Xi'an

This past weekend we went to Xi'an. The first capital of China, famous for it's food, old city wall, pure Chinese atmosphere with a hint of Muslim and it's very welcoming people. Seriously, so many random people welcomed us on the streets. I liked it. Oh, and the Terracotta Warriors are just a bus ride away. I'll just say it was a great weekend. Let me break it daaaayown for ya.

THE MARKET:

Where is all the good food in Xi'an, do you wonder? In the Muslim Quarter. So freaking dericious. Xi'an was the beginning (or ending?) of the Silk Road back in the day so there are a lot of Chinese Muslims. And do they know how to COOK. Let me count the ways:

1-- Huang Gui. I found out what this was actually called via the internet. Yay technology! This was our all-time favorite. It's persimmons dough stuffed with sugar and nuts and yumminess and then fried. So greasy. So good. There's a reason it's number 1. A definite must-try. If you don't try this when you go to Xi'an, you are dead to me.

2--These yummy meat sandwiches. Soft, thick, warm pita-like bread (for some reason I wanna call it Peeta bread. It was THAT good.), stuffed with juicy pinkish brisket-like meat. So flipping good.

3--So, you take some rice germ ish stuff and steam it. Then you get to choose a jelly to put on it and dip it in sugar and peanuts. If you dip it in grape or strawberry it tastes like PB&J!!! So good.

4--Strawberries on a stick dipped in hot sugar so it hardens and it's crunchy and juicy and yummy.

Lots of other good food was there too! We got classic home-made noodles with egg and tomato. Also a fave. But the dishes I listed were unique to Muslim Quarter. At least that I know of. 

We also did lots of shopping! I got lots of gifts for people and some pretty paintings for my future home. It was by far the best market I've been to.

THE WARRIORS:

Once upon a time we almost didn't get to see the Warriors. Translation: Once upon a time I almost had a heart attack. 

It was Saturday, our last day in Xi'an. Maddy and I were out grabbing lunch when Shelby and Marissa arrived. They had talked to the hostel which told them that we wouldn't be able to get to the Warriors before they closed because we'd have to take an hour bus ride through the city and then another bus to the site. After they called and said this terrible news, my mind was 80% made up that we wouldn't see the Warriors. But our hope encouraged us to just ask one more time. We got to the hostel and talked to them and proposed different ways to get to the Warriors quicker. And GUESS WHAT. We found a way!!!!! You could say a short taxi ride, a bus, and our legs got us there. But what REALLY got us there was our hearts, our hope, and our prayers.

Let me tell you, seeing the Terracotta Warriors was a million times more significant because of this little trial. They were surreal. Of course, you need the history in order to truly appreciate it. If you didn't it would just be dirt. But it was so magnificent. I had chills running up and down my body thinking about how these were real people, with real lives--ancestors to people we've met in China. And their spirits were probably watching us and being there with us and feeling what we were feeling. It was very powerful. And it was so wonderful to share it with my friends. 

...Aaaaand I got a student discount. Which is worth mentioning because I used my driver's license to get in because my student card is in America. BAM. Didn't know the difference! 

THE PEOPLE:

I dunno if it was the Christmas Spirit or what, but people were noticeably nicer to us. So many people welcomed us to Xi'an.

One guy gave us an old book! Which was nice...we think. It could be Anti-American literature for all we know. We left it at the hostel anyway. 

This cute old man on a bike and beret helped us find the Muslim Quarter (hahaha, we still needed help but his company was nice!) 

We had lots of opportunities to give and to help and it was wonderful to see the smiles on people's faces. And in turn, we saw people serve others, too!

There was so much good to see. One day, Maddy and I were just wandering when we stumbled upon a small Buddhist temple. We heard singing and we thought it was coming from one of those walk-mans that older Chinese people love to carry around. But, no. It was a lady, about 50, singing in front of the Buddhist statue. It was so beautiful to see her devotion and outwardly show her love for what she believed in. It was very powerful. 

Not only were the Chinese great, but we met some pretty great people in our hostel, too. That's one of my favorite things about travelling this way, you get to meet people who have the same dreams as you. I could stay up talking forever with these people, learning about their lives and travels. 

This is all just a fraction of Xi'an. It was so hard to narrow down what I wanted to say just in this blog post! It was the perfect last trip in China before I head out. Which is crazy. Imma cry and miss my students. And I'm sure once I get back to America I'll have withdrawals. But I sure am excited to see my family again.