Xi'an!

Hello from Xi'an! Yesterday was a travel day for our group. We headed out early from staying overnight at the base of the great wall and headed back to Beijing. From there we shopped at the market for food for our overnight train trip to Xi'an. The market is so fantastic! It's full of little stands that sell everything from fresh fruit, roasted duck and chicken, dried fruits, candy, liquor, eggs of all shapes and sizes and fresh dumplings! We picked up a few noodle pots (larger and better versions of cup o' noodle) and other assorted novelties (we are all fascinated by all the different foods and have actively tried everything!). Then we trucked it to the Beijing Railway station which is by far the most incredibly busy place in the world! While waiting for the train we played a few games of travel sized connect four and chatted with locals. We boarded the train on a hard sleeper car which is six bunks per bay (three up each side, I was on the very top!) and settled in meeting our bunk mates. We had two ladies from Mongolia in one bay and the other a grandmother, mom, and four year old son (he thought we were the funniest things on earth and giggled at us constantly!). The classification of a hard sleeper isn't really as harsh as it sounds, it was actually quite comfy and we ended up having a blast on the train. That night we drank many, many beers (only for a little over $1 each and about 20 oz. in volume!) and had a grand time making fun of ourselves! Early today we rolled into Xi'an, what a great city! We walked through the muslim quarter and ate from the stalls for lunch (I'm in love with the spicy cold noodles! And only $5 yuan!) then rode bicycles on top of the city wall. So much fun! I love traveling with my group, they are really an awesome bunch and are really makign this trip so awesome for me! Hooray!