Brookline High School in China

China 34: Back in Xi'an

# of Homes:2
Next Trip:Sichuan

I'm back in Xi'an. To be honest I really didn't feel like going back to Xi'an after seeing such a beautful mix of west and east in Hong Kong. My last meal in Hong Kong consisted of fried calamari, fried chicken, and pizza. It'll be another month or so until that can be an option again. I was also disappointed to leave my Wang family. It was really nice to see my dad and brother (who is nearly my height now!), and it was even cooler to be with family that I hadn't seen for five years. Family is something that I don't think I totally understand yet, but I think this trip to China has really helped me begin to feel what family means.

Anyway, I didn't want to come back to Xi'an all that much. But when I was driving back to my apartment w/ my host parents I saw Xi'an much like I see Boston after coming back from a trip. Just as seeing the Prudential and John Hancock in the cityscape when you return from Logan is soothing, so seeing Xi'an was soothing. I guess that's the definition of a home, A place that relaxes when you get there instead of stressing you out.

Getting together with the group was also really cool. Apparently I missed out on a pretty cool week. They didn't have much school last week b/c the chinese students had midterms so they got to go out and explore Xi'an. Last night we all went out to Karoake. We got a private room for about 2 hours and $20 which was bad. They had all kinds of english songs from the Beatles to Ricky Martin. It was a blast.

This monday I'm already taking off again. We're going to Sichuan province in the south of China. Everyone is really pumped. It's really great to be part of such an enthusiastic group. After doing a lot of research for my paper, I've discovered that our group dynamic is somewhat unique. We basically do everything together and get along. Other groups have split into 2's or 3's. I can't wait to see what Sichuan has for us to do together.

Right now, I'm in an internet bar working on my paper which now totals eight pages single spaced. I'm estmating when finished it might be fourteen single spaced. The paper's supposed to be 10 pages double spaced! C'est la vie. At least I like my topic enough to write so much.

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posted by dAVID @ 11:43 PM