Calligraphy

An entire street is devoted to calligraphy shops and art. They sell brushes, ink, paper and more.

Artist Neighbors

A neighbor in our stairwell invited us in to her apartment without any language between us. We were wowed to see her paintings and calligraphy; her husband is an artist, too. We came back later for a visit and she served fruit and offered tea. Then she gave us this amazing calligraphy she had done. It's a copy of a famous poem, saying, among other things, that some blessed people are always looking ahead for the happiness of others, and they're never content until all is well.

Hot Pot

We LOVE eating Hot Pot. Fresh veggies and thin sliced meat dipped in bubbling broth at the table, then dipped in sauce. Yummy. Here we are with Summer, a senior student who has been assigned to be a translator for us.

Lishaun Mountain

On an especially clear day, we took a taxi up above Xi'an to this historic mountain, former grounds for a Tang Emperor and his concubine and other historic figures.

An ancient Temple compound sits at the top, fully active with dedicated monks and faithful believers climbing the mountain to worship.

Out and About

We currently have two bikes at our disposal, thanks to the Heaths. Roger gets out more than I do. I still have to steel myself to brave the traffic.

Starfish Foster Home

Amanda DeLange, 51, runs a foster home for Chinese babies here in Xi'an. She has just adopted out babies #71 and 72. Although successes, it's emotional for her because she loves them and doesn't like the goodbyes.

Two weeks ago she took on seven additional babies with severe needs. Her cute volunteers who are here from Utah, Aubrey and Angie, and Marjalena from the Netherlands, were busy 24/7, literally keeping the new ones alive.

FYI, there are lots of rooms at Starfish: bedrooms with cribs, a kitchen, big play area, etc. The photo is the "crisis room" where the girls ended up with the little newcomers.

Amanda, a native of South Africa, began saving Chinese babies about seven years ago. She currently has over 55 in her care.

When we arrived to Home Teach, I helped little starving Noah. He was so malnourished that he couldn't yet drink milk. Roger fed Amy, a new arrival with a cleft palette.

Once the babies are stabilized, they go into the care of the Chinese nannies, some two dozen women hired to help care for them.

Amanda's foster home has received a lot of help but she constantly needs more volunteers. Volunteers simply need to be willing to pay their own way and they are welcome. She could especially use a good retired couple to give her back-up, provide handyman service, etc. She's organized as a non-profit based in Utah, and she has to do her own fundraising in order to keep the babies.

Tang Dynasty

The people of China are justifiably proud of the Tang Dynasty. We say this show in the fall, honoring the achievements of the period.

Lovely performers, costumes, etc.

Dumplings

At a dumpling supper we sampled all kind of stuffed dumplings, brought to us in bamboo steamers. The dumplings were followed by soup, brought to boiling at the table.

Rockstars

People we don't know will sometimes ask to take a photo with us because we're foreigners. It happened even more with Paula and her blonde hair. Someone would sidle up to her and try to take her picture, and when she realized she would pose.

Terra Cotta Warriors

The Terra Cotta Warriors did not disappoint. It's AMAZING to me. Evidently the whole huge display was originally in color but the colors fade the minute they hit the light and air.

The have many more soldiers to unearth in the area. In addition, there's an entire mausoleum area for the emperor with additional carriages and chariots.



As an added bonus, it's been fun to hang out with the Strattons, Barry and Beth. She's Ben Blair's aunt, Julia's sister.

Thanksgiving

Our Xi'an Branch had a Thanksgiving feast after church the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Of course, we needed a flower arrangement, a few pumpkins and some fall votive candles for a centerpiece. It made our tupperware and foil covered dishes seem nicer. : )
There were excellent versions of home baked bread, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie, etc. No turkeys in China, but the chicken was great. Great people!

"Pasta"

All kinds of noodles are stretched and cooked fresh while you watch. Lots of noodle, bread versions eaten here in the north of China where it's easier to grow wheat than rice. It's always called "noodles," never pasta.

Of course, everyone in the north eats rice as well. We eat at lot at the local university student canteens.

(picture is from a restaurant)

Tom and Paula

Tom and Paula Heath (SLC) have been great campus buddies here at NPU. Fellow BYU Kennedy Center teachers, we loved having companions. They would scout out places on their bikes, we went to eat together, etc.

The red flag tree is at a Temple we visited on top of a mountain. We think the ribbons are well-wishes for ancestors.
FYI, Tom took most of these photos posted this fall. We were so sorry they had to go home early for her hip surgery.

Drum Tower

In Flight

Cute little face on our plane trip home from Urumchi and Dunhuang. People from the north and west are considered "minorities" in China, as opposed to "Han" or pure Chinese.

Mid-flight, a video came on telling passengers how to exercise in their chairs to minimize discomfort. We didn't realize until we looked up and saw our travel companions with their arms in the air.

Dunhuang

This cute couple worked hard but happily making shish-ka-bobs on the streets on Dunhuang. Lots of chili, cumin and salt. Boiled peanuts are good, not at all like the flavor of peanut butter. We shelled and ate them while we waited for our skewers. The cities seem to cater to tourists out here in the desert.

Uyegar Family near Dunhuang

The Silk Road

We loved our trip to Xianjiang Province in western China in October.

Sort of an extension of the Gobi, it was enormous, endless desert and countless camels. We saw remains of towns that served as stopping places for caravans during the hundreds of years of trading between East and West.

The camels took us up to the base of dunes where we climbed a wooden stairway and then slid down on small sleds.

It was China's Mid-Autumn Festival so we had a school holiday. There were almost no other foreigners. Most of the tourists were Chinese, taking advantage of their vacation.