Xi'an

Well we made it here after getting up at the crack of dawn this morning. Beijing was totally fogged in but we took off anyway, I guess that's just how it is for all of summer, so the pilots are used to flying in very low visibility. We got into Xi'an at about 10:30 and were met by Robin, our new guide, who has proven to be super-talkative and loved American colloquialisms, like "Stop, are you trying to butter me up?" and "I know this city like the back of my hand!" He also tried out some redneck jokes on us, which was hilarious, all before getting to the hotel to check in. This city is really beautiful and much greener and cleaner-looking than Beijing. We went to see the city wall first after checking into the hotel, a big sturcture beautifully preserved and that many people choose to bike around or see from a rickshaw. It was so hot we really only stayed a short bit before going off to lunch, followed by the jade museum. We learned about the different types and colors of jade, followed by a show of how it is cut etc. Our guide at the museum has learned English in China and practices by watching movies, so the things he can say most clearly are "Drop your weapons! We have the situation under control!" and "Stop the car! L.A.P.D.!" Hilarious.

After the jade museum we went to the history museum where we learned about the 4 main dynasties and saw artifiacts spanning the history of China. It was really interesting but we were all exhausted, so we are taking a break this afternoon to recover before the big dance show we are watching tonight.

It is really nice in some ways to be such a tourist, seeing the shows and learning a million things a day being bused from one site to another, but it is amazing just watching the culture and feeling like there is no way, even if I lived here, that I would ever get used to being here. For one thing, probably the most striking difference, is that the idea of personal space just doesn't exist. People push, cut in line, walk into your photo, run into you when walking, don't stop cars for you, it's really unbelievable. The bathrooms I already mentioned, but the kids before the age of 2 just don't have anything on. They cut out the backs and fronts of their pants and just let them go wherever they want, in the street or wherever. Then when they get a bit older they just crouch down on the street and go if they have to go to the bathroom. Wow.

Speaking of bathrooms it has been a running joke that for some reason Mom always gets the "Western Style" toilets and I always get the floor holes, no matter where we go, and every time she doesn't believe me when I describe the bathrooms. She's always like oh well I got a normal seat! It's driving me crazy!.