The Silk Road

What a trip.

Using planes, overnight trains, and buses, we traveled along the Silk Road from Beijing to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Hohhot to Luoyang to Xi'an to Jaiyuguan and finally to the Gobi Desert in Dunhuang. It was an amazing experience that gave us a glimpse into the diverse country of China. And I am so exhausted.

Starting in the Mongolian Grasslands, we spent a night in traditional nomadic Mongol huts called gers or yurts. With a Western toilet and television in each ger, it wasn't the truly authentic homestay that many of us had expected. However, we were able to see a traditional horse race and wrestling performance and then we watched the sun come up over the Grasslands the following morning. Time in Hohhot was spent visiting Buddhist temples and trying Mongolian hot pot (a family-style dish where you put raw meat into boiling sauce/soup that cooks it right in front of you).

Then we were on to Luoyang where we visited the Shaolin Temple. Completely packed with tourists (mostly Chinese), it was difficult to experience the full effect of the monks in their temple at this historic kung fu school. We also saw the Longmen Grottoes where thousands of Buddhist carvings that span a distance of 1km cover the face of a steep cliff.

Next stop was Xi'an (personally, my favorite city on the trip due to the friendly environment and ease of getting around to different places). Almost a full day was spent at the Terracotta Warriors - the "8th Wonder of the World." It was really amazing to see these 8,000+ soldiers that are all unique and make up only a small percentage of the emperor's complete tomb. The Muslim Quarter of the city was located right next to our hotel and I was able to try authentic Muslim cuisine and buy touristy Muslim souvenirs. Interestingly, or unfortunately, this is a place where Han Chinese people avoid at all costs because they do not want to associate with the Muslim minority. Right before we left Xi'an, we rode bikes around the city wall - the only one that still stands in all of China.

Our time in Jaiyuguan was short and the major site of interest was the Jiayuguan Fort - the Western most fort along the Great Wall.

Last of all was Dunhuang - an oasis in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Here we spent the night sleeping in tents in the Gobi. And it was absolutely amazing. As we were driving out of the city to enter the Desert, all of the sudden, these huge sand dunes rose up in front of our bus. We climbed up and ran down dunes and watched the sunset before enjoying a bonfire with the whole group. In the morning, we got up before dawn (the stars were gorgeous - and something I've come to really appreciate here in smoggy China) and rode camels (I named mine Abe) up a sand dune to see the sunrise. Definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the entire trip.

We're all back on campus now preparing for the first day of school tomorrow. With all the traveling and a couple cold nights in the Grasslands and the Gobi Desert, lucky me picked up a cold and am now fighting a fever. But the exhaustion and sickness pales in comparison to returning to school to find that my computer hard drive crashed. I lost all of my photos, music, and files from the last two years of my life, but hopefully I can take it somewhere to try and recover some files. Fortunately, it was covered under warranty and Apple gave me a new MacBook. The best part was probably me sobbing in the Apple Store, attempting to Skype my family to explain the situation, and having the Chinese employee hand me a box of Kleenex.

With the trip and everything that has happened since, I am so ready to begin class tomorrow and start learning about China from within in China.