a lesson in kung fu

Have you ever see the movie Shao Lin temple with Jet Li? I haven't seen it, but I'd like to because that is where the Expo Project Group went for team building. We got to meet the Abbot (the head monk of the temple), and have many interesting 'behind the scenes’ experiences such as: eating vegetarian food with the monks - we couldn't talk and we had to finish everything they put in the two bowls that were in front of us. We rose at 4:30 am one morning to listen to the monks chant. One night around 8pm it was dark and soo quiet on the temple grounds. We got to have a kung fu lesson from a head monk. It was interesting being there at night and thinking about how old the place is.
We climbed one of the 4 main mountains in China and saw some ancient carvings on stone along a river. Then one day we got blindfolded before getting on the bus. Each person had someone guiding them as we got off the bus, still blindfolded. Then I began to hear clapping. We were being led towards the many clapping hands, it began to get louder and faster and I could hear clapping completely surrounding me. Finally we were led to a small platform and then told to take off our blind folds. In front of us were many perfectly straight lines of boys of all ages going all the way back to a fence at the other end of the courtyard. The youngest and smallest were in front. We realized we were in the middle of a keng fu school - with the dormitories and classroom buildings around us. All of the sudden a voice came over a speaker and called out some orders, then the kids moved in unison yelling "huh" and striking different kung fu poses. It was really quite incredible to see their intense faces and strict discipline as well as the sheer number of them.
It was a very interesting trip but a bit trying being surrounded by emptiness in the temples and in the boys faces. Overall, a very culturally rich trip with highs and lows that will be remembered.