Bucket List, Poppies, HuaShan & Snakes

I can hardly believe it is time to wrap things up here in Xi'an!  It is crazy to think that we have been here for one year already!!  Time truly does fly by.  

As we came into May, I developed a “Bucket List” of places, things, food and experiences that I wanted to have before leaving Xi’an.  I’ve done my best to get us to almost everything on the list!  

So here is a little “catch you up” on what we have been doing for the last month. 

We visited a beautiful Botanical Garden here in Xi’an, very close to our home near the old campus.  I think I have mentioned before that we live on the old XISU campus and teach on the new XISU campus.  Anyway, the flowers were amazing and beautiful and best of all, I found POPPIES!  As you know, I love to hike in the mountains of Alpine, watching daily for signs of poppies blooming.  When I finally find them in bloom, I gather as many friends as possible and take a hike together to see the beautiful flowers.  I was beginning to think I would just have to pass this year when all of a sudden, we found them!!  They did not disappoint one bit!  Poppies are as beautiful in China as they are in Alpine!  Who knew!!??!!

                 

There is a famous and amazingly beautiful mountain, home to some of the World's most dangerous hiking trails, is about 2 hrs from Xi’an and is called HuaShan.  On one of our days off, we went with a group of young pups and they hiked us to death!  It was an awesome experience and one not soon forgotten.  The mountain is known for its steep and dangerous paths leading up, around and through.  There are four peaks.  The first time we hiked the north, east and south peaks.  Not easy and we were dead tired by the end of the day, but awesome.  We left at 6 am and returned at 9 pm.  A week and a half later, we went back to the mountain and this time started with the west peak, working our way around to the south peak and east peak.  We met with some 70 mph winds on the top that day as you will see from my lovely hairdo!  So in all, we hiked the mountain completely and then some!  Some of the paths are so steep, you must grasp the chains anchored into the rock and hold on for dear life.  Truly, some people do not escape the mountain alive so we were very careful.  Every year, people fall off the mountain…no kidding.  But we totally "fell" in love with this mountain for its breathtaking beauty and it will be a favorite adventure for years to come.

The journey of 100,000 steps!!!

Looks less scary than it actually was!

  



 

 

There are beautiful parks all around Xi’an.  Two of our favorites are the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda.  We have been to visit these parks many, many times.  They were both built around 680 A.D.  Quite spectacular they are still being maintained in such good condition.  At the Big Wild Goose Pagoda there is a Musical/Fountain Water Show proclaimed by Xi’an to be the largest fountain show in Asia.  I have been trying to get us over to see it for an entire year.  Part of the problem is that the schedule changes without notice, so we stand around waiting for it to go off and then nothing happens.  Finally, this past Saturday evening we were able to get the timing right and go see the show.  It was great and I was so happy to get another thing checked off my bucket list.

 

My favorite pronunciation blunder from a student presentation for this month goes something like this:

Student: “When I was a little girl, I loved going with my grandfather to the store to get snakes.  He was always so kind and let me choose whichever snake I wanted.”

Me:  “Did you have lots of snakes?”

Student: “Yes, every day I got a new snake with my grandfather.”

Me: (Quietly thinking that maybe they ate the snakes and not wanting to ask something stupid…) “What did you do with all the snakes?”

Student: “I urually (usually) ate them on the way home.”

Me:  (Quietly, but a bit uncomfortably thinking…WHAT?  She ate the snakes raw? I timidly say...) “Is it common for children to eat snakes?”

Student: “Yes, we urually go to the snake shop right after school with all the kids.”

Me:  “Are there a lot of different snakes at the shop?”

Student:  “Yes, but I had some favorite ones.”

Me:  “Oh!  Which kind of snake was your favorite?”

Student: “I like all kinds of snakes like crackers, but urually I would just get some candy.”

Me:  (Quite relieved…) “Oh, those kinds of S-N-A-C-K-S!!  Crackers & Candy!  That sounds like a nice memory to have with your grandfather!"
Me:  (Erasing image of a raw snake being eaten by a small child on the way home from school.)

This has been a year filled with anticipation, learning, growth, new friends, unforgettable experiences and life changing moments.  We look forward to another year of new adventures, increased language abilities, new friends, and yet more memorable experiences to add to our love of all things China!!    

The next time I add to this blog will most likely be from Beijing in the Fall.  Thanks for joining us along the way!  Looking forward to touching base with many of you very soon!