Day 18

September 7, 2010 - Xi'an, Shaanxi Provence, China

The days are dissolving into classwork and sleeping. I've fallen into the routine already. Even though I'm in China, the small section of the city I inhabit has begun to feel familiar.

The freshmen arrived today. In China, they start a bit later than everyone else. I guess it allows for the endless rounds of paperwork to be spread out a little. They won't start classes just yet, however, as they are required to do (I think) two weeks of military drills. Every student in China is required to learn military drills, it's just one of their quirks.

The freshman have made this crowded campus even more so. When I first arrived, I was a week ahead of most of the other students. Shida Rd was mostly empty, save for an odd pedestrian. Now, you have to fight your way down the sidewalk. And don't get me started on the over-populated madness that is the dining hall.


Welcome, Freshmen. The inflatable banner in front of the dining hall.

Speaking of sidewalks, the Chinese don't use them. I'm not entirely sure why they have them to be honest with you. Well, they don't use them to walk on, anyway. Cars park on the sidewalk, more often than not, and people walk freely down the middle of the street. Cars and scooters honk when they want you out of the way. It just seems like they have it all backwards to me, but then again, this isn't my country.

In other news, I met Archie's Chinese cousin today. They should swap for a little while, sort of a Country Cat and City Cat deal. Chinese Archie approached me in the park this afternoon, and was vaguely interested in me. When he discovered I wasn't holding delicious fishes, he rubbed himself against a nearby tree and ignored me.


Chinese Archie. He loves delicious fishes. I'm assuming.

I named him 二乞 （érqǐ, pronounced "ar-chi"). It sounds like "Archie" AND it means "#2 Beggar."

Hayden