Week 5 - June