Xian

August 26th, 2006 Bell Tower Hotel, Xian, China
4:30 is not my preferred awakening time. But the alarm did go off and I was forced to rise and shower, surrounded by my drying socks and underwear (the night before I had washed those particular articles of clothing in the sink; if you haven’t done it recently, you should try it, because I really felt like I was doing something productive). At 5 o’clock, we were on board the bus and driving to the airport. I think I slept the whole way. All the belongings I was taking I had packed in my backpack, so I had very little to lug around. Our plane was delayed for around thirty minutes because of poor weather in Xian. We were finally able to hop on a shuttle bus which brought us to the plane. We boarded China Air Flight 1203 and soon were flying to central China. I tried to sleep, and I did a little bit. I suppose I do harp on the being tall thing occasionally, but I really do think the designers of airplanes didn’t take height into consideration when drawing their plans. An uncomfortable nap later, we landed in Xian and were met by Willow, a tour guide and friend of Vince’s (who accompanied us). A bus was awaiting us outside.
It took approximately forty minutes to drive to Xian. The ancient gates of the city stood as reminders of a golden time long ago. Our first stop was lunch and from there we went to the White Goose Pagoda. It was a building in the shape of a thin ziggurat situated in a garden of trees. Its name derived from a story in which the people cried to Buddha for food. A white goose soon was seen circling the land and fell to the earth, a gift from Buddha. The pagoda was built on the supposed location where the goose fell. It’s an interesting story, but I wondered how that one goose was going to feed the ‘people of the land.’ Someone went hungry.
We walked around to the other side of the pagoda (from where we had come), William on my shoulders singing ‘Little Bunny Foo-Foo.’ We stood on a sort of parapet looking down on a yard of stretching over the length of a football field. It was lined with sixteen rows of small holes. Suddenly, music started and streams of water burst from the holes, timed to the beat and melody of the music. I was pretty impressed. It was an amazing display. People stood in the middle of yard, running through the water is it shot out of the ground. Oh, to have enough dry clothes available to do such things!
We drove to our hotel, which was in the heart of the city. The old bell tower stood in the center of a circle of modern buildings, which included the Bell Tower Hotel. We checked in and deposited our belongings in our rooms. I’m in a room with Derek and Greer. It’s a very nice room, much cooler (temperature-wise) than our rooms at the university. We even have a balcony overlooking the bell tower. We only had thirty minutes to relax before we reconvened in the lobby. I sat waiting for the rest of the group and looked out the window. Several crippled children sat outside in front of the door of the lobby. A girl was on a wooden board with wheels attached, because her legs were horribly twisted and contorted. Ms. Pam (Rich’s mum) told us these children had been bought from farmers in the countrysides and brought into the city to serve as, basically, slaves. They would beg for money, which would in turn go to the men who bought them. A few years ago, the government intervened and transported the children back to their families, temporarily shutting down the operation. However, the men were soon out at the farms again, purchasing their slaves once again. The government doesn’t bother anymore.
Dinner came next. It was a theater dinner, and we arrived at a very large building, inside which was a huge room of tables in front of a wide stage. This was a show commemorating the Tang Dynasty (or, as Willow says, “dynersty”). It was an amazing performance, the best, by far, we have yet seen. It was a fantastic display of colorful costumes, artistic backdrops, and talented musicians and dancers. Some of these instruments are no longer in use except for shows such as these. I loved the show, as well as the food that followed. It was called a ‘dumpling banquet’ for good reason: an enormous variety of dumplings comprised the main courses. Each dumpling was in the shape of what it was before it was turned into a dumpling, like a duck or a pig or shrimp or even a pumpkin. They were all very good. Some of the group are having a little trouble adapting to the various dishes being served to us. I am very thankful I have been given the opportunity by my parents to be exposed to crazy things before. It’s prepared me well.
On the bus, Annie Little found it extremely fun to pull out my hair and bend my fingers in frightening directions. She’s very sneaky, and will wait until I’m not paying attention before she pounces. She’s a great little girl, and I have enjoyed immensely spending time with both her and William.
Outside the window behind me the bell tower stands illuminated amid the neon signs advertising American junk. The only thing between me and the Terra Cotta warriors tomorrow is a beautiful night of sleep.