The Journey Westward: Day 1 & 2

My trip was really long, and each day was absolutely packed with activities, sights, and feedings. Therefore, I've decided to try to break up the trip into a couple different sections/posts, so you can just kinda skim over what you find interesting and ignore the rest....enjoy your reading...

Day 1 (Friday, September 26th, 2008)---We, all 19 students in my program along with our program director Bing, left campus at 3:30 pm and headed to the train station. After battling Friday afternoon, holiday traffic in Bejing for an hour (it took like an hour to travel 17 kilometers...ridiculous), we finally arrived at the Beijing West train station, the largest train station in all of China. I nervously followed the rest of my classmates as we weaved our way thru the maze of Chinese people to our sitting area. I had never been on a train, and now I was about to get onto a China train for a 13-hour train ride. I calmed my nerves and made my way onto the train. I can't be positive, because I couldn't see my face. But I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor when I walked onto the train. I couldn't believe how teeny tiny the space we were supposed to live on for the next 13 hours was. There were 3 bunks stacked on top of each other with 3 more bunks stacked identically about an arm's length away. The entire car consisted of these "rooms," which were about the size of a closet...no jokes...I'm talking small here. And that train ride was a foreshadowing for all the rest of the traveling we would do over the next 9 days. Small unsanitary places and lots and lots of people. I was 150% outside of my comfort zone. A) I love cleanliness and organization...this train lacked both. For exampled, the "toilets" were squatters, aka holes in the bottom of the floor which one is expected to squat over and use while a train is barrelling down a track and taking turns on its side...just picture that. B) I hate eating or sleeping in front of people...I was expected to sleep out in the open pretty much next to people I had only known 2 weeks and share meals on a bumpy, shaky train which left food all over my body in potentially embarrassing places, such as my hair, ear, shoulder, foot, you name it. C) I am unable to properly function without a shower first thing in the morning...it is no surprise that trains don't have showers on them so you can just guess how that worked for me. Now I may sound like an absolute Negative Nancy but don't think I am. I loved the trip, and I'm sure coping with these uncomfortable aspects was somehow good for me. That's just an overall glimpse of China train travel that I thought you should know. And that was the entire first day/13 hours of our trip.

Day 2 (Saturday, September 27th, 2008)---We arrived in Xi'an at about 7 am and were, luckily, allowed to check into our hotel. We were all quite excited, because Bing, our director, had told us that we would be enjoying a Western breakfast. Breakfast in China is less than spectacular...cold noodles, pickled cucumbers, eggs...so upon hearing the phrase "Western breakfast" we all found ourselves in high spirits. Yet after arriving at our hotel, we discoverd "Western breakfast" in China means toast and peanut butter. I was thinking pancakes, bacon, and coffee and instead found Chinese breakfast plus toast and peanut butter. After breakfast we showered and hung out around the hotel for a little bit before heading out into the city. Xi'an was the first capital of China ever, and it was the largest city in the world for more than 1000 years. It holds an important part of Chinese history, and we were going to go see a bit of it. We went to the city wall, which has been up for a couple hundred years (I don't remember exactly how long). And then we went to a famous street that sells calligraphy and jade and such. It would all have been a pleasant experience except for the fact that it was absolutley pouring...not the best first impression, Xi'an. Raining when I arrived...that's not gonna get you any brownie points. After freezing in the rain for awhile we headed to one of the most famous museums in China, the Shaanxi National Museum. There we looked at old pottery, tools, and clothing. Although many of my fellow classmates would disagree, I find it quite fascinating and interesting. A 13-hour train ride, freezing rain, and museums can really take it out of you. So after 5 hours of museum-ing (not entirely sure if that is a word or not), we headed back to our hotel for dinner and sleep...ahhh, sweet sleep. And there you have it Day 1 & 2 of my Western journey.

Oh no, my computer is gonna die any minute, and I can't find my power cord. So I better skidaddle. I'll have the rest of the trip up along with the site to my pictures soon.

LOVE YOU!!!

Kendall