Ana_Xian,China

Day 10 Fri., Sept.15
Woke early about 8. Walked down to information desk and Tim asked all the questions again. The one guy helped us get prices. In the meantime I went and checked my emails. Bad idea. Tim was upset I wasn't helping. He is so cute sometimes. He gets in that mode, I call it "the BULL MODE." And there is no way of changing it. I felt like I wasn't doing anything and he had it under control. But later we talked about it and he said it helps if I'm there to here the same thing and that I help just by being there. I get it but I'm working on it. So pretty much he was a bit cranky the first part of the day.

After taking care of the details we went to the Shanxi museum. It was nice but nothing out of this world. Plus it didn't help all the signs were in Chinese and there were tons of tour groups with the guide speaking really loud. But we did see some nice pottery. Tim was funny at the ticket office. He was trying to get a student discount we have our International Student ID Cards and so far it has paid off. We get a lot of discounts in museums and attractions. Except Europe they age limit is 26. BOOOO! Anyway, back to my story. The discounts at the museum are only for Chinese students and Tim asked – don’t II look Chinese? The lady looked at him funny. Only Tim manages to come up with stuff like that. I love that about him.

Walked around for a while trying to find the Pagodas nearby. We had to walk through this nice, well kept park. Nice walk, just to people watch. I love getting the stares. Sometimes I stare back and I either get a smile or they look away. The kids are my favorite. They think is funny to say “hello.” BTW I've seen that many kids, not like in Africa or even South Africa.

We decided not to pay to enter to see the Pagodas. We know we'll see more along the way. We’re already starting to get temple out. I know it sound snobbish but it’s true.

Instead went for Pizza Hut. We saw in the taxi on the way to the museum. It sounded so good. Something different than noodles and rice. The Pizza Hut was really nice, more upscale than the ones back home. And it was cute to see the Chinese waitress serving the food with their neon aprons. We ordered a supreme pizza and waffle chips as appetizer. For a second I thought I was back home, just for a second. The food tasted so good. The first thing I've had that doesn't have that Chinese taste. Very satisfied with the meal. Of course we had our usual dipped cone for dessert. We walked around downtown some more.

Before going to sleep we stopped at the restaurant to have few beers. Also ending getting one fried rice with beef. Some days it seems all we do is eat and eat. Oh well! Barriga llena corazon contento!

Day 11 Sat., Sept. 16
I woke up super early about 6 am. Couldn't sleep! Also it was my turn to figure out the train tickets to Mongolia. I know there was away to buy them in advance even though at the hotel told us NO, only from Beijing. Finally found I site that you could buy them online you had to fill out a form first. I was glad to figure that out, so Tim could relax.

After taking care of more details we went to see the terracotta warriors. We took the public bus instead of an organized tour. It was way cheaper that way. It took us an hour to get there. I felt asleep along the way.

We got there and it was crowded of course. We had to walk like a mile to actually buy the tickets. We didn't know where to go first. They had several buildings and we had no map of the place. So we just followed the crowd. It was cool to see they built this massive structure around the pits where they found the terracotta warriors. The history behind them is they were supposed to guard the Emperor’s thumb. But was crazy they built so many in a row. Pit.1 had the most re-stored warriors. It was really neat to see tons the warriors in this pit. The pit most of been larger than a football field. I can see what people go there. It’s cool to see. Even if you’re not a history junky like me. Walking around the pits took a couple of hours.

On our way out we stopped at the souvenir shops. We got a sculpture of a terracotta warrior. It’s the first time we dare to buy and hope it’s not expensive to send. It was pretty heavy. But we thought we’d regret it later if we didn’t buy now. That has happened to us a couple of times. We bartered and got it for $5US. We know shipping was going to be around $20US. We thought. And it was. We managed to get to the post office before it closed back in Xian. We had it all packed and Tim had bought taped and close it all up. But of course they had to open it and re-pack it. But it wasn't too bad. They did a great job of packing. Mission accomplished.

Oh, I was forgetting on of the disgusting highlights of my day. On our way back from the bus station to the hostel to pack the warrior before sending it, the GROSSES thing happened. We were walking along the side walk and just so happens this dude on his bike decided to throw a “spit ball” to clean his throat. And it by divine power it landed on my ankle. It took me few seconds to realize it. I was so PISSED! I had some toilet paper with me and wiped off immediately. I was so mad. I can even tell you. It’s a common thing for people to do that here. You hear it all the time walking down the streets. And it will grouse me out anyway. Now the grossness went to another level. I hear it and I clinch and look around to make sure I avoid been the lucky one of another “spit ball.”

Back to the later part of the day – the Downtown was a mad house. People everywhere! It was the weekend so I’m guessing the locals go out and shop. It was almost impossible not to bump into people. We had KFC for dinner, our last chance of junk food before leaving to Tibet. It sounded like a good idea at the time but man my stomach wasn't happy after. It didn't sit right. I kept burping and it got worse by time we got to the hotel. I took some TUMS from back home but wasn't helping. I barely managed packing and taking a shower without feeling just off and blooded.

I force myself to fall asleep and hopefully the pain would go away!