Update from Amelia

March 24, 2016

We started out the day with saying goodbye to our hosts. It was sad because we had known them for five days and they treated us with the utmost kindness. They brought us into their lives and showed everyday  life, which gave us an idea of Chinese customs.  It was an unforgettable experience. 

We parted ways at 5:30 am which was especially hard because we were not fully awake and the sun was not up. So we rode away in darkness :( 

The rest of the morning was not very exciting. We rode to the airport and boarded to xi'an where we ate lunch in the airport. Afterward we rode in a bus to the city wall. 

The city wall is shaped like a square so there's a city encircled by it. We rode on bikes on the wall, some people went all the way around, some people only made it halfway and decided to turn back. We only had an hour to ride in the cool breeze, but it was extremely fun after the plane ride. 

After that we went on the bus again to get some calligraphy lessons. The woman taught us the eight basic strokes and showed us some paintings. There was one that stood out to me: a rode with walls on either side. No matter where you stand in the room looking at it, you stay in the middle of the road. 

After that we rode to the goose pagoda. The goose pagoda is not actually shaped like a goose, it is just a majestic pagoda with golden Buddhas. There was a place where you could pray and kneel down to this great Buddha. You could also blow incense. 

There were a few buildings and we were allowed to walk around  for about forty minutes. Afterward we boarded the bus again to eat a dumpling banquet. There were fourteen different dumplings, all of them different than American Chinese dumplings, and all of them unique. There was a purple sweet potato dumpling, a spicy orange dumpling, and many more. After we ate we saw a show of Chinese dancers. There were tall ladies who danced in elaborate dresses, and tall fighter men who wore traditional clothes. 

The show was based on the Tang Dynasty and between performances we were read excerpts explaining the aspects of the culture. The show lasted a little over an hour, all of us were extremely exhausted. We rode about twenty minutes to the hotel and fell asleep. It had been a long day.