cartography

coming down

January 4, 2009 at 20:39 (China) (Nanjing, Xi'an)

I am writing this on the overnight train to Nanjing, where we will be staying for two weeks. It is 8:08 pm, January 3rd, right now, and the train just started moving. We have the six bunks in one compartment deal again, but this time there is a ladder for you to climb up to the middle and top bunks. A slight improvement. The toilet is still one of those floor-level ones though.

Sorry I haven’t been online. The internet at the Xi’an hotel worked maybe 8% of the time. 92% of the time was spent desperately refreshing the browser in the vain hope that it would connect. I’ll update again when we get to Nanjing.

Yesterday, on the 2nd, after showering in the hotel, we went to the Jade factory (it wasn’t really a factory) and then to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Xi’an is the hometown of jade, just like Beijing is the hometown of pearl! Our tour guide (Dan Dan) told us that there is a Confucian philosophy that says that Jade represents all the virtues a Chinese gentleman should have. I can’t recite it as eloquently as Dan Dan did, but it goes something like:

Just as jade is smooth and lustrous, so shall you always be benevolent; just as jade never irritates the skin, so shall you always be loyal; just as jade never has an adverse aroma, so shall you always be polite; just as jade never hides a flaw within itself, so shall you always be sincere.

Then we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and they—were—so—awesome. There were three pits, and although we weren’t eye-level with any of them, it was still pretty intense. I’m sure you guys all know this, but each soldier has a different face, and they used to be fully painted before all the paint faded away. The place was huge. It was like an entire underground city, and you just felt so– much. There were spots where the original roof had collapsed, so you had these piles of broken warriors and horses just lying there, and then you think about how much more they still had to unearth and to piece together, and just… how. I guess you are awed into respect. So much dedicated to an afterlife. You had to wonder at the fear this emperor must have felt, or, conversely, the arrogance. But I suppose if you unify all of China, you are allowed your arrogance.

There was a traditional tea house at the museum too, so we watched a demonstration and tried some teas, and I bought like four cans of tea leaves, two for my parents (& me) and one for Genta, one for Kriztille. I was all smiles for the rest of the day. Yay tea!

As we were leaving the place, the sun was already setting because our group was late (as always), and as we were walking through the park to the bus, we suddenly heard rapid footsteps behind us, getting closer and closer, and suddenly, about six police officers ran past us and then one of them shouts in Mandarin, “I’ve got him!” So then they double back and surround this guy in front of us who was apparently trying to blend in with our group. I think he stole something, because they ordered him to open his jacket, but I don’t know what happened after we passed him.

So afterwards was dinner, and after that, some of the people went to get foot massages, and others went back to the hotel. I did not get a foot massage, because I probably wouldn’t be able to stop laughing during it, and it would be embarrassing. So I went back to the hotel, and after a brief reprieve in our room, I went with Grace, Roger and Jaslee to explore the city.

China has such a vibrant street culture. Vendors selling food everywhere, even after dark, and you see people dressed in the trendiest fashions sitting on tiny folding stools, hunched over a tiny folding table, eating wonton noodles out of a plastic bag. I love it. Their bar district is so festive and bright and the outside facades are all traditional-looking and so incongruous to what’s inside. We scoped out a club or two, and then went back to the hotel. Grace went out again with Roger and some more of the group, but Jaslee and I decided we were too tired, so we stayed inside to watch Chinese MTV. After Jaslee left, I fell asleep watching Kung-Fu Panda in Chinese.

The next morning we got to sleep in, and for breakfast we went to KFC. I got the kid’s meal, and it came with this funky wind-up toy. It’s a sheep! Very cute.

Then we went to see the Wild Goose Pagoda (which the Empress Wu built for the express purpose of praying for her husband’s afterlife) and the Muslim Quarter, which was awesome, all old and dusty and incense-y and old. There is this narrow, winding street leading to the Muslin Quarter, and it was really cool. It’s like the Ladies Market in Hong Kong. Lots of vendors and stalls and everything everything everything. Every so often, you’d hear someone beeping at you, and you’d have to step aside to let a motorbike pass or something. The main street of the Muslim Quarter was even more intense. It was packed, with people and bikes and cars and stalls all sharing the same space, and when it got dark, the vendors just turned on the light bulb above their tables and continued on with business. There was so much local food to try, and so much to look at and it was just—epic.

I liked Xi’an a lot more than Beijing. Xi’an is in the west of China, and usually western cities are less developed than the eastern ones, but since Xi’an is a huge tourist attraction, it’s pretty modernized. It’s a really unique place, and some of the architecture was just amazing.

After running around the Muslim Quarter, we were rushed off to the train. The train station was so packed, and everyone kept staring at our group. It was a long walk from the entrance to the actual train, and with everyone lugging around their duffel bags (now filled with souvenirs), it was immensely grueling. And now, another 15 hour ride. I’ll see you guys again in Nanjing, if I survive the trip!

[+]

In Nanjing finally! It is 8:20 pm, January 4th. I am in our hotel room. It’s a double this time, no more suites. That’s all right. It’s a little scary having a hotel room to yourself, In Beijing, I had to sleep with the bathroom light on because I was afraid that someone could pop out of somewhere at any time. Not that leaving the bathroom light on would deter anyone from popping out of anywhere, but it made me feel a little better.

The room here is really nice, but there is only one Ethernet port and no wireless, so Grace and I have to fight for the internet. She went out to karaoke, so now I get to hog the internet. Honestly speaking, I am feeling under the weather. On the train, I kept tossing and turning and generally feeling sick. I threw up once in the bathroom, but that didn’t make me feel much better. There was this guy sleeping on the bunk above mine, and he stunk so badly. And in the middle of the night, he started snoring like you wouldn’t believe. I didn’t know anyone could snore like that. The whole train must have heard him. I kicked his bed a few times, but that didn’t do any good. He was so disgusting.

Anyway. We survived, and got to the hotel around 9 am, ate breakfast (or, in my case, watched people eat breakfast), and then went up to our rooms. I still felt like crap, so I slept, or tried to sleep until the orientation for classes at 12:30. After dragging myself to the conference room and sitting there for half an hour, I dragged myself back to the room, took some medication and passed out until 3:30, at which point there was another orientation for my class. By then, our luggage had finally arrived so I took a shower and changed and went to dinner. We met our Nanjing partners, who are natives to the area and will show us around/help us with anything during our two-week stay here. My partner is a girl named Sabrina, and she is so so so adorable. She is 18, and she likes Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears, and she dances to jazz music, and she watches Gossip Girl. Paul made fun of her for that, but then I made fun of Paul for liking the sixth Harry Potter book. It was a fun dinner, and it was the first time I’d eaten since Xi’an.

I think people are going to either Walmart or karaoke, but since I felt sick again after dinner, I went back to the room, which is where I am now. I’m glad to be in Nanjing. I’m actually excited for classes too, even though we have to present on assigned chapters and write papers and whatever. My partner is Roger, and he’s a cool cat.

I am going to go back to bed, right after I find a working proxy so that I can post this. How has everyone been? Hope you’re all staying warm and not ready to keel over like I am.

8:36 pm. It’s freezing and I don’t know how to work the heat, but I am dropping like a lead balloon. Good night!