August 31: Xi'an

                                                      Turkish Food in China

Registering with the Chinese government as a tourist only today.  Living in a hotel helps me dodge certain law things I suppose.  It turns out the police don't give a damn.  I wasted my time at the police station trying to register for temporary residency.  A note on the police, they don't do anything here unless it's directly in front of their station.  If you are getting mugged in front of them don't count of anything. When we first arrived in Xi'an we saw the police sleeping obviously in their car.  The lunch break at the station was 3 and a half hours.  They left at 11:30 and were back at 15:00

There is a lack of cellphone etiquette in this country.  If you are at lunch with somebody they may text the whole time and not talk to you.  Just know this.

There is a lot, a lot, of studying that needs to be done and English classes haven't even started yet.

Chinese name: LuRuiYa.  I wanted a more normal name than XiaoHua, or little flower, but I don't know about this one.

August 30: Xi'an

The First Day of Chinese Class.

On this day, every Alliance student left their classrooms in a state of shock, saying such things as, "That was awful, I don't think I can survive four months of this."  I actually needed a recovery period after three hours of high intensity Chinese class.  I hit a wall around an hour and a half, where I couldn't handle more and could no longer speak simple Chinese, that didn't stop the class.  Saying that we got though a day only seemed to make it worse, we still have every day after today left.

On a brighter note, the crossing of streets is getting better.  Its fun even.  Just be confident, take it one lane at a time and stand perfectly still while cars run of either side of you, just be ready to move in case somebody has decided to drive in the middle of two lanes.  When in doubt walk next to a Chinese person.  I don't think I will ever get used to the feeling you get when a bus is driving straight at you.

August 29: Xi'an

My posts are gonna start getting pretty short because the original luster of China is dulling into traffic ridden, horn blasting, people spitting, and stinky tofu.

This morning I set off with the two leaders of the Alliance Xi'an program to get my visa stuff done.  We stood at the corner of a major road for nearly twenty minutes and could not get an empty cab, then we went to the visa office and they were having none of it since neither I, nor the leader renewing his visa had had our physical yet.  So we went to the hospital where there was a line of student all rushing to get their physicals before the school years started.  We were told it was too busy and to leave so we did.  And I still don't have my visa.  A plus of the day, the taxi that took us to the hospital let us off in the middle of the road and then I almost got sideswiped by another taxi.  At least if I had been hit I was in front of the hospital...though they prolly would have still said they were to busy and to come back another day.
That night Cora, Josh, Jeff, Laura and I played Frogger with drivers that don't give a damn in order to get to food.  Honestly, I love crossing Chang'An Lu.  Chang An meaning long or everlasting peace, it was the old name for Xi'an, or western peace, and Lu meaning road.
At the restaurant we went to there were fish cutouts and the character for fish everywhere.  We ordered no fish.  Instead we got only appetizers.  The waiters kept asking if we were sure we didn't want fish.  We finally gave in, seeing as to how were were in a fish restaurant and tried to order a fish.  The language barrier had never been more apparent than in that situation, even now, two weeks later that was still the worst.  If the waitress had just said "look" and "fish" instead of long strings of Chinese we would have understood, but no.  At one point she just gave up and said in Chinese, "Just eat, just eat."  I would like to report, the fish was delicious.

This is the view from my balcony.

August 28: Xi'an

The moto for the trip so far has become: "F*** it, just f*** everything man."

