Merry and Debra in Xian

Last weekend I went to visit Debra in Xian. This plan, to visit her, started when she called me asking for some books. It turned out that she also had some books to return to me with the intent that I would, eventually, give them to Zeneta. I also wanted to get some more movies for my class. Merry was visiting as I discussed the details of this visit with Debra and I invited Merry to come along, an offer that she agreed to.

This left me, on Tuesday, trying to get two tickets on a train that worked with both my schedule and hers. This was harder than I thought. I normally get tickets on, what I will call, vacation schedule. Vacation schedule means that I am not overly concerned with when I leave or arrive; however, this schedule had to match class schedules.

As should be expected, nothing went smoothly. It turned out that there were not two sleeper tickets available on any of the three trains that I had listed. Further, I was not going to go twelve hours, to Xian, in a hard seat. It just was not going to happen. I ended up calling Gao (that's right, gentle reader, another YL, they are all YLs', it's a teaching college) and getting tickets on an earlier train.

The rest of the week really had little to write about except for the process of making reservations at the Hostel and insuring that there would be no problem with Merry staying there (more on this by private email). On Friday afternoon I began packing to leave for Xian. About four Merry arrived (I did notice that she was using the Gucci purse I got her. I am glad she likes it.). At that point we took off for the train station. Normally when I head to the train station I stop at the market and get some munchies to nibble in route; however, she gave the cab driver instructions to take us straight to the station and that was the end of that plan.

Once we were at the station we had a slight disagreement about where we were to wait. She was convinced that we needed to wait in the common waiting area. I was not interested in that idea and finally steered her to the lounge that I normally use (she has been to that lounge with me many times; I do not see why this must always be a point of confusion).

While I was waiting for the train she ran off and got some food, arriving just before we needed to head for the platform (yes, I was mumbling, "where is that girl," the whole time as the departure came ever closer) We located our bunks and ate the dinner that she had purchased. I now know that I do not like Chinese Goose eggs, they are way too salty. The other stuff was pretty good.

As is usual for these trips, I read a while and then entered a restless slumber for the remainder of the trip. We awoke a little out of Xian and, after breakfast, prepared to depart.

It was here, when we arrived in Xian that I did the first thing that was, clearly, not Chinese and this began her exposure to traveling with westerners. The absolute first step was purchasing the return ticket. The reason was obvious. In order to insure that I had a ticket I wanted to get it as soon as possible. I also wanted to know what time I needed to be at the train station. That would leave me a lot freer on Saturday.

Merry commented that my reasons made sense. However, she, and most Chinese, would have just waited until Saturday and then gone to the station and made the effort to get the ticket then. As it was, two days in advance, we didn't get the tickets we really wanted. I can not (well, really I can, they would have been standing tickets) imagine what it would have been like trying to get the tickets on Sunday evening.

We then walked to the bus landing and, after waiting a while due to it still being early, got a bus to the Bell Tower. I will say that the moment I walked up to where the hostel had been was a shocking moment. It wasn't there. Where the entrance had been was a closed Nokia (mobile phone) shop. Then, as I was turning, doing the "WTF will I do now" scan, I notices a sign with directions to the new door for the Bell Tower Hostel. It seems that the hotel that they had been over went out of business and they had to move the entrance. That also meant that they no longer had a lift, such is life.

We stumbled up the stairs and found Debra, still sleeping, in her room. After we put our bags down Merry discovered that this place had 24-hour hot showers and she was gone. I then went and waited for them in the restaurant on the second floor and chatted with a gentleman from VA. When Debra arrived, and discovered that he was from VA, she began asking him a number of questions about the area near Hollins.

It is interesting, with out having been to Xian so many times and living in the country, at the hostels people are beginning to question us as if we were experts on living in China. We come to hostels, in part, to hang out with westerners; they come in order to see China, but at a manageable level. We did get a normal western breakfast.

We then went walking. We first went to a small temple. It turned out that the temple grounds were under reconstruction. The temple itself was intact. When we visit the temples, we go in, look, if it is safe we will even snap a picture, and then we leave. It was clear that Merry felt that it was incumbent to pray at these temples. It was a reminder that the places that we visit as curiosities are indeed holy places to the others in them.

We then went and did some shopping for relatives and I went and looked at a bicycle. I have mentioned looking for a touring bicycle recently. The most common high end brand in China is Giant, this would be considered mid line in the west. Very simply, I did not like the offer that was made, so I left. I did consider it helpful to find the Giant dealer because of the warranty program in China. It is a simple warranty, take it to any Giant dealer and it will be fixed. No time limit on the warranty and at no cost. The reasons are simple and there are two of them. They are selling a premium product at a very premium price and need to offer something. The second reason reflects on the first. They do not want people, potential customers, seeing Giant bicycles in poor repair. They want a potential customer, when they see any Giant bicycle, anywhere and at any time, to see a good bike that is in good working order. It is smart business and it seems to be working for them (oh, and of the four Giant dealers I have visited so far, only one of them did not have a English speaking employee, even if the one in Xinyang had to send for him).

