Xi'An & Magic Tricks

I'm sitting here taking a break from studying for tomorrow's 听写 (ting1 xie3) and attempting to review a semester's worth of Chinese that we've covered in the past four weeks, almost unable to believe that I'm already halfway through DSIC.

As we've reached the midpoint of the program, this past weekend was a long weekend trip to either Xi'An, Shanxi, or the Shaolin Temple. I, like two-thirds of the DSICers, chose to venture to Xi'An, one of the historical capitals of China and home of the terracotta warriors.

Xi'An has a very different atmosphere compared to Beijing, but I think I like it much more. The air is clearer for one. But everything also seems to move at a slower pace, very different from the hustle and bustle of Beijing. We crammed a lot in during our short stay in Xi'An so that meant we had very little time at each site we visited. The Wild Goose Pagoda was beautiful. I'll have to add photos once I can upload them - that means the next time I go to Yolanda, where the internet is much faster. Another highlight was Saturday night dinner - we had 17 different kinds of jiaozi (mMmm) and watched a variety show of Tang Dynasty style right in the restaurant.

From the Wild Goose Pagoda


Tang Dynasty style variety show


Terracotta Warriors


The train ride home also made the weekend memorable. I found out, much to my surprise, that James Kim is a magician :P He entertained us with a few coin and card tricks. I also learned how to play Texas Hold'em. How did I know how to play before? I'm not sure...

David Chou, James' roommate, attempting to make a coin disappear and reappear... concentrating really haard. :P