Monday, July 18, 2011

Terracotta Warriors

Sunday, Ryan and I headed over to the Asian Civilization Museum to check out the "Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and his Legacy" exhibit. The full terracotta army is located in Xi'an is about 1000km SW of Beijing. These warriors were buried with the first emperor, Qin. They are a collection of sculptures depicting the armies of the Qin Dynasty. The figures, dating from 3rd BC, were only discovered in 1974, by local farmers. Less than 40 years ago!


From Asian Civilization Museum Website:
"The terracotta army buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China is perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of our time. Unearthed in 1974 outside Xi’an, the thousands of pottery soldiers and horses are striking works of art that tell us a great deal about early China."

(my pictures aren't the greatest, no flash allowed and it was dim)

The detail is amazing.


Terracotta Warriors and Horse Production
This model shows the division of labor required to create the terracotta figures.


One of the workers being punished.

It would be amazing to see all of the warriors in Xi'an. If we stay in SE Asia long enough, we might just get the chance to go back to China and see them!

This is what the full army in Xi'an looks like...
Absolutely incredible!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Jurong Lake Run 5K

Sunday, Ryan and I ran in a 5K at Jurong Lake that sets in the middle of the beautiful Chinese and Japanese Gardens. This was Ryan's first ever 5K and he did awesome! I am very proud of him!


Waiting for the race to start!


Look at him go!


Post race...just a little red in the face!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Black and White

(This should have been posted a long time ago....oops)

Back in May, my friend Alaina and I went on a tour of the Black and White colonial homes in Singapore. (I went on this tour with my mom and her friend Susan when they were visiting last year but never got around to making a post.)

The Black and White homes were built between 1898-1941 when Singapore was a British colony. They have since torn down many and only about 300 remain. They are all owned by the Singapore government.


What a great family room.
This house chose to use a little color in the theme. Each room was painted a different color.


This veranda was my favorite part of the house. It wraps around the entire upstairs.


Love the exposed beams.

This was the new house on the tour. It was huge and followed a black and white theme throughout.

Look at this cute little guy. I love a cute pup and this one didn't mind 20 people invading his space!



They used the bed to divide this huge bedroom.


This house is called a long house. It reminds me a little of the ranch style homes in Texas.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

Ahh, the 4th of July...my favorite holiday. It holds so many great memories from Rangers games, fireworks at Sand Hills Country Club and trips to the lake. It's everything American and I love it! We attended the Singapore American Association Independence Day Celebration as we did last year. There was great music, great food (corndogs, hamburgers, hot dogs and beer!) and of course, fireworks. It doesn't compare to a 4th of July celebration in Texas but it's not a bad alternative.






We hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!