China Day 19, Xi'an

Friday July 15^th

I got up really early this morning to join Adam and Beverley and to go to a neighbourhood square that Michael told us about, where people exercise every morning. We watched an aerobic fan class, a ti chi class, people playing badminton, ballroom dancing, water sidewalk painting and many other activities.

Then we went back to the hotel to have breakfast, but we rejected the hotel buffet as it was disgusting and the place was filthy. So, I went to a local bakery and got a couple of sweet buns for Paul (who was still sleeping) and I. Then we all met up in the lobby and went for a half hour walk to the Xi'an Hui Ling Service School. This is an Intrepid sponsored school for people with learning disabilities. They have about 70 students aged from 14 to 40 who they are training in simple skills so that hopefully they can get jobs and become more useful citizens. In this way they can become more independent and not so much of a burden to their parents. After we were introduced to the program we watched an aerobic presentation by a group of girls and then listened as a young man sang to us. Then we played musical chairs with them and the hokey pokey game. They had a small shop there with crafts that the students had made. I bought yet another necklace, a bracelet and a beautiful piece of art called paper cutting, that I hope to teach my students to do at school. It was a very heart warming visit.

After that we had free time and a group of us headed off to explore the Muslim section again. We wandered through the narrow streets and checked out the shops and local foods. We wound up at a Starbucks where we had a drink to escape the hot sun. Everyone else went back to the hotel, but Paul and I continued to walk through the area and discovered a couple of beautiful old temples that are being restored. On the way back to the hotel we walked through a very upscale shopping centre that is very different from the markets we were just in.

Back at the hotel, we packed up and got ready to leave. We took the minibus to the train station to board our last overnight train. The train station was bedlam and it was very crowded. We paid a little extra for a special waiting room but by the time we made it there we were called to board the train. Again we are in hard sleeper cabins, six to a compartment and this time I had the middle bunk with Paul above me. We had a hot pot noodle for dinner and then we all talked until the 10pm lights out. This is a really nice group of people to end my trip with.