8
Location: Xi-An
Today, we woke up on the train on the way to Xi-An. The train was such an exciting experience for the students, as well as the staff. There were six beds per cabin (2 bunk beds with three bunks each). At the end of the 13-hour train ride, we were met by our tour guide (Daniel). From there, we traveled to our hotel, sat down our luggage, showered, and hopped back on the bus. We biked a 9-hour bike ride on the wall around the city, which wore us all out. Some people shared a tandem bike, while some people chose to go with a single bike. We hopped back on the bus and headed to a Chinese buffet for lunch. We traveled to the Shaanxi Museum for a lesson about Chinese culture. We had a long afternoon of trying new and exciting foods at the Muslim Street (China’s small population of Muslims who set up a trading area that dates back to the Silk Road). Many of the students tried fried iced cream, which consisted of the ice cream, nuts and Oreos (YUUUM). We had dinner at a restaurant just a short walk from the hotel, which was the first restaurants we’ve been to all week without a Lazy Susan to help pass food around! It was a great meal, filled with lots of humor. When we got back to the hotel, we shared a bonding exercise (squeeze), and headed to bed to rest for tomorrow! What a day… A hot, sweaty, FUN day, full of new cultural experiences for everyone! P.S. We all miss the children from the homes we’ve been visiting and can’t wait to get back to them.