A day in Xi'an: Making friends with the locals

We started the day with the bullet train. The bullet train was an interesting experience, that's for sure. Since I had never been on a train before at all, it was fun to see the landscape fly by while we went at a high speed. The train ride was about three hours and was filled with a lot of different scenery. Farms, factories, and houses were all on the route from one city to the next. The train ride was super smooth and every time we passed by another train it only lasted for about three seconds and then it was over. Lots of flowers were in the fields that we went by. The experience was really great.

We then went to a mosque and looked around at the architecture and different artifacts. After the mosque we went shopping at a market. Many people were able to get different trinkets and gifts and even bargain in Mandarin. I was able to get many gifts for my family and brother and saved nearly 150 U.S dollars. The Chinese students were really able to practice their language and grammar.

In the evening, our group was given a task by Ms.Lei. We had to go around and ask people some questions in Chinese. The group I was with ended up talking to a man and his son who were learning English and needed to practice. We talked about ages and if China or America was prettier. It was really interesting to talk to someone who wanted to learn English, while speaking the language we were learning. Meeting strangers was odd, since we kinda just stopped them, but they were very cheerful and patient with the group members who are trying to practice speaking Mandarin! We made so many new friends in China. A great day in Xi'an meeting with the locals!