From there we went looking for a dress (a 2000RMB Dress!!!) that Debra wanted to get; however we did not find it. My suggestion was to go into any ole dress shop and have Merry describe what Debra was looking for; but this wasn't what Debra wanted to do and we finally gave up on finding the dress. We then went and visited a small Mosque and went to the Foreign Language Book Store. After lunch it was Merry's nap time and Debra went and got some more gifts, these were for Ken and Scott (and they cost more than I expected them to, it is clearly tourist season). While she continued to nap, Debra and I went to the post office and shipped some things, including the gifts, back to the states (They are going surface freight; so, with good karma, expect to see them at some point in your next life).

Merry had a couple of interesting experiences. One was simply doing the math on the Hostel. She sat and listened to a staff meeting of the Hostel employees while she was, ostensibly, napping in the lounge and discovered that this was one of the highest rated Hostels in the country. She also went and talked to the front desk people and got a good idea as to the profitably and operation practices. It will be interesting to see if the gears turn, and mesh, in a way that benefits her.

She treated with great amusement one incident. She was asked what county she was from. While it was an amusing moment, it also shows how the Hostels tend to not cater to nationals.

She commented to me at she had never seen as many westerners at any place in her life. We were walking in a subway and came around a corner in a subway and walked into a western group and I thought nothing of it until I looked at her, there was an expression of being entirely overwhelmed on her face.

There was One thing she, specifically, wanted to do. She wanted to go to the Foreign Language Institute in Xian. This is a very highly rated college for learning English. In simple terms, it has a much better reputation that the college I am at has. I had Debra go with her; as I felt that it would be more fun for the two girls, who are of similar age, to do something together. It turned out that, after arriving, Merry talked to the administrators and the decision was made to have another student show her around the school. The student that was showing her the school was in the same grade.

Both students were sophomores, or second year, university students studying English. The part that was funny was when Debra was noticed. Merry was able to talk to her, in English; however, the student of this famous university was entirely unable to. This student then admitted that she could read and write English; but, could not speak, or understand, the language. I think the incident left Merry feeling better about the quality of the instruction that she is getting at this school.

The next day, after Debra left for Ankang, we went to the Drum and Bell towers. I have been to them before but Merry has not. I think she enjoyed them both. I think the thing she will remember (other then me telling her not to touch the museum artifacts) was the German couple we met. Very simply, she has seen very few blacks and this was the first black that she had spoken to. The biggest trouble was that we both ran out of words fast. My German is limited to H.S. German, which helps, and his English was also limited. He asked us if we spoke French; however, my French is worse than my German. So, it was a short conversation. It did help that his wife spoke English. As I have said before, if as an American, you really want to travel you have one good thing going for you, you already speak English, now learn French.

We then went to the open air fruit market and got some dried fruit (I left mine in her bag and never got it). We then went to Mc Donald's, she didn't like it, which is fine, I just wanted her to try it. I definitely did not like the steak I had eaten at The Hong Kong Restaurant the previous night. I realized what was wrong; it had been fried in oil. Everything in China is cooked in oil; it should come as no surprise that they cooked the steak in oil.

We then had to leave for the train station. Once there she located the correct VIP lounge and was happy to have an opportunity to spend more time talking to westerners. By being with me I think westerners are more willing to talk to her because there is the assumption that she had already been vetted and that there is no scam underway.

The car back was very crowded, as the ticket process indicated to me that it would be, and she was not in the same compartment. So, we did not talk much on the way back. We arrived a bit late for her first class and I hurried to prepare for my class.

Back in Xinyang

I got up on my last day in ShangHai and decided to go for a walk before checking out of the hostel. The route I decided on took me to SuZhou Creek, which I followed to the first bridge that crossed the Huangu River. At this point I crossed in to the PuDong district.

This is a new district that is almost entirely post war. There is very little that is intended to be "touristy" in this area. Instead, following the streets and alleys took me to the real Chinese street markets that I have become accustomed to.

As it approached tome for me to begin heading back I happened to notice the China Post Museum. It was free and I wandered in. For something that is not in the guide books or mentioned anywhere, it was a very good museum. As one can guess, it was devoted to the Chinese postal system and had an impressive stamp collection. While there were many other displays I think it was that stamp room that stood out.

I left there, returned to, and checked out of, the hostel. Stopped for a café for lunch and caught a bus to the train station.

