Flat Kat in China
Anyway, back on topic… One of my favorite parts of the trip was the train from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport to the outskirts of the city. It is called a Maglev train (Mag = magnetic, lev = levitation). Instead of having wheels like most trains, this one used really powerful magnets to levitate (float) above the rails! Because there is less friction, the train can speed up, reach top speed, and slow down faster than normal trains. We ended up reaching over 430 kilometers (267 miles) per hour! That’s the fastest I’ve ever traveled on the ground before.
We got to the hostel we were staying at and were pleasantly surprised. Mr. Roberg had booked a “luxury” room for $40 for the first two night because he figured we would have to sleep a lot after such a long trip. When we walked into the room, we were both impressed. Now, for those of you who don’t know me, I usually have pretty high standards. I don’t sleep on the floor and I can’t stand when my bed is a bit too hard or a bit too soft. Well, when I saw this room and jumped around on this bed (I’ve found that jumping around on a bed is the best way to test it out), I was quite impressed. I thought, “Mr. Roberg is finally getting where I’m coming from. He finally understands that I deserve luxury all of the time.”
The room had a queen size bed, a couch, desk & chair, and newly renovated bathroom. I was in heaven… Then, after two nights, he switched us to a dorm room with 3 other people! Talk about bringing a cool Kat’s expectations back down to earth. 
Even with the room change, Shanghai was a great city in which to start our trip. One of the coolest things was that the Olympic torch was being run through the city the morning after we arrived. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to see the torch itself because the police were stopping people a block (about 500 feet) away. We did get a cool picture of what it would have looked like if I had gotten a chance to carry the torch!
That same day, we went to the Shanghai Museum. Now, I’m not much of a museum person, and Mr. Roberg likes history a bit too much for me sometimes, but this museum was really interesting. One of my favorite parts was the section about porcelain. Porcelain is what your toilet bowl is probably made of. If your family has a really good set of dishes called “China“, the dishes are probably made of porcelain. The reason for this is that China was so famous for making beautiful porcelain dishes, that people in Europe and the United States just started to refer to the dishes as “China“. The reason the porcelain in the museum was so neat was that we learned how the Chinese experimented with it to make it better. Did you know that good porcelain is special clay that is baked in an oven up to 3 different times? Me neither! There were so many impressive pieces there, it was fun to look at.
The next day, we went to see a propaganda poster museum. Propaganda is when a government or other group tries to convince others through writing and art that the government’s or group’s ideas are the best. In China, the government produced a lot of propaganda between 1950 - 1976. The posters are meant to grab your attention, and then convey an idea in a clear and convincing way. Here are some of the posters we looked at: (pictures not available yet)
What do you think? What similarities do you see? What differences? How do the people in the posters look? Do you notice anything about the colors? What do the details mean?
Well, for people living at that time, and people who know the history, the meaning is really clear. Just like me, you might need to have some of the meaning explained, but once Mr. Roberg explained it, I appreciated the posters a bit more. They really are works of art.
After propaganda, I was hungry, and guess what… I like Chinese food! The noodles, the soups, and that mystery meat is really good, although I haven’t seen a lot of cats around to ask what it is. No, I’m just kidding, if you got that last joke. I saw a cat lounging around our hostel just yesterday. What I wasn’t kidding about is liking the food. It’s very tasty, and healthy too!
Well, I’ve got to go. We are getting ready to explore Nanjing a little more, so I’ll talk to you later.
Thanks for checking in!
Your buddy, Flat Kat.
Flat Kat-
We’ve missed you! So glad you are having fun in China! We look forward to more stories! (BTW- I traveled with Mr. R. awhile ago and I, too, know how stinky he can get! You are a good sport!)
MS. R.
Flat Kat’s Reply
I’m glad someone can understand what I’m going through. On the other hand, Mr. Roberg has told me a bunch of stories about traveling with you too!
He said that there are two keys to having fun when traveling with you: 1. make sure you are fed, and 2. make sure that you get plenty of sleep so you don’t get cranky.
I bet you and I would travel purr-fectly together!
Wow that really seems interesting about the torch, why do they bring the torch around though? You also said you could imagine how cool it would look if you could take around the torch, do they let the public run it or no because you said then were keeping people away from it. Well now to my next question though, you said they used porclean, for their old ages did they use procelean back then.
