Xi'an Village

My attempt to make friends. We drew pictures in the dirt, at least something I'm good at :)

On this study abroad program, we are accompanied by two professors. Dr. Zhang is a mechanical engineer and Dr. Lee is head of the Mandarin program at UNL, he is in charge of the business students on this trip. Dr. Lee loves to throw us into culturally immersing situations, that embarrasses us, yet requires a new way of thinking. Class was cancelled yesterday morning because of the earthquake warning for the city of Xi'an, so he wanted to keep us outside and away from the city. His idea was to drive to a random village outside of the city and step inside, and well that's exactly what we did. There are small farming villages, approx. 2,000 people, outside of Xi'an. Here, they are given land to only be used for sustenance farming. The government has stopped taxing them and taking produce, but that means there is no subsidization for the crops. The man we talked to did not seem to mind that system.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. So, we walk into this dirt street village, all thirty of us mei guo ren (Americans) feeling very uncomfortable and quite uncertain. Dr. Lee starts talking to the small group that has gathered and very quickly two homes are opened for us to step into. I entered a two-story concrete house with a small courtyard, home to three generations of a family. The rooms were small, but the furnishings quite nice and the man's proudest possessions were two TVs sitting side by side in the living room (although he says they're outdated and wants a flat screen TV). He lives with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and seven-year-old grandson. His son and daughter-in-law work in the city and he and his wife work the fields. They don't do much but tend the fields because they sub-contract the harvesting to people with machinery.

I asked him what he thought about the earthquake. His reply was a shrug and that it was his third experience and that he'll be sleeping inside.

Xi'an City Wall

Xi'an is a city full of history and ancient buildings and structures, but none quite as fun as the city wall. Granted most of the nine mile square has been redone, but how many cities have a wall around it that you can bike on? Laura and I opted for the tandem and precariously made our way around the city. Quite the experience on a poorly kept cobble stone path!

City University Picnic

We had a picnic in the park with some of the students from City University. They had bought all different kinds of Chinese snacks to try and 'weird' us out. I enjoyed most of it except the dried fish with bones in it, very crunchy. Since it was our free day, we split up and a few of us went with seven City students for hot pot*. Very delicious with some of the most interesting conversation. Again we exchanged languages and we all worked on our pronunciation. The Chinese tongue has a very difficult time with V's and W's.

*Food Note- Hot Pot is a very tradition Chinese way of eating. The middle of the table is set with a small stove which atop is a pot filled with soup. As in the picture, the pot is many times divided into two sections, spicy and non. Raw vegetables, meats, bean curd (tofu), and miscellaneous things (sometimes mysterious) are brought out on plates and individuals can choose what they would like to cook. Dip in the pot for a minute and eat!




The Tang Paradise is a theme park done in, yes you guessed it, the Tang Dynasty style, with temples, walkways and a expansive lake. Travel back in time when emperors and empresses ruled China. It's a nice walk and great place to take pictures. Here is one of the City University guys demonstrating one of the 'activities' along the paths. The story goes that there was a hen with five little chicks. When she called them, they would always answer back so she would know where they were. The guy is standing on the hen and the small circles around him are the chicks. When you clap your hands, you can hear the chicks answering back. This phenomenon is done by layering the bricks in a circle and slightly angled. This creates a reverberating effect that sounds like little chicks! Engineering is everywhere!

TerraCotta/Hot Springs

The TerraCotta Warriors a humbling experience of something dead that was never alive for the dead. They stand almost bemused at the fact that they have been there for hundreds of years. Each one, a different interpretation on his face of how he views it. Below is an excerpt describing the history behind the stoic figures. I've been waiting to see these guys for a few years, and boy, were they excited to see me!

This small but inspiring exhibition on the Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor of China's famous Terracotta Army brings together all the wonder of the discovery of these amazing treasures of ancient China.

The terracotta warriors were created by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang di pronounced - Chin Shi Huang di. This amazing but meglomaniac man conquered and united China from a collection of warring states to become its First Emperor. He built the Great Wall and amassed great works of art. Obsessed with a quest for the secret of immortality, 70,000 workers built his tomb said to be filled with legendary treasures. His 3000 wives and concubines followed him to the grave.

Over 8000 fantastic life-size clay warriors protected his tomb. The Famous Terracotta Army - is now referred to as the eighth wonder of the ancient world. The exhibition at the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Dorchester features a small but spectacular group of these warriors, which have been specially replicated by museum and conservation technicians in China, and skilled craftsmen and specialists of World Heritage.

Also featured in the Museum are fabulous costumed recreations of the First Emperor of China, Qin Shih Huang di, himself and his uniformed officers. Dramatic audio and multi-media presentations bring the whole experience stunningly to life http://www.terracottawarriors.co.uk/

 
The same afternoon, we visited the Hua Qing Hot Springs. Here the emperor's place to bath is nestled against Mount Lishan in Lintong County, 19 miles from Xi'an City. It is famed to be the scene for the love story of Emperor Xuan zong and his concubine Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty. It is a beautiful walled garden with two small lakes. The group of us decided to take the cable car to the top of the mountain where we could look down upon Linton County. Smoggy, but still beautiful.

Mourning

Today at 2:28 pm the eerie wailing of China echoed in the at first silent streets. Traffic stopped and every person stilled as sirens rang and horns blared. The whole of China cried out as our hearts bled.

The breeze ruffled the black shiny hair of hundreds of students gathered in the university square, sharing a moment of silence. The president of the university then said a few words and the crowd dispersed to classes.

The whole of China will mourn for three days while the searches continue. The number of deaths has past 32,000 and a new land slide has buried 200 relief workers. There are also reports of continued tremors. It is still only the beginning.

Olympics at your door

I was sitting outside of the coffee shop, writing, and these girls in white skirts and colored t-shirts kept walking by. I thought maybe a sports event was going on or something. Then I kept hearing loud music, so I wandered that direction.

Turns out, hundreds of students were practicing for the opening ceremonies for the Olympics on the track! It was so cool! I mean, how many times does a person get to see something like that? (Well, except maybe next week because I talked to one of the 'blue ring' girls and she said they will be practicing again :) How did I know it was for the Olympics? All the t-shirts read Beijing 2008. The girls were divided into the five different colors of the Olympic rings and for one dance carried matching colored panels that they danced with. For another song, guys in traditional white outfits did a tai chi-type dance, with slow music and beautiful movements. Although it will be on TV, I can't wait to watch it for real!


Friday night we explored the town with the locals. One of our students befriended some local students and they brought their friends who took us to the Muslim quarters of Xi'an. Laura, another UNL student, and I went with two university students and we took the bus to get downtown. The shopping was expensive but the food was cheap and fantastic! Pictured is Laura and I eating vegetable noodles in a little side shop, delicious…

When we were buying a snack, the seller started asking our friends all kind of questions about us. She looked to be in her upper twenties and very curious. She wanted to know if Americans judge people by their looks or by their personalities. We tried to explain that looks mean a lot, but it did come down to personality, but that may have been lost in translation. Then she wanted to know if we thought Laura Bush was pretty. We answered, so-so. It was a very interesting experience and it would have been longer but she was a bit pushy to our friends so we left quickly.

The cultural experiences through a study abroad program are so eye-opening. Beginning to learn the language and meeting local students has been terrific in being immersed in the Chinese culture. Every day is a new perspective!