August 23, 2005

John and I have been in Xi’an since Friday, the 19th. Liu Yuan (aka Yolanda), from the foreign relations office of Northwest University met us at the airport holding a sign “Catherine Farrar”. We were very tired. It was quite amazing to be in the place we had planned for so long. We had 4 heavy boxes, but fortunately the driver from Northwest University brought a van. We were driven on a modern 6 lane freeway, almost empty about ½ hour into the city. We turned into a tree lined drive and were shown to our apartment. It has 2 rooms, a small kitchen and a bathroom. There is a big desk, a TV, a bookcase, lots of closets, a nice queen sized bed. The kitchen has a digital hot plate, which John has used to cook some nice meals.

Our first breakfast was in the dining hall in front of the apartment building. Several young women with blue uniforms greeted us at the entrance. The room has circular tables covered in plastic, and a long buffet table in the middle. Breakfast seemed quite unfamiliar – noodles, rice, pickles, a bowl of soft tofu topped with cilantro and hot pepper sauce: an interesting start to our time here.

Later in the day, Miss Liu walked with us to a big department store where we bought some eggs (8 for less than $1), some potatoes and fresh vegetables and some cooking equipment. John made a delicious omelet and potatoes for dinner. Miss Liu is about 25 years old and very competent and poised. Her English is excellent, and its really fun to spend time with her.

Since then, we have walked into the walled city, which is very close to the campus. The modern Xi’an has grown within the walls, although there are many old sections being lived in, and some ancient sites preserved. The center of the city is a bell tower from the 15th century, rebuilt in the 18th century. Nearby is another tower with large drums visible.

It is really challenging to talk with people since very few people know any English and my Mandarin is limited to greetings. Some people talk with us slowly and repeat themselves, incredulous that we won’t understand them.

My classes start on September 5. I will be teaching sophomore and junior English majors. The University is moving to a new lo