Like the rest of ShangHai, the train station is huge. However, it is well marked and easy to navigate (except for traffic barriers that seem to be placed to force pedestrian traffic into the street with the auto and bus traffic). I chatted with some students while I was waiting for my train, they were taking the same train, and they offered to show me the local bike shops if I return to ShangHai.

Once I was in my bunk I became an object of interest for my cabin mates, who I was not able to talk to. At one point I was asked if I spoke Chinese; but they then asked another question that I was not sure of that I did not have time to answer, "no," to the first one.

Finally, I got tired of the rapid questions that came to fast for my, real bad, Chinese to deal with so I phoned Merry. I then passed them the phone and let her talk to them. The trouble with that was that they did not speak the same local language and she left them thinking that they needed to take me to the bus station to get me a ticket to Zumaden once we arrived in Xinyang. I finally dot off be telling them that I was not going to Zumaden this week, but next week (I was not going at all but this satisfied them that I did not need help).

One really weird thing happened on the train. The two old ladies were sitting on the bunk across from mine and the first one yawned, at that point the second said, "You should go to sleep." The first then replied, "It is still early." At the point the second lady got up and climbed the ladder to her bunk.

You may ask what was strange about that. Here is the strange part. I understood every word. It was like they were speaking English. I, later, asked Merry to repeat the words of the conversation and they sound nothing at all like the English words. I write it off to a high context environment, but it was still a very weird feeling when it happened.

I then caught a cab back to the college and went back to sleep for a few hours, as the train had arrived at 05:30; prompting the conductor to wake me up (I was actually already up) at 05:00. That evening he teacher from South Africa, Merry and I went to dinner at his favorite café.

The next morning Merry and I played scrabble for a while and then did some shopping. Today has been equally slow. I posted the journal entries that you have already seen and Ellen came over and cooked me dinner (she cooked a lot more that I was able to eat; so, I will have leftovers for a couple of days).

Suzhou

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So far, the trip has been somewhat uneventful. On the way to the train station I stopped at a large grocery store and got some munchies and put them in my pack. I am rather glad I did as this hostel is no where near a grocery (at least as far as I can tell). The train was a slow one and made a lot of stops, the only issue with that is the stops sometimes woke me up. In the morning I did see my first bullet train (trains that run in excess of 300K/h or 176.5mph) and I intend to ride one soon.

Finding the correct bus, to the hostel, was a bit of an ordeal due to an expansion of a canal. To add to the problem, after I got of the bus I followed the directions provided exactly. This got me no where near the hostel. I then called and on the third try got a person who spoke some English. In her attempt to clarify the instructions she said," I'm sorry, I don't know which way right and left are." This was my clue. I returned to my starting point, where I got off the bus, and did exactly the opposite of what the instructions said; this took me to the hostel with no difficulties.

This hostel, SuZhou International Youth Hostel, is a strange one. It is on the fifth floor above a regular Hotel. Where most of the hostels have been... well, party central... This place is more like a hotel; it is very quiet and has a very different atmosphere than I am used to.

There is a small self service kitchen but there is no bar or food service, and, as one German I was talking to noticed, the toilets are squat toilets. There is a TV room but here is no public lounge. The real funny part is that it turns out that this is not the hostel that I made the reservations at. All I can say is that the website for contacting these hostels is outlandishly poor. I may go look at the place I was supposed to stay when I am out riding tomorrow.

Well, my roommates did show up. They were a couple of South Korean brothers that were studying in ShangHai and enjoying their spring vacation. They basically came in and left. We talked for a while as we ate breakfast and hat was about it. In the evening a German student also dropped in; I intentionally left my door open so that there would be some life here. He was leaving to look for another hotel. The toilets were it for him. I found it interesting that a person of Chinese heritage, and born in china, and who was studying Chinese culture would be so put off by the toilets; but I do have to admit it, squat toilets do smell pretty bad.

This morning I got up and rented a bicycle, for which I was charged 20RMB.This is about the going rate. The bike itself was a total mess, bad brakes, bearings, and about everything else. However, it was a bike and made seeing the city enjoyable.

Many people referred to Kunming as the garden city. Su Zhou has everything Kunming claimed to have. The first place I rode was the lion garden. It had a great stone maze. One thing that is notable about Chinese gardens is that they do not try to adapt to or in any way utilize the natural beauty. They are seen as objects of art in and of themselves. As such, everything about the gardens is artificial. That aspect takes some adapting to and adjusting our concept of outdoor beauty.

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I was surprised, considering the rain, just how crowded this garden was. Like most Chinese scenic things, there are many organized bus tours. Once you get away from the tours the crowds diminish rapidly.

