For National Holiday Beth, Brad, and I decided to go to Xi'an (She-ahn). Here's a day by day account...pics to come later.
SaturdayLeft to catch the 3:00 train. Got to the train station...Brad and I realized we didn't have our passports. Went back to school. Went back to the train station. Successfully boarded 16 hr overnight train to Xi'an.
SundayWe arrived in Xi'an early Sunday morning. We had booked a hostel really close to the train station so Jim Bean, the hostel manager, picked us up from the train station. It felt quite welcoming to see a sea of Chinese people and one sign in the crowd that said "Amy." We settled in at the hostel, and were glad the staff all spoke good English and could answer our questions. We sat down and made a plan for the week, what we wanted to accomplish. First on the list was milk. Those who kept up with us last year know that October 1st is our self-proclaimed National Milk Day (the first day we got real milk last year). So on Milk Eve, we thought it fitting to find milk. We headed out to Metro, a one hour bus each way, and stocked up on milk and cheese for the week. Yum!
On the way out to Metro we'd seen a Starbucks...woohoo! So after Metro, we chilled at Starbucks and read for a while. I decided that Starbucks is a transporter. Sitting there in Starbucks, I could have been anywhere in the world. Something about that atmosphere and the smell of coffee just really thrilled us. As I was reading, I almost expected to look up and see Erin sitting across from me on her laptop. And the smell of coffee and the sound of jazz playing zapped me right back to the days of Portland Brew. So we chilled for a few hours, enjoying the leisure and book reading time.
We had wanted to go see a movie, but to no avail. Instead, we walked around the Muslim Quarter all decorated with lights and full of people selling their wares. We bought a few things, tried some new Muslim foods, and enjoyed the cool Xi'an weather.
Monday - Happy National Milk Day!
The morning began, of course, with a nice bag of milk (yes, a bag of milk...insert straw, enjoy.). Then we headed off to our tour of some of the big sites in Xi'an. We misjudged the time it would take by bus and which bus to even get on, so we were cutting it close and didn't want the group to leave us. Brad picked up his walking pace, which is when I realized one of his steps is at least three of mine. So I had a nice invigorating jog on the way to meet the tour group. We saw the Big Goose Pagoda, Terracotta Warriors, and Banpo Village (the archaeological site of a neolithic village). This was my first English tour in China. It was kind of nice having an English speaking tour guide, and we met people from all over that were just traveling through China.
For dinner we found this awesome duck restaurant, much like the famous one in Beijing, and then headed back to Starbucks for more chill and reading.
Tuesday
We got up early to catch a 2 hour bus to HuaShan (Hua Mt.). It must be a fairly famous place in China because all of our students ask us if we've been there. I, not being a hiker, was going to take the cable car up the mountain. Brad and Beth decided to hike. We finally got there and couldn't figure out which ticket we were supposed to buy. We found a couple from Mexico City that spoke English and asked their guide (who spoke amazing Spanish) what we should do. With her help, and the help of some other random lady, we figured it out.
We took a bus up to the cable car area, and that's where we parted ways. Lonely Planet said the hike was about two hours, so I was planning on getting to the top soon and spending my day reading, praying, and enjoying the scenery. I got in line for the cable car. I'm pretty sure it was the longest line in China. I stood in line for an hour and a half before I got on the cable car. And hour and a half! And this was a pretty fast moving line...there were just that many people there.
I finally made it to the top, only to see that the top of the North Peak where we were going was crawling with people. I got a couple of good pictures, but mostly there were just too many people to enjoy it. I sat there waiting for Beth and Brad for a while, trying to have a conversation with two Chinese men in my terrible broken Chinese.
Beth and Brad made it up in right at two hours. I was quite amazed since there are seriously, trillions of stairs going up the mountain and two parts that are nearly vertical. We ate lunch and then headed back down the mountain, only to wait in China's second longest line to take the cable car back down. I wish I could describe how Chinese crowds work...in that there is no semblance of a line, and pushing through people must be like a sport.
We made it down the mountain, took a bus to another bus, and finally headed home. What's for dinner? The same duck restaurant of course...and then more Starbucks. :)
Note: Throughout our time in Xi'an, people made no attempt to hide their gestures and exclamations at my size. And though it feels a little juvenile to be bothered by their comments, I let it get to me and was headed down a spiral of self pity. Especially after HuaShan. But I took my heavy heart to the One True Comforter, had a good night's sleep, and felt a little better...only to face more fear...
Wednesday
Bikes. A lot of you have heard me talk about biking in China, hoping that I would never have to do it 1) simply because I haven't really been on a bike since my pedal-break-banana-seat-old-school bike before Junior High 2) I'm a big chicken and 3) there are so many people in China...it's hard to steer and not get run over!
Beth and Brad talked all week about how excited they were to bike around the city wall in Xi'an. I just kept quiet, hoping I could will myself to be excited. After HuaShan all I really wanted to do was stay in the hostel and read, but my fear of missing out and being left out exceeded my fear of riding the bike. Plus I felt myself building a reputation for "girl who freaks out on trips" and hated that idea too, so I went. We met up with Yuan Min, a friend from Yichang, and one of her friends around 8:30.
You could rent bikes at the top of the wall, and they gave you 100 minutes before they started charging you extra. After switching from a guy bike to a girl bike, I took off, only to run immediately into a parked tram. Oops. After that, I guess it's true, that's it's like riding a bike. I got the hang of it even over bumpy, broken brick. I nearly gave Brad a heart attack going down a ramp at one point, but for the most part it was ok. Had a realized at the beginning that we were biking
all the way around the city, I might have freaked out. Toward the end I was pretty tired, so I was ahead of the group, trying to push through. I was afraid if I stopped or went slow I wouldn't be able to finish. It's later in the day now, so more and more people are up on the wall...it's getting kind of crowded...
I'm cruising along...mother and child won't move...oh crap...brain tells hands to use brakes...hands never get the message...Amy runs into the side of the city wall. Oops. Much laughter. Amy takes a bow. If nothing else, a handful of Chinese people will have a fun story to tell all their friends. "...remember that time we saw the foreigner bike into the wall..." A few pretty bruises later, we get back to the starting point.
I, Amy Pratt, biked around the Xi'an city wall. And I didn't hate it.
After the biking, we walked around the city for a while and ended up back in the Muslim Quarter. We did a little more shopping, ate lunch...and yep, went back to Starbucks. It was YuanMin's first time. It was our 4th time in 4 days.
For dinner we had reservations to see the Shaanxi Song and Dance Troupe perform dances from the Tang Dynasty. We had no idea what to expect, but it was pretty awesome. Dinner included every kind of jaozi (dumplings) you can imagine...from duck, to pumpkin, to Taco Bell (I swear it tasted like taco meat!), to hot dog. Pretty tasty. Then the show was awesome too. Perhaps I could be a Tang Dynasty dancer for Halloween... :)
Thursday
Our train left at 8:50 in the morning. What's that you say? Starbucks opens at 7? Sweet. We made our last Starbucks stop early that morning, grabbed our stuff, and headed to the train station to meet YuanMin. We had sleepers all together which made the 14 hr trip back not so bad. On the train we met a Chinese brother who works for World Vision! It was amazing to hear his story and be encouraged by him. Who knows, maybe we'll get to work together in the future.
We got off the train to the sweet sight of our waiguo pengyous...Kim, Katie, and Mindy with funny signs. So sweet.
To sum up (as my students say), Xi'an exceeded my expectations. God is good and provided for us, and even for me in my ridiculous states of anxiety. We enjoyed one another's company, got to see a cool ancient city (and former capital), and most importantly, got to relax and chill with milk, cheese, and coffee!
