Meseum and Zheng Zhou

Today we began with a 7:30 wakeup call; Not very different from previous mornings. There was no set time for breakfast, so people went down to go eat whenever. Eventually we gathered in the lobby at around 9:00. It was then that we were an alerted that we should get locks for our bags. Honestly it worried me that we should need to purchase locks for our bags. If someone can’t get into our bags, what will stop them from stealing it and opening it later? Nevertheless, about 15 of us went around the corner to buy locks while the others waited. After a fine display of organization and bargaining we all had a sufficient number of locks and were on our way back to the hotel. On the way back the oblivious Dorian Crawford was almost pick pocketed. Fortunately he was able to make it back safely with his iPod still in hand.

We then left our luggage in the hotel and hopped on a bus to head to a museum in Xi’an. I personally was worried that someone, who I did not know, was supposed to get our luggage checked in preparation for our train ride to Zhengzhou. Anyways we arrived at the museum, after receiving a brief introduction to Chinese history from Francis, our tour guide. I was still too tired from our mountain climb to form any cohesive thoughts and as a result anything Francis said was simply ignored by me and about half the students on the bus.

When arriving to the museum I expected it to be boring, but it was. My suspicions were correct. The museum was composed of five exhibits. The first was about… um… nothing interesting. I completely forgot what was in the second, so there probably was anything interesting in there either. The third had a film crew filming what looked like a documentary, so some of the better artifacts on display could not be enjoyed by the public. On a positive note, the third exhibit had a large Buddha and a recreation of some terracotta warriors. I think the warriors would have been pretty cool if hadn’t seen the real ones a couple of days ago. The fourth and fifth exhibits seemed unfinished. They seemed very bare and empty. That may have been because there were more security guards than people viewing the artifacts or maybe it was just me. Overall I would have to say I was disappointed by the museum, but others may have enjoyed.

Once we all got back together we had to do perhaps one of the most important things we would ever need to do on the trip. Group pictures. We took a couple standing on some benches and then a few sitting on the steps of the museum. After pictures we headed off to a monastery/tourist attraction. I enjoyed the monastery more than I enjoyed the museum. Inside the monastery was Asia’s largest fountain. Unfortunately the fountain only turned on in the evening and we were there around 1:00, but the fountain still looked epic even if it wasn’t on. There was also a pagoda, which was supposed to represent the remains of the founder of Buddhism, after he turned himself into a goose so that he could feed his starving followers. Anyways on there were like little pieces of art and gardens surrounding the massive fountain.
On the outskirts of the monastery there were some stalls where you could buy jewelry, instruments, food and other things. After looking at the stalls I headed back to the bus and we went off to eat. When we arrived at the restaurant I was happy to see that it was a buffet. Man, I really feel like a glutton. But at least I was a happy glutton. After eating we were dropped off at the hotel.

After being dropped off at the hotel, it was time to head to the train station so we could head over to Zheng Zhou. Everyone was excited to meet their host families and stay with them for a few days. Unfortunately the station was a few blocks away from the hotel and was inaccessible by car. All twenty-four of us had to walk three blocks to the enormous train station that was almost as wide as the walk itself. I (Camden) also had the burden of carrying my twenty-five pound terracotta warrior and fifteen pound sword along with the rest of my luggage. After trudging along the streets for a few minutes we arrived at the train station and passed through security. It was a little weak considering there was only a single security belt which the guards paid almost no attention to. I don’t know if letting a sword through security is normal procedure, but it sure seemed a little strange to me.

After getting into the station at 3:00 for a 3:30 departure time, we headed over to the luxury room. It actually seemed more like typical waiting station that one would find in America, but I guess it could be considered luxurious in China. The station had a small snack bar but none of it interested me. It was mainly Chinese snacks and a few drinks. Everyone else bought a couple of snacks and walked around the station for a bit, but I took the half hour to rest considering we climbed to the top of a two-thousand meter mountain yesterday.

I woke up and we headed to the train that would take us to Zheng Zhou over a seven hour period. Luckily we had an entire car to ourselves and were able to move along the cabin. First we had figure out what we were going to do for the ‘talent’ show that we were supposed to do for exchange students. With the help of a couple others, we convinced Li Laoshi to let us perform ‘Crank That.’ For half the trip, we were practicing our dance routine while Li Laoshi meditated, but we knew that would hold up for long so we broke out the portable DVD players too. Seven hours later though, we finally arrived in Zheng Zhou to meet our host students.

See us meet our host families upon arriving to Zheng Zhou: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ericmooreca/CAMeetsChineseHostFamilies2008

Camden and Ryan