Now in Xianyang, China

We flew to Xianyang today. You know you've been in China a while when you say you're going to a smaller city and it still has 9 million people in it. The plane ride was a little bumpy with a lot of side-to-side and up and down jerks. I got pretty sick but I survived. However the nausea could have also come from the breakfast they served on the plane. Take a look at the menu.

Rice Soup - yeah...not so good

Watermelon - yummo

Pickled Something Yellow - gagged when I tried it

Bamboo Shoots - You're eating a tree...enough said

Something Green - Still not sure what it was, but not good

Preserved Pigeon Eggs - I must admit...I didn't try it but they felt like eyeballs and were blackish and purple

I had my first Chinese bathroom experience. Besides nearly vomiting from the smell of the bathrooms, I had to hold my skirt, backpack, passport, and undies while avoiding the urine wet floors without soaking myself. I was dry when I left, but it was an experience to say the least.

We went to the Xianyang museum and saw a lot of mini terracotta soldiers unearthed from the Qing Dynasty, but we get to see the really big, life size terracotta soldiers tomorrow from the Han Dynasty. I can't wait!! As we were waiting for the group tour to finish several of us started people watching. It was sooo funny because we were taking pictures of the Chinese, but they were taking pictures of us and staring at the same time! They thought we were something else.

Next we had ice cream from a local vendor with some of the locals. I guess ice cream and happiness are universal. We all just smiled and laughed at one another...VERY cool. It's amazing when all the stereotypes are removed how similar we all really are. After our ice cream treat we bought some local artwork and headed to the hotel.

The hotel is great but the water smells awful! You can't drink any tap water anywhere in China. Even the locals don't drink it. Amy and I had to wash some of our clothes so we took turns washing them in the bathtub. The problem is the water smells like poo! And I'm not talking about Winnie! We had to shower in it, but at least you don't stink like BO when you get out.

We all decided to walk around the city and have a look. We found a WALMART! So of course we took pictures and went inside. It's very different from stores in the US but it was a cool experience. Amy, Sharon, and I decided we didn't want to eat Chinese again tonight so we started looking for a Pizza Hutt which was rumored to be in the area. An hour and 45 minutes later we gave up and came back to the hotel. The hotel ended up having a western restaurant and it was yummy! I ordered minestrone soup and oh my goodness it never tasted soooo good. I also got bread and butter....divine is all I can say.

Tomorrow we visit the Terracotta Soldiers and a Muslim mosque. I'm very interested in that. I think it will be really cool, but it is going to be a long day. Sunday we fly to Chengdu to prepare for the school visits and the Dragon Festival. The Dragon Festival is a huge nationwide festival that is supposed to be awesome, so we're lucky to be here for that.