Flat Kat’s Reply
It has been tradition in modern times that the Olympic torch is run from Greece, where the Olympic Games first began, to the host country. Since Beijing China will be hosting the games, they are running the torch through many of the cities in China so people get to see it and get excited. Unfortunately, protesters disrupted the running of the torch when it was going through Paris, France. Because the Chinese don’t want that to happen again, they are making sure that most people don’t get too close to the torch. As for who gets to carry the torch, the host country decides who gets to run with the torch. Sometimes famous people are given the opportunity, but most of the time it is a local hero, like a police officer that saved someone’s life.
Regarding the porcelain, the Chinese invented it over 3,000 years ago! They have been using it ever since. The Chinese took hundreds of years to perfect it, and Chinese porcelain became known around the world as the best porcelain.
Thanks for the great questions, Tyler.
Tyler,
The Olympic torch gets carried around all the countries that participate in the Olympic Games (it was in California just a month or two ago). You have to apply or be asked to run the torch and usually it’s athletes, or someone who has made a contribution to the country (military heroes…etc) and there is an application process starts 2 years before the games begin.
Thanks for such a great question…I learned something new!!!
Mrs. Roberg
Is China a country like ours? And was the hostel nice?
Flat Kat’s Reply
There are actually a lot of things here that are similar to the United States. One of the things I notice most is that like the United States, the Chinese like everything BIG. When they make a monument, they make it really big. When they build a road, they make it 4 lanes wide.
They also like to shop. Mr. Roberg and I went into a shopping mall yesterday and looked at all of the stuff there. It was just like a mall in the United States, and most things were around the same price.
As for the hostels, they are pretty nice. The best thing about staying in a hostel instead of staying in a hotel is that we get to meet other travellers. They also have pets! In the last hostel, I was able to hang out with another cat, and in this one, they have a golden retriever (dog). So it is wecloming and friendly than just a normal hotel.
Thanks for the good questions!
Your Friend,
Flat Kat
i like chinese food too. i always wanted to go to china, it sounds like a lot of fun
flat cat you are a picky sleeper but that is not the point.
how do chinese people dress. well isreal was really cool to learn about i really want to know about china know…………………………………………
what is your favorite part about china so far…………………
so hope you have a good time!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flat Kat’s Reply
Of course I’m a picky sleeper, I’m a cat!!
As for my favorite part about China so far, I would have to say the buildings and art. They really are cool because they are so different.
Thanks for the good wishes. Have fun in school and I’ll see you soon.
Flat Kat
My Reply:
Karlee,
I’ll have Mr. Roberg email some pictures showing how people dress in China. Give it a couple of days and check back to see what has been updated!!
Mrs. Roberg
DEAR FLATKAT,
I THINK THAT KIDS LOVE THIS WEBSITE SO WE CAN TALK TO YOU WELL ONLY MS.ROBERGS CLASS AND MRS.MACROLLEYS. SORRY FOR THE SPELLING BUT I DONT KNOW HOW TO SPELL HER NAME. THE PICTURES ARE REALLY KOOL IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF FUN!!!! IS LIKE A BIG CITY THAT YOU ARE IN? USALLY IT IS A BIG CITY BUT SOMETIMES NOT ALL THE TIME. WELL IM GOING TO LET YOU GO HOPE YOU WRITE BACK SOON!!!!!! SINCERELY,HUNTER
HOW IS CHINA SO FAR? I BET YOU IT IS GOOD AND LOVE EXPLORING CHINA I WISH I COULD!!!!!!! I LOVE TALKING TO YOU ON THIS WEBSITE ITS REALLY FUN!!!!!
Flat Kat’s Reply
Good to hear from you Hunter. I’m glad that you like the website. Mr. Roberg and I are really fortunate that Mrs. Roberg is keeping it up to date for us. We can’t get to the website, so we just e-mail Mrs. Roberg and she copies and pastes everything onto the blog. I’m glad to hear that she’s doing a good job!
Talk to you later,
Flat Kat
Dear flat cat,
I am so glad that you are having such a good time in China! Do you see alot of cool China stuff, like art, clothing, and places. I wish i was there with you. Well I will talk to you soon ok? Bye
Sincerely,
Morgan Douglas
Flat Kat’s Reply
I have seen all kinds of cool art here. I really love Chinese painting and porcelain. They are very cool and have a neat style to them. I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy any because they are a bit expensive, but I’ve been taking lots of pictures.
Maybe someday you can take me on a trip with you when you come to China. I’d definitely come back, and I can show you around a bit!
