Update on May 31

We arrived in Xi’an late last night…a few hours later than was originally intended, because of delays on EVERY SINGLE AIRCRAFT.  It was a bit absurd…but we made it safe and sound, with decent flights and a little bit of sleep. 

After an early breakfast (especially early after not getting into our hotel rooms until 1:00am) we met to discuss our plans for the day and then broke off to do separate activities.  The group that I went with found a must-needed coffee shop.  It was here that I encountered the dreaded squat toilet.  Trying very hard to not be ethnocentric and to accept and embrace cultural ideals, I gave it a shot and took a squat.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that bad, and it was a very clean bathroom, which helped overcome fears of falling, peeing all over myself, and not being able to get back up once I’ve squatted down.  Also, for some reason in my mind I pictured the squat toilets not having stalls, but just out in the open like a men’s urinal, so it was a relief to discover that notion was false.  I’m fairly proud of myself for accomplishing something that billions around the world do from a very early age.

Once we started exploring (more than just squat toilets in European style coffee shops) I began to discover that I love China.  It was much less crowded than I had always imagined, and much more green.  It was a bit of an adventure crossing the street for the first time (I almost got run over by a couple of mopeds) but that, too, was accomplished.  Our destination (which we did not know at the time) ended up being a giant park which used to be an Imperial Palace.  As we walked in we could hear music playing, and there was a group of people doing a dance in front of a pond.  It was beautiful and soulful.  Mostly women (of all ages) were dancing, but there were a couple of men and also some children.  There was also a man in traditional Chinese clothing meditating under a tree, which felt peaceful.  I wish I could have joined in on both activities, but was too afraid to do so. 

Many people stared at us as we walked around, and some children were so excited to see white people that they would run by us and yell “Hello! Hello!”  It felt safe and entertaining and welcoming to be in an open, beautiful place like that.

Thinking about the park, the most overwhelming feeling that I got from it was a sense of community.  This is really not something that we see in everyday Canada, and although I very much felt like an outsider, I felt truly privileged to be looking into a culture that clearly values community and the values attached to it as I went through my day.

Melanie Willerth

The Chinese can really cook! I awoke and headed down to breakfast to be treated to nothing any Chinese restaurant outing at home could have possibly prepared me for. The food was varied and delicious, and so much more then I expected. Jet lag had set in with a vengeance, but that did not stop any of us from enjoying our meal and building our excitement towards our first full day in Xi’an.
On my first morning in Xi’an we ventured out into the great city streets to visit a few of the sights. I was stunned at the beauty of the area. Green! It blankets the streets! I have never seen so much plant life in an urban area. For us a city has a few parks and an occasional tree, but here plant life is everywhere. It makes our urban centers back home seem like they are making token attempts at plant life. Even the buildings have incredible ivory climbing them like some kind of fairy tale world.

The view outside of our hotel window is that of a construction yard, but there were marked differences compared to that of one back home. The trees were carefully worked around rather then torn down. This example of conservation and care has been mimicked in multiple aspects of life here. Street cleaning for example, at the crack of dawn there are people out scrubbing the streets. I say this literally. I have seen multiple people with mops, scouring down their shop steps and sidewalks.
In the afternoon we headed out for an introduction tour of the university. The information provided by our tour guide was informative and extremely interesting. Unfortunately my trip was cut short. I have never traveled before and one of the memos I missed was that after an incredibly long flight your feet can swell up and resemble beached whales. This consequently made it so my shoes attacked my feet with a vengeance.  Sleep came quickly and resulted in a comatose state.

Victoria Trarback

A traditional Chinese bridge at Xing Qing Gong park.	On campus – headed back to hotel.
And a photo with the couple after a chat.	“Sugary” art.