Xian

     After Beijing, we took the train to Xian (Xi'an), where we spent about two days. The train station was like nothing I have ever seen before! It was jam-packed; many people were standing or just sitting on the floor because the seats were all taken. It was also interesting because it's socially acceptable to spit pretty much anywhere, so there were a lot of sunflower seed shells spit all over the floor. Also, foreigners rarely take trains in China so we were stared at even more than usual. The train ride was about 12-13 hours, but it was overnight so we were able to sleep.
     On our first day in Xian, we went to see the Big Goose Pagoda, which is essentially a huge Buddhist temple (I think). We also went to the city wall, which is the best preserved city wall in China. We got to go up to the top of the wall and ride bikes. I had my first experience riding a tandem bike (with one of the other girls) and it was sooo much fun! We actually got the hang of it pretty quickly too. The only thing that wasn't as nice about the wall is that it is a bumpy ride!
     On our second day, we went to see the Terracotta Warriors and Huaqing Hot Spring. The Terracotta Warriors were very cool to see. The warriors are from the Qin Dynasty (200s BC); they were made for the burial chamber for the emperor, to protect him in the after life. The Terracotta Warriors were discovered less than 40 years ago by farmers who were digging a well. There are three different pits (that are all still being excavated) that have the warriors in them (and terracotta horses too). I wasn't that impressed by pits 2 and 3, but pit 1 was pretty cool! It's amazing to think how much time and effort it took to create these warriors because each of them is unique and there are so many of them!

(Terracotta Warriors- pit 1)

     The Hotspring was very close to the Terracotta Warriors. It was a very beautiful area, but the spring itself wasn't exactly what I was expecting. They built a few fountains where you could wash you hands and your face, so I did that and I helped Jesse (Sam & Annie's son) to play in the water too. Unfortunately, we then ran into some trouble though... a couple of the people were sitting on a little wall when an older couple put their things down on the wall. One of the guys (Chris) accidentally knocked over their water bottle and they were not happy. Apparently, it's fairly common to demand money after something like that, but it sounds like usually people aren't extremely pushy about it. However, this couple would not leave without money. The old lady grabbed ahold of the Chris' camera (a very high-quality, expensive camera) and wouldn't let go despite our attempts to pull it from her. She just wrapped the strap around her hands tighter. Chris ended up paying her about 20 kuai (~$3.5) so she would let go. The money wasn't that big of a deal, but the principle of the situation made a lot of us angry... Chris didn't knock over the water bottle on purpose and it wasn't even damaged. There have been some situations that have been frustrating or unfamiliar, but that was the only situation (thus far) that felt completely negative for me (including the last day in Beijing where nothing seemed to go right).