Chengdu

Today we were in Chengdu and I'm definitely ready for more cultural interactions. We had a pretty good time visiting the campus and I was absolutely awestruck by the girl who sang for us. She was FANTASTIC! It was incredible to hear how much range she had and just how beautiful a voice she had. The music and classes in general were cool experiences.
We played some basketball this afternoon and it seems as though everyone wants to play us. Crowds gather to watch us run around and play against the Chinese students to compare our talents. In a way we feel that if we lose we are misrepresenting the US because of the stereotype the students have of Americans and basketball.
The scavenger hunt we went on was an AMAZING time! My group won and had the best chemistry by far from what I heard. Ella, F.L., and Allen were going all over the place to get directions. I was amazed that they would walk up to total strangers and ask for directions. In the U.S. and in a city that size there is a much slimmer chance you would get the same response. Tim and I talked about basketball with F.L. and Allen and both seemed to think Yao Ming is just a tall guy with little ability. Ella was very nice and we talked about college life and such. She seems to be enjoying college life and has a sense that she can be successful with her English major. She does not want to teach English, but she is using it as a fall back plan if other things don't work out. I used some slang today and it threw off the students with us. They took it literal in translation which made for an interesting experience.

Xi'an Day 1

This was our first day in Xi'an and I was amazed by the city. The wall around the city is absolutely ginormous! It's at least 20 ft thick and 40 ft high. It was beyond anything I could imagine! The bike ride on top of it was very bumpy and a little rough on me because the basket on my bike had a piece of metal sticking out that kept poking me. I ended up with a hole in my shorts as a precious memento of the ride.
The food continues to get better and I am stounded by the multitude of restaurants. The people seem to be fond of us and continually watch what we do especially during group photos. It seems like every time we get in a photo people stop what they are doing to see what we're doing. Jarrod, Jake, and myself were walking around and looked at something we thought was interesting and then a bunch of people just suddenly flocked to where we were. I find it quite strange but yet I think it is a lot of fun because we are so highly respected or something of that nature. A lot of the people seem to look at us as though we are full of money as well. I think it is an interesting assumption but understandable from their point of view.
The beggers and vendors are especially attracted to us and won't leave us alone. It is very annoying at times to have someone tapping a cup on your leg or putting something in your face and not taking it away from quite some time. It is a struggle for me to see some of the poverty although we are told some of it is a scam.
The Muslim quarter marketplace is AMAZING! It is the most interesting and fun thing I have seen on the trip. The markets are full of little trinkets to clothes and luggage for traveling. I had my most amazing experience thus far there. While I was buying a scroll and looking through some things, the lady who owned the shop was talking to her young daughter while she was playing with a friend and said "Shou Shin, Shou Shin" (I can't spell it but it's my best Chinglish). I was absolutely enthralled because I knew what she was saying. I wanted to say "be careful, be careful" but I held back. After I bought the scrolls we talked for a while longer about our travels throughout China and where we were going and what we had seen so far.
Later, we encountered some Americans in a McDonalds and discussed the price differences and how cheap things were. We discussed how we felt bad bartering so hard, but at the same time they seem to jump all the prices to exorbitant amounts when we come around just because we are from the West. Also they really shaft some people on a sale and make a killing so it balances out. The best part about the market was that we were always good friends to whoever was selling the goods and we got a very special price because we were college students or so they claim.

Day 2 in Beijing

I woke up very early again today as my body continues to adjust. I think I am fairing better than others though as I am more energetic than most. We went to the Temple of Heaven and it was a very beautiful place. The landscape was amazing and beyond compare to many other places. I am continually amazed by the beauty of this country. Lunch today was probably the most difficult to date as I have no idea how they work their meals in this foreign culture. The hardest part was the pot in the middle and trying to find what you put in later. I struggled with this a lot as my food would slide out of my chopsticks. The Forbidden city was incredible! The complex is just huge and completely unimaginable how one person could use all that room. The gardens at the end were beautiful with the peonies, trees, and rock gardens. We also ran into an art gallery exhibit which was another form of scam in China. This time we were ready though as we used a little French to get away from them without them knowing what we were saying. It was brilliant! We are beginning to accommodate to the culture and make our own adjustments. We went to the artist mansion or something like that in the afternoon and it was phenomenal. We went into one shop and the girls that worked there were almost in awe of us as we walked and looked around. Jordan tried to describe a scorpion to one of the girls and it was hilarious as she just had no clue what he was doing. They tried to teach us a little Chinese and we tried to learn, but it was easier said than done. This was probably the most fun we have had to date with cultural interactions. The girls were friendly and said most of the people who came in were older. They said we were so sweet, fun, and young looking compared to the normal American businessman customer they normally see. Also some South Korean girls went hysterical when they saw Jake and I in the Forbidden City. They screamed like we were rock stars every time they saw us and I think the one tried to yell out her email address. They were pretty stoked to see some American boys to say the least.