I know that it’s been about two weeks since my last update, which is a virtual no-no in the blogosphere. Since the Silk Road trip, I have been struggling to find that nice balance between classes, sleep, and actually going out there and getting to experience Beijing (for some reason, sleep always gets the shaft). When I say struggling to find a balance…I’m not kidding. In the past two weeks I have: gone to Tiananmen…
My friends and I met up, going to dinner and settling on McDonalds (Xi’an is very westernized). Since the beginning of the trip, my digestive system has had trouble keeping up with the Chinese food. It’s kind of amazing, that in America, McDonalds upsets my stomach, whereas in China I was using it to settle my stomach. Apparently McDonalds can run out of fries, or at least in China, because we were served curly fries…
We arrived in Xi’an around 7:30am. My last shower had been the previous previous night in Xia’he, about five cities ago. I brushed my teeth, wet-wiped my arms, and changed my shirt, but that was still not enough to rid myself of the gross feeling that comes after a Chinese night train. Xi’an was the train’s last stop, so we waited 10 minutes or so after stopping to disembark. We dragged our stuff across the…
We finally arrived in Lanzhou around 5 or 6pm. A number of my friends decided that they didn’t really like Lanzhou. Perhaps it was the layout of the city, but I think it was mostly because of the people. The staring there was the worst, and after one day my black friend couldn’t stand it anymore. At least in other cities, a nice portion of the people don’t bother to stare at you (at least…
(There are four blog posts to Day Nine…stay pumped) After my presentation, we clambered onto the bus and rolled out from Xia’he to Lanzhou. Of course we made a few pit stops on the way. We stopped for lunch at Linxia’s Languan Square. TBC likes to plop us in random towns and tell us “Okay, now go find food.” It makes for a interesting and real experience, no doubt. My friends and I went walking around and found…
(There are four blog posts to Day Nine…get pumped) I woke up this morning, still cold from the previous night. I was feeling a little weak from being sick, and a little nervous for my presentation. I packed my stuff and went downstairs to eat a little breakfast, and mentally review my presentation one more time. Eventually all the students came down and gradually filled the spaces in the common area. I ate my fried…
My blog has been quiet for a while, as I waited to come back to Beijing for Internet, and get settled in. Many more blog posts on the Silk Road to come. Stay tuned and enjoy! Day Eight: Today has been rough, to say the least. This morning I woke up to discover that the high altitude did not agree with me, and my body retorted with painful cramps lasting a large portion of the…
Today we checked out of the hotel at 6:30am. I had gotten about six and half hours of sleep, which sounds like a lot to a typical college student but is not enough to survive the heavy activity that is touring China. Luckily, I was able to nap on the bus after breakfast—a 4-hour-turned-5-hour bus ride to Xia’he. Breakfast this morning was especially special since we met up with Group A (the other half of…
Every day now is easily blurring into the next one. Writing these blog posts though serve as a good tool to set my bearings straight (and remember what all I’ve done!). Last night for dinner, my two friends and I walked around Lanzhou to figure out what to eat. We grabbed some baozi (steamed buns, this time with veggies in it) and I found my all time favorite Chinese treat—matuan! It’s a sesame seed bun…
(Part one and two were written together, but are too long to post together. Here is the link for part one.) The train seats weren’t half bad. I played a few games with the students beside me (the games “What am I?” and “Bullshit”), read Foundation by Isacc Asimov, journaled, didn’t sleep, and visited a friend for two hours in another car. My friend was talking to a 13 year old Chinese girl, and occasionally…