See you when I get back,
Flat Kat
DEAR FLATCAT,
THAT JOKE ABOUT THE CHINESE EATING CAT’S WAS FUNNY! HOW WAS THE SCENERY IN CHINA?I WISH I COULD GO TO CHINA IT SEEMS REALLY FUN, HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT TIME IN CHINA.THANKS FOR YOU’RE TIME TTYL {TALK TO YOU LATER} BYYYYYYYYYYY!
Dear flatkat,
the tourch is pretty cool.
what food do lthey sell there?
mr.roberg look funny in the shanghie expierience.
how is the bed you where in?
Ｔｈｅ ｆｏｏｄ ｉｓ ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｍｕｃｈ ｔｈｅ ｓａｍｅ ａｓ ｙｏｕ ｃａｎ ｏｒｄｅｒ ｉｎ ａ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ ｒｅｓｔａｕｒａｎｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｕｎｉｔｅｄ Ｓｔａｔｅｓ， ｂｕｔ ｉｔ ｓｅｅｍｓ ｔｏ ｔａｓｔｅ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ。 Ｉ ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈｙ， ｂｕｔ ｉｔ ｄｏｅｓ。
Ｔｈｅ ｂｅｄｓ ｏｖｅｒ ｈｅｒｅ ｒａｎｇｅ ｆｒｏｍ ｆｉｒｍ， ｔｏ ｈａｒｄ。 Ｔｈｅ ｏｎｌｙ ｂｅｄ ｔｈａｔ ｗａｓ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｓｏｆｔ ｗａｓ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ Ｉ ｈａｄ ｆｏｒ ｍｙ ｆｉｒｓｔ ｔｗｏ ｎｉｇｈｔｓ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ。
Dear Flat Kat,
What kinds of relgions do they practice in China? What is the religious center of China? What is the most interesting thing you have seen in China?
Flat Kat‘s Reply
Good Questions Robert. The Chinese people have a number of traditional religions, including Confucianism, Daoism (also spelled Taoism）， and Buddhism。 Officially, the Chinese are not encouraged to worship any religion because the government is run by the Communist Party. However, the government’s restrictions on religious expression have relaxed a bit in recent years。 As for a religious center， I don‘t think there really is one。 The Chinese have always had great respect for nature and appreciate beautiful scenes like mountains and lakes。 There are 5 sacred mountains and a number of important rivers， but I don’t think there is specific a religious center。
As for my favorite thing so far， I would have to say the traditional religious buildings。 They are really cool because the corners curve up。 Ｉ’ｌｌ ｔｒｙ ｔｏ ｐｕｔ ａ ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅ ｏｎ ｍｙ ｎｅｘｔ ｐｏｓｔ。
Ｔｈａｎｋｓ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｅ ｇｏｏｄ ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎｓ。
Ｙｏｕｒ ｂｕｄｄｙ，
Ｆｌａｔ Ｋａｔ
My Reply:
Robert, Thanks for the interesting question. As mentioned at the start of the blog Mr. Roberg can’t work on his website from China so I’ll have to answer the questions. I’m going to email your question to Mr. Roberg because I don’t know the answer (I’m an English Teacher..not History …hahaha)
Mrs. Roberg
flatcat is dabom he rules. mr.roberg is your trip going good?
Dear flat kat,
China seem realy cool. Whenever I travel with my family my dad smells to. Aspecialy when he aets beans before we go. Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyoooooooooouuuuuuuuu.
Try the egg rolls, they are great. Until next ttime. Bye
Dear Flat Kat-
We’ve missed you! How wonderful it is to hear the latest! We know you are disappointed that Mr. Roberg was only treating you as kingly as you deserve for a day, but what can you expect from mere humans?
Our students have been looking at a map of China and following you. We’ve also seen a neat article of a “forbidden temple” and some other fascinating architecture from China. One student is particularly interested in dragons in chinese culture… have you seen anything with dragons, or read anything about them?
Thanks for feeling my pain, Mrs. M.
In fact, dragons are everywhere in China! They symbolize strength and power so many of the things made for the emperor or made to represent him were decorated with dragons. Even in today’s culture, they are everywhere because the dragon has come to represent China. Other animals representing China are the lion, also representing power, and the phoenix, which represented the empress.
If you like dragons, China is the place to come!
I’ll try to put a few pictures up of dragons I’ve seen, but it’s a bit difficult with the site being blocked here. I’ll see what I can do though.
Only a week until I come home! I’m excited.
Flat Kat and Mr. Roberg,
I was so glad you called last night! It was great to hear your voice and your purr!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait until you come home and you can come to our classes for our big surprise!!!!!!!!!! We miss you!
Ms. Roberg