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They are really into these stone boats, no garden is complete without one

From there I went and looked at some bicycles. The bikes I was looking at were high-end models that are, simply, not available in Xinyang. In truth, they were very reasonably priced when compared to what the same models cost in the states. As much as I am attracted to the skinny tired racing bikes, I am looking harder at the touring models.

The main two things that held me back at this shop were the consideration that I am going to ShangHai next and expect to see more, and better, bikes and the fact that I have some questions regarding shipping and with no one in this shop speaking English I felt that I needed to shop somewhere that I could get answers.

I then located Pan Men (coiled gate); a large park that recently hosted the Pan-Asian economics conference. Before entering I rode until I found a small shop that would provide me lunch. I then entered the garden and climbed the Ruiguang Ta pagoda, an 11th century structure. I then spent several hours wandering around the park and then visited the remaining sections of the city walls. These sections are also within the park.

This city is a great place to return to with Zeneta. Not only for the many gardens and photographic opportunities, but also for the silk industry and the many Chinese silk dresses that are available.

After leaving there I rode to the docks looking for a boat that would take me down the Grand Canal to HangZhou. I had a bit of trouble communicating with the boat crews; but, with Merrys help, I was able to determine that there are no more passenger boats that make that run. It was a ten hour trip and most people, simply, what to travel faster.

I then returned to the hostel, returned the bike, and walked to a restaurant for dinner. I am strongly considering cutting my stay here a day short and heading for ShangHai tomorrow.

Today it was still raining when I got up; so, I first checked out of the hotel. While checking out I tried to get the hotel staff to write what I needed to say at the train station. They got it wrong. This was not a typical full service hostel and they were not prepared to get the tickets for me; which was just as well, seeing as none of them spoke English.

The train station was its own ordeal that I will go in to in short order. However, after the train station I went to two museums and had a good lunch (good because I managed to get lunch).

I arrived at the train station with a note that did not say what I wanted. I wanted a first class ticket on the high speed (bullet) train to ShangHai. The staff at the hotel had only written, "SuZhou to ShangHai." An English speaking Chinese woman tried to help. However, she, seeing that I wanted a bullet train, got me a ticket that would have gotten me to ShangHai faster than any other way. She booked me a ticket on a regular train that was leaving in about twenty minuets.

What she failed to understand was that I did not need the fastest transit to ShangHai. I wanted to ride one of China's bullet trains.

I got back into line after taking a picture of one of the promotional posters for the train and, after waiting in another unbelievably long line, showed the picture to the woman at the counter along with pointing to the words, "first class." It seems that her vocabulary was limited to the word, "mayo," which is a form of the word, "no."

I finally got into another of the intractably long lines and made another try. This person was willing to tell me that there were no first class tickets available on the bullet train that day and that the next ticket was for a train that left at 8:47p.m. I took the ticket.

I then went in search of the Silk Museum. It was supposed to be on Ren Men Lu (people's road); however, due to construction, I was having trouble finding this road that is in each and every Chinese city.

After walking several kilometers (remember, at this point I am carrying a pack) I started to give upon that museum and caught a bust that should have taken me to the SuZhou city museum. As I passed the museum I was assured that I was on the right bus and I also realized that I would have a walk back.

The museum itself was a very good and modern one. The bathrooms even had clean and modern toilets (that fact that the condition of the toilets is considered something worthy of note should tell you something about China). The exhibits were a collection of jade pieces (found in all Chinese Museums) and some of the artifacts removed from, nearby, pagodas and tombs. Many of these artifacts are of such quality that they are classed as national treasures. However, as you will notice, there are very few pictures from this museum; thus, few lasting memories. Like many places in China, photography is forbidden. However, unlike so many other places, this place was crawling with guards to enforce this rule.

After I left the museum I started walking toward where the next museum should have been. I stopped at several places for lunch but they all insisted that I point to what I wanted on the menu. Very simply, my ability to read Chinese is not that good and I refused to call on Merrie's great skill with the language just so that I could eat lunch (For those who are wondering why she did not help me at the train station, she is not with me. When I need her, I phone her. If Zeneta were to come I would ask Merry to accompany her; but, I am making this trip on my own).

After lunch I walked further and found the Silk Museum. I passed a pagoda on the way there but realized that I was coming close to closing time at the museum and wanted to get there more than I wanted to see the pagoda. A couple of more blocks put me across the block from the museum.

The silk museum was interesting with a number of samples of ancient silk, which has been cultivated since about 4000BC, and a large number of looms and other traditional machines for making and processing silk. Unfortunately, there was supposed to be a room where I would be able to see a plethora of the little mulberry munchers at work. However, they were all dormant when I visited.

Leaving there I caught a bus that took me most of the way to the train station. I was not able to bull my way into the first class waiting room as I did not have a first class ticket and this is a large town that is used to dealing with foreigners (in fact, I was surprised at the number I saw in this town). Someone did help me find the correct waiting room and a seat; yes, I could have found the room and a seat on my own but people like to feel helpful.

