the pearl shop, where many of us found great gifts for family and friends or splurged on a nice piece of jewelry for ourselves, the bus took us back to the hotel. We had the rest of the evening on our own. Some went on to a shopping area, some stayed behind to rest up and do laundry for the next day. Each day flies by so fast, and it's nice to be so tired that we sleep great every night. We have realized that there are only 2 days left in China! Tomorrow will be a big day, we're scheduled to go to Silk Alley in the morning (the highlight of the shopping for many girls!). In the afternoon we will play another match against a very talented team. Hopefully tomorrow's blog will be filled with news of victory for our team (and a successful shopping day!)

Sarah Hoffmeister

May 29, 2007
Sophomore hitter Megan Kinney

We started off the day with some shopping at the Silk Alley. It is a really big shopping center, similar to a flea market back home only all knock offs. It meant really great deals for us though. Some of the women at the shops were very pushy, I think a few of the girls have scratch marks to prove just how pushy they were. After we left the market we were free to grab some lunch on our own. Most of us went to Subway. It wasn't quite as good as it is back home but it was good. Then we came back to our rooms and got to take naps for the first time this whole trip.

When we woke up we went to play our first volleyball match in Beijing. The gym was very different. When we walked in the smell of diesel fuel about knocked us down. We all got kind of nervous when a China man in the corner of the gym lit up a cigarette. We came out alive though. Then we went to the Peking Duck restaurant. The duck was great. I think a few of us were a little hesitant of it but we all tried it and most of us really enjoyed it. We were all a little sad afterwards though because we realized that it was our last Chinese dinner together. We are all ready for bed now and ready to get up and go shopping again tomorrow.

Megan Kinney