The early to bed, early to rise is a definite in China, trains hold no exception.  People began waking up quietly around four, by five the entire train was up and about.  I was awakened by a woman sitting on my feet on my bed.  When I sat up and looked at her on my feet she just glanced at me and went back to her conversation.
The train finally ground to a stop at its final destination, Xi'an.  The train station deposited us outside the northern gate in a mass of bodies.  Xi'an is a city of six or so million, just a small city for China but in a condensed space.  The crowds of people beat those that i saw in Beijing, save for on the subway at rush hour.  The traffic is worse, traveling faster than in Beijing, and therefor the roads are that much more terrifying.
The city was coated in a dense haze, one similar to a morning fog, and at first it was hard to tell if that was all it really was.  As the day wore on, Cora and I wandered lost through Xi'an trying to find our way back to the dorm after breakfast, we realized that that haze was not a just a morning fog but an all day smog.  At least today, Xi'an seems worse than Beijing pollution wise, explainable by the more industrial nature of this town.
The evening found our group at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.  (this is where I will or at least would tell you about Buddhists and the Journey to the West and whatnot if i weren't tired while writing this.  I can also put up pictures at some point.)
I super love ancient Chinese writing.  Pictograms, or at least pictographic writing systems, are so interesting to me, and the evolution they went through to be the characters they are today.
We learned our way around the Wild Goose Pagoda area with a Scavenger hunt where we had to ask locals where stuff was and look like fools :).  After getting third place we went to eat delicious Chuan(r) (thats a beijing er)  Its meat on a skewer and its wonderful.  In order to charge you properly they count the skewers after the meal is over.
So far I've spent less than 150 kuai, RMB, yuan, whatever you want to call it; that should change when I start having to buy three meals a day.

I'll get pictures up and finish this one soon

August 27: Beijing Still

My Last Day In Beijing

Today started with a trip to the Summer Palace where the Dowager Empress was well associated with.  The lake and hills were all man-made, the hills from the dirt moved to make the lake.  The lake was initially intended to be the reservoir for Beijing.  In the distance, through the haze of smog, (which was actually lighter that day than other days we were there, it went so far as to let us glimpse a blue sky) was the hill that had the spring that served as the water source for the Emperor.

The Dowager Empress, Cixi, put something like 100s of millions into the palace.  When the Emperor before her knew he was going to end up leaving a small child in charge he appointed a council of regents.  Cixi was one of the Emperors concubines, the one to give birth to the Tongzhi Emperor.  When the Xianfeng Emperor died she quickly took down the council and took control of the Empire.

The BLCU campus was built on the grounds of the Old Summer Palace.  In some places part of the Old Palace still stand in Beijing, Tomb markers and whatnot.

At the new Summer Palace the Dowager Empress had a marble boat constructed for ornamental reasons.  The marble had to be brought all the way from Daoli.  All of the bridges around the palace were designed after famous bridges around China.

These are all pictures from The Long Corridor,  I believe that's what it is called.  All along the corridor there are scenes from traditional Chinese stories.

The Beijing train station was filthy with people.  People coming, people going, people sleeping, people staring, so much staring.
The train pictures are on my iPod so you can't see them.
Car 15, Row 21, Bottom Bed.

It's safe to say that in Asia I am not Asian.

A woman turned to the Chinese girl in our group and told her I looked like a waiguoren.  A foreigner.  the lady was really confused when Laura didn't have fluent Chinese skills.  It's almost better to be a foreigner here cause people don't expect anything from you in your Chinese language skills.

Quick note:  A squat toilet is one thing, a squat toilet that's on a moving train is just that much more fun.  If the train lurches or turns or slows a moment of panic persists as the knowledge that if you slip, since the floors are oh so wet, you may just end up falling in every horrible thing ever. 

八月二十六号： 北京 (con't)

The day of walking continued as we made our way to a street lined with stand after stand of street food.  Snake, Starfish, and Dumplings made my meal; others consumed scorpion and horrible silk worm bug things.

 The Beijing subway system in rush hour was exciting.  When the doors to the train open you push in as hard as you can or you get left behind.  When you want to get off you push as hard as you can once again to fight the people getting in.
The subways brought us to an acrobatics show.  Tightrope, Contortion, Balancing Umbrellas, Tap Dancing while Juggling nine or ten balls, this thing where a bunch of guys did this thing I can't describe, men running and vaulting through hoops, really high hoops, butterfly yo-yo thingies, girls doing acrobatics while riding bikes.  At the end of the show twelve girls all got on one bicycle.  The lady peddling and supporting all of the other girls must have been a muscular beast, so powerful.