At that point, it was just a couple of hours of reading while I waited for my train. I did have one person who told me that he as a senior, majoring in English, and who wanted to talk for a while (he was also having trouble with the he/she thing). So, I chatted until it was time to catch my train.

Going to Xian

Thursday in preparation for my trip to go see Debra, and some travel in China, I went with Michelle and Ellen to do a bit of shopping. About lunchtime, before Ellen was available, Michelle and I went and looked at the various shops in the alley that is off the East Gate, the alley that we often call Diagon Alley (I have later learned that the correct name is Haiyuan). We located some things that we wanted, including mess kits and flasks. At that point we went and ate.

After lunch Michelle contacted Ellen, and informed Ellen that she was requested to come along for a shopping trip. There were several elements of this trip. First, Michelle and I wanted some sheets sewn in a particular manner that would make them more useful at the hostels. Second, we wanted to return to the alley in order to purchase the items that we had identified; which we did, with Ellen arguing the prices for us.

We then took a bus into town. It seems that when Michelle purchased some mp3 players she received some bonus points to use in the store. She wanted to go back for a mop. We also went to the supermarket for some snacks and breads. One other thing we were looking for were zip-lock bags. We have seen them in some places, containing goods for sale, so we know that they exist; however, we have not been able to find them.

We went to a pharmacy, where they have bags of potpourri for sale in zip-lock bags and asked them where they got the bags. What we were told was that there is a person who comes through the business district in the morning, on a three-wheel bicycle (This is differentiated from a tricycle due to the existence of a large cargo box, it is intended for hauling goods rather than a single person.) and sells zip-lock bags. The only advise that they, and the other shops that use the bags, had was to wait at a shop on the regular route, in the morning, and see if he rides by, selling bags, that day.

We then took a cab and returned to our block. Shortly after we arrived back in our flats Ellen cooked dinner for us. And the teacher from South Africa also came up and discussed a laptop computer that he was looking at. It was somewhat low end. However, all he wants to do is use MS Office and email. For under $400usd it looked okay. That amount does not get anything special. It had a 1.8g Pentium processor, 256 Mb of memory (which I advised him to have upgraded to 512), a 40gb HD (upgradeable to 80 for about another $8usd), and a 14.1" screen. I am not sure what a similar computer would run in the states; however, I expect that, if purchased used or closeout, it would be about the same.

Friday I rode my bicycle to the bank and withdrew some money. Part of the reason that I did this was to make sure that I would have no trouble making withdrawals using my ATM card from China Construction Bank, the bank in China that I use. I then went for lunch at a place that I am a bit of a regular and returned to carry my bicycle, the five floors, up to my flat. It is now sitting in the bedroom. While I have taken to chaining it to a tree in front of my stairwell I did not want to leave it there for almost three weeks while I am gone.

Shortly after that, some students started showing up. Ilwin arrived and while he was there Michelle came over to see what I had packed. She, of course, wanted to insure that we did not double pack anything that we only needed one of. Walik came over and visited for a while and, shortly after he left, Merry arrived. About the time that HZQ arrived it was getting time to leave. She finished checking to insure that everything was turned off, in order to conserve energy, and we left for dinner and the train station.

Dinner at the restaurants near the train station are always more expensive that is reasonable, and this one was no exception. After we got out of the cab Ilwin insisted on carrying my pack, I think he was surprised on how much it did weigh. One thing is that it is hard to find much lightweight stuff here. The almost all packing information says not to bring jeans; they just weigh too much. However, there are no real good alternatives, it is jeans or polyester dress pants. After dinner I put the pack on, correctly, and it was much easier to pack.

Going to the waiting room was somewhat funny, HZQ was trying to steer me to the waiting room that she typically uses and I was going to the VIP lounge. So, it was the picture of us, at the entrance, both pointing in different directions with her telling me that we go that way and me insisting that we needed to go the other way. It does not help that that VIP room is not even marked. Like many of the students, she had never been in that room and was not aware of its existence.

While we were waiting Ilwin and Merry wandered off and got some snacks. During this time we worked on some of our other plans for the vacation. After Debra and I return to Xinyang, it is likely that we will then head for Kaifeng. This is not far from Zhengzhou and is considered to be one of the more interesting historic cities. As it turns out, HZQ is familiar with this city and I made plans to contact her, at her home city of Xin Xiang, when we get to that stage of our trip.

About that time Merry and Ilwin returned and a short time later the train arrived. It was a short run to the correct car, one must remember that the trains only stop for a few minutes at the smaller station and there is boarding in cars all along it's length. As I was stowing my baggage, HZQ was writing something, in Chinese, on a note, with my passport number, for the conductor. At that point she left, Merry and Ilwin had already gotten off the train.

