Mark and Robin

How great to have some family come!  Rog was great to help organize and plan.

We've tried to go everywhere and see everything!  It was tiring for four old codgers but considering this is a city with 5000 years of history, we managed to see a lot in three and a half days.

Our students especially liked having them teach about life in CA, including Mark's forestry firefighting.

Thanks to friends and students who came along and translated, we could find our way, etc.  M & R especially wanted to see trees and gardens, but we saw other things, too. 

Girls at Free Talk

We have the students come over once a week for free talk.  They ride the bus to our apartment and then we cook American food together and set the table American style and eat lunch together.

Our menu has been fried chicken and mashed potatoes and green salad.  It's unusual because it's not common here to eat a vegetable that isn't cooked.  These girls are cute and smart and good!

Ceramics Museum I

Beautiful things in this museum!  This amazing gentleman, the owner/curator/director, is famous for his expertise.  He has gathered some wonderful, valuable pieces.  The triple color glaze is from the Tang Dynasty, China's Golden Era. He has particularly gathered oxen.

After looking at the fabulous statues, we ended up in a private sector to see even more precious items where we were allowed to handle actual pieces from these earlier dynasties. Wow!

The enormous front gate, a remake of the original.

Opera Performers at Daming Palace

Daming Palace, one of many archeological finds in Xi'an, was an enormous complex that contained an entire city in its day.
At the site we could see the foundations that have been unearthed.  They've begun recreating the vast place, and we were impressed.









Performers entertained crowds on an outside stage.  When we took a photo of some of them at a park, pulling costumes over their grubbies, they immediately surrounded us, put a hat on my head, and happily took pictures.

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Kids

Elementary students on the bleachers at their track meet

Mom pauses with her daughter to talk to foreigners.  "How are you?"  "I am fine."

The children call out "Hello!" when they see the two of us walk by.  We stop and help them practice the phrases we know they're learning at school.  If the parents are there, they're delighted.

Pickpocket

       So optimal conditions for picking pockets are not what you might think here.  Rather than the crowded street below, this corner was ideal.

      Last night we'd been browsing and stopping to shop, and just bought steamed buns from the place on the corner.  I walked up the street ahead of Rog a few paces and then turned to say something.

       What I said instead was, "Hey!! Hey, HEY!!! Behind you!!"  As Rog turned on him, the guy dropped all our yuan in the street and disappeared quickly behind a wall.  We were too busy gathering up the cash to follow.

       The thief wasn't a kid but a middle-aged, thin man in a casual suit, dark shirt, no tie.  Weird.

History

As a foreigner, I'm interested in history.  I like these reproductions we got from a market.  A lady's bound feet were called "lotus buds," and you can see why.  Also, after binding they could no longer walk easily, so they were sometimes carried.  The practice declined in the 1800's.

UPDATE:  In following up on Tom's comment, here's an excellent report I found on bound feet. Women share their experiences well into the 20th century.

"The only one bun"

When students wrote family stories in class, one girl's mother told this sweet story about life during "three year economic difficulties" when people were "poor and had not enough to eat."  This would have been the 1960's.

She goes on to write:

"My mother was happy in particular, enjoying the bun with her little brothers.

Later on, my mother realized that what a precious steamed bun it is.  My grandpa did not eat the only one bun and kept it for his children.  He never shows his concern for his children.  He just works hard but say nothing everyday. . . Today my mother always thinks of that precious bun that is full of love."

Table Tennis

Retired English Prof is our new friend.

How to hold the paddle.

The Professor teaches Chinese ping-pong secrets.  : )

Library

This handsome building stands near the Second Ring Rd. in Xi'an. It looks beautifully Asian.

Bell Tower

On days when we don't work, we're trying to be sure to see all of Xi'an's main attractions, so last Saturday we were with
Geri and Cole Potter (Seattle), new arrivals in our Branch. They're starting a three year stint here with Boeing.




We went to the famed Bell Tower where the Potters both tried out their impressive Chinese on local guides.

Spring

Our little snapshots don't do justice to the beautiful gardens, the spring flowers we've seen in recent weeks, everywhere.

Gardens and parks are manicured and cared for. Flowers blooming; peonies are especially popular here.