ICFall08: American Law in China, P3


Peter's Tex-Mex Grill in Sichuan Province, China

When we left Kunming, we went to Chengdu, in Sichuan Province just north of Yunnan Province, where most of the panda bear exhibitions are located. We had planned to visit Tibet after Kunming, but because of the unrest there, the Chinese government had closed Tibet to tourists. So we had lots of time to spend visiting the rest of China. Robbie especially wanted to see the pandas. The panda exhibits were good, but Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill was exceptional! Some long-time American friends in Kunming had recommended Peter’s, and they were one hundred percent on target. It was decorated like a Mexican café in San Antonio, and I got all the sweet iced tea I could drink—a special treat for me. The food was great, but in fairness, it was more traditional Mexican than true Tex-Mex, as there was no chili sauce poured over the enchiladas. But that is a small quibble. I not only ate there, but I “got the tee shirt.” Imagine: a tee shirt with “Peter’s Tex-Mex” embossed on the upper left front of the shirt, with Mexican sombreros on the back, and under that, in Chinese no less, were written the locations of the three Peter’s Tex-Mex Grills scattered across China.

We saw the terra cotta warriors of Xi’an, a massive burial site for the emperor who united all of China, and after whom China is named, Emperor Qin (pronounced “Chin”). Prior to his death in 210 BC, Emperor Qin had over 700,000 people work for decades to create an army of over eight thousand life-size soldiers formed out of terra cotta to guard him in death. The thousands of beautifully hand-painted warriors, with real weapons in their clay hands, together with 130 chariots pulled by 520 terra cotta horses and 150 terra cotta cavalry horses, were all buried in a vast network of tunnels about five meters deep. Some of the tunnels’ corridors are 230 meters long, the warriors carefully arrayed in battle formation to protect Emperor Qin in his afterlife.

Of course, we visited the Great Wall. It is stunning.

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Judge Robert Newsom and wife Robbie with Judge Sam Griffith at the entrance to Peter's Tex-Mex Cafe in Sichuan Province

It was a great trip, and Robert, Robbie and I would love to go again. The opportunity to discuss the American legal system with lawyers and judges in other countries is a great experience and helps one to refine his beliefs as he answers challenges and questions. And it makes one proud of the American legal system.

For more information, contact:
Hon. Sam Griffith
12th Court of Appeals
1517 West Front, Suite 354
Tyler, Texas 75702-7854
sam.griffith@courts.state.tx.us

Author's footnote:
People worry about my safety when I go to Sudan. But they felt very comfortable with my travel in China. Yet, there was the massive earthquake two weeks after we left. Chengdu and Sichuan Province were shattered by the earthquake that killed tens of thousands and left hundreds of thousands of Chinese homeless. I emailed our tour guide to see if she and her family were fine. She assured me that both her family and Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill were unharmed.

On July 21, two public buses were bombed in Kunming, China, where we taught. Appearances are deceiving. What looks tranquil may be dangerous, and what seems dangerous may be safe. For we truly rate the danger in a personal sense. If we only ride once on a public bus in Kunming, but it is the day that bus was bombed, it was dangerous to ride a bus. If the bald tires on the rickety planes in Sudan land safely, then for that ride, it was safe.

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