Once the train was moving the conductor came and wanted more information. This was a problem due to language issues; however, I gathered that, in addition to my passport number, and whatever HZQ had written, he needed my county of origin and full name written down. I made it that far when he through the hard one at me; it needed to be written in Chinese.

When it was clear that I was not able to do this the conductor went and got someone else to assist. He brought a Chinese Air Force officer. This resulted in the person who had been in the bunk next to mine being moved so that the officer would be able to stay nearby (and, presumably, keep me out of trouble). He was helpful and stated, the next morning, that he enjoyed a chance to practice his English. There is no doubt that he was very helpful in giving the conductor the information that he needed.

It was well after dark when I boarded and by the time that the paperwork was completed, it was well after 10pm; so, I was pretty quick to go to sleep and stayed that way well into dawn. I then got up and made myself a simple breakfast. About this time, the officer woke up and we chatted for a while. The conductor then came and switched my bunk card back for my ticket and I made my way to the doors.

Debra had described the Xian as having a huge train station; compared to Zhengzhou and Hankou it did not seem to be much at all. As soon as I exited the station I saw Debra. I was surprised by how close to the city walls the station was. We then went to the bus stops and rode back to the Hostel that Debra stays at.

From there we walked around town for quite a while and finally went through the Moslem quarter and visited the Grand Mosque, one of the oldest Mosques in China. From there we returned to the hostel and rested. Then we went on a long bus ride and walked back (never finding the shower slippers and pajamas, for me, that we were looking for). On the ride we saw a foreign language bookstore and, after again resting at the Hostel, walked back to it. I have to say that in this area, around the Hostel, the number of westerners that I saw amazed me. I saw more westerners here than I saw in any other place in China.

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At the bookstore we both purchased a set of textbooks to help us with our Chinese. Later that evening we walked through some of the alleys and went to a small restaurant for dinner. I noticed that in the city center there are not the number of small shops and vibrant alleys that are seen in other places in China. It is almost as if there is an effort to make Xian look like a western city. The only places that approached looking like the China that I am used to seeing were the streets outside of the tourist portion of the Muslim quarter.

At some point during the day Debra purchased a new battery for her film camera. It came as no real surprise that the battery that was sold to her was dead. This is a common problem in China. The batteries are sold so seldom that they die before they are sold. If a person were coming with something that uses an odd size battery I would recommend bringing the spares that you will need. Other than that, for frequently used batteries, plan on using rechargeable batteries. The NiMh batteries are widely available, as are the chargers.

The next day involved walking to several outdoor shops in Xian. Debra was looking for some camping gear. A large portion of that camping gear that is available is imported; thus, it, by Chinese standards, is very expensive. We still looked at several places and walked along the moat, that runs outside of the city wall, for a ways. We were also getting some food to eat while on the train.

About this time it was necessary that we begin preparing to head for the train station. So, we returned to the Hostel and picked up our bags, that were being stored there, and started hopping on buses in order to head for the train station.

We had soft seat, or first class, tickets so we waited in the lounge, which was somewhat filled. This is the time of year that many students are returning home and families are traveling for the holiday so even these waiting rooms are nearly full.

The train ride from Xian to Ankang was uneventful. I did notice that there were some rather long tunnels on the route. The entire ride was about four hours.

Upon our arrival in Ankang we took a cab back to Debras Apartment. At that point we had dinner, which was, largely, the food that we had not eaten on the train, and pretty much called it a day.

The next couple of days were generally just me puttering around the flat while Debra was in class. We went for dinner together on Monday evening and walked to a market.

Tuesday I went for a bike ride by myself and found a small, nearby, shop for dinner. So, other than doing laundry, sitting around and some bike rides, I am doing very little in Ankang.

Christmas Shopping

Sunday afternoon I decided to fix some of the problems that I was having with my bicycle. Most of these were simply matters of maintenance.

I was getting tired of some issues with my bicycle. However, as tools are not generally available, I tried going to a local repairman and was not satisfied with the quality of the work. They are great for repairing things that are broken. There seems to be an issue when it comes to tuning. It is more a matter of different expectations than a matter of ability. Having raced, I have very high expectations so far as what I expect the bicycle to do. Most of these are matters of smooth and secure shifting and noise reduction. Remember, it takes energy to make noise; thus, any noise is wasted energy.

The basic issues were rust and a need for cable adjustment on the derailleurs'. The rust was pretty much covering the chain and all of the chain rings and gears. The obvious answer is to oil them. That leaves the problem of finding oil. Of course, I tried a bike shop. I also tried a bike parts shop; these are not the same places. Neither of these shops had oil. Aside from the presence of rust, the bike was also making a lot of noise

There was also the adjustment issue. The bike was shifting poorly. When in a relaxed position the cables had a lot of slack in them. There was also a problem with one of the cables having wound itself around an idler gear. Basically, the bike was covered in rust, making noises, and shifting poorly.

Having given up on finding the right tools (The Park Tool site is a great resource. However, it assumes that you have Park Tools.)I decided to work with what I did have. I had a multitool made by Gerber and a small adjustable wrench. For oil, I had cooking oil; which I find to be a great improvement over no oil.

The first thing I did was to remove the idler in the rear derailleur and deal with the cable that was wound around it. While I had it apart I put some oil on the bearing parts (stamped steel and plastic). I then loosened the bolts on the front and rear derailleurs' (one at a time) with the adjustable wrench and tightened the cables before re-tightening the bolts.

At this point I started to put some oil on the chain using a piece of paper as a brush (I had looked for a small paintbrush for this part but did not find one). Once the chain was oiled I ran it through the gears in order to get oil on all of the gears and the chain-rings. Because I do not have a bike stand, and I have not seen a single one, not even at the bike shops I tipped the bike so that it was supported on the front wheel and the kickstand for this part. I think the rear axle is bent because the gear-set has a wobble; however, there is nothing I am going to be able to do about that right now.

After the whole thing was oiled I then started making the adjustments. I put the bike in its lowest gear and adjusted the set screws on the derailleurs' until they had resistance and then I did the same for the highest gear.

Going for a ride I can say that the difference is like night and day. It really does ride and shift better then it did when it was new. There is no more, chain-throwing, over-shifting and the shift on to the small chain-ring is smooth; I no longer need to reach down with my foot to push the chain onto that ring.

None of this should seem amazing to anyone with good tools and a set of basic shop equipment. Heck, back at home I have a bike stand and a Nashbar copy of the Park Tool basic set. What amazed me was the degree of improvement that could be made to a cheap bike with very simple tools.

As far as the wheels, they are not so far out of true that I cannot continue to use them. However, I can see that I will need to true them soon. I think the attitude toward wheel truing is one of the reasons that drum brakes are so popular here. I have seen wheels with over two inches of play on each side. One suggestion that I got, from a bicycle forum, regarding truing the wheels, considering that I do not have a truing wrench, was to remove the tyre and tube and turn the base of the nipple with a screwdriver. I expect that this will work; however, it will put the bike out of commission for several days so I will wait until it starts to snow before doing this.

Recently Zeneta and I have having our Tuesday night dinner with students and no other teachers. We did the same this week. I allowed the students to take me to a place that they have taken me before. I am under the understanding that the name, when translated, is, "the old colleagues restaurant." The food seems to be reasonable inexpensive (which is good, considering that I frequently host large numbers) and is quite good. However, all of the dining rooms are not entirely private and the other group, seen in some of my pictures, was not a part of our party.

Upon return I met with one of the other teachers and she commented that she would like to return to having herself, and some of her students, joining me for my Tuesday night dinners. So, I suspect that the size of our dinner parties is due to grow. This is workable. What I have found is that a ratio of one westerner to every four Chinese students works well. While two to one is ideal, up to five is tolerable; a ratio beyond that leaves some of the students being neglected. Having Michelle at these parties will allow dinners of twelve to fifteen; parties larger than that will be hard to seat.

Zeneta got herself a new desk today. She has been fighting with the people to get her computer connected to the Internet, instead of using the school supplied computer, pretty much, since she got here (I have entirely given up on making my Mac work with the network here, it just isn't going to happen). It has been a matter of one little problem after the other. In order to connect her computer to the network here so she can access the internet she needs to install a piece of software from the school called, "ruijie supplicant," (for which, it appears that there is no OSX version, and I am still looking for BSD version that I will not have to compile myself). To run this she needs to have the full Chinese version of Windows, which she does not have.

So, she called to the office for a computer DISC, the disc for Windows XP (they think that they are running Vista, they are not running Vista). They were very cooperative and agreed to send one. In very short order someone knocked on the door bearing a computer DESK. Of course they would not take it back because they had been sent to bring a desk, not to return with one. So Zeneta now has another desk and is still unable to connect to the Internet with her Toshiba.

Note the textbook seen while visiting the school canteen.

Wednesday evening Zeneta ad I went to dinner with just the two of us. We went to a place that we often eat and Zeneta enjoys playing with the cat at the restaurant. She has wanted a picture of the cat for some time.

Before we went to dinner, I had finished playing, "Star Trek: Generations," for the assembled students. In a word, they hated it. I have tried other Star trek along with other Sci-fi with them. They simply do not like it. They liked Star Wars (of course I did not bring that with me); however, as everyone knows, Star Wars is technically not Sci-fi, it is classed as a space opera.

I just find it interesting that they do not like it at all. One thing I think is very off-putting is that there is a lot of plot jumps. Anyone who has seen this, and many other Sci-fi movies, is aware of what I mean by plot jumps. These movies, and others, like Serenity, also suffer from being part of an evolving story. It is interesting to see how these movies fail to work with people that have not been raised with this, evolving, story around them. Even people, in the west, who are not fans of Star Trek series have a basic understanding of the story and have seen the terms introduced into everyday life.

I have pretty well written off Star Trek for showing to the students for the rest of the semester. I am hoping that when Zeneta returns to the states that she will send me some acceptable movies. They seem to really like modern films (As defined by a characteristic film and direction style, very simply, the quality of the recording medium has improved in the past thirty years and films older than about fifteen years, just plain, look old. There has also been a change in the style of directing. People no longer talk to the camera; this can be attributed to improved audio post processing. There is also the fact that modern sound stage work looks… well, less like something that was shot on a sound stage).

They also like complete stories. They dislike stories that assume that the watcher has seen a previous movie or read a book; because, it is unlikely that they saw the previous movie or series, and they probably did not read the book.

They do not mind if it takes several films to tell the story. They liked the completeness of Lord of the Rings and are loving the Harry Potter movies. As I mentioned earlier, light romance goes over well. "Fifty-first dates," was very well received. Another movie that I showed, "Ice Princess," was greatly enjoyed. I can safely say that, "Ice Princess," contained all of the elements that they prize. It had very good quality film and lighting, it had popular music, it featured pretty girls, It had the classic mothers expectations verses the daughters desires plot conflict, it had a very light but nice romance; and above all, it was G rated.

It is necessary to remember that my observations are being biased by where I am. For those who are not clear on the point, this is essentially a girls college with a male / female ratio of one to five or six, if there are even that many males. It is also very conservative in regards to dress and decorum. There is tremendous concern for avoiding, even, the appearances of impropriety. Quite simply, it fits the stereotype of a catholic women's college, if the catholic women acted like they are supposed to and sometimes portrayed, as a matter of practice and choice.

Thursday English club was canceled. This was due to the cold. With there being no heat in the college there was just no way that the students wanted to go out in the cold for a club meeting.

When I found out about this I invited some students at the last minute. The class, early in the evening, was not particularly well attended; I was told that this was due to the cold. However, one of the students who was not in class, reportedly trying to stay warm in her dorm room, managed to make it to dinner; which I teased her about.

In a classic state of misdirection, I gave the students instructions to meet me at a particular gate. They took me to have meant the gate by the hospital and were waiting for me there. I, of course was at the gate before that one. As a result, we were all standing outside for about twenty minutes waiting in 0c degree weather waiting for the other to arrive. They phoned Zeneta and me and I walked down the hill to the gate that they were at, met them, and then we walked back up the hill for dinner.

We had dinner at the same establishment that I mentioned on Tuesday. However, there are really two restaurants in this particular establishment and so we were able to secure a private dining room. I felt a bit silly when I asked for something that was not on the menu so one of my students (Kelly) left. After Kelly was gone I discovered that she had gone to another restaurant to have them make what I wanted and brought it back for me. I like it and definitely thanked her, this is normal in China, and it is very different than America.

Saturday was another shopping day (what! Did Robert just skip Friday… yep, pretty much). I did some of my usual Christmas shopping (you know… that looks nice, I'll take ten). There are a lot of Christmas trees in town and red Christmas caps being worn.

We went with three other students and spent a fair amount of time in the electronics mall looking for a toy for Zeneta. She has now opened one of her Christmas presents a bit early.

We then walked to KFC for lunch. We now seldom eat at KFC, by local standard it is quite expensive and we have found a lot of local food that we like. However, this was not a usual day and we decided to splurge a bit. I think that the students who were with us enjoyed it.

After lunch, instead of taking the bus back to the school we walked to the river, crossed it and walked along a nearly empty street that runs next to the river and crossed to the side that the university is on at the next bridge. While crossing this bridge we saw a group of fishermen on their boats. What was interesting was how they were fishing. It is a form of falconry. They went out with a large number of birds, similar to kingfishers, and had the birds catch and bring them the fish.

We then returned to our flat and spent several hours trying to send the pictures that we had taken during the day to the students email. It turns out that the problem we were having was widespread yesterday and today I was able to send the pictures with a minimum of fuss.

We then went to dinner, hosted by one of the students, and while we waited we shot some pool. As you can see, the tables are simply lined up along the alleyway and are seldom level. Zeneta took a picture, inside of the restaurant, of some of the wiring. It you let things like this bother you, you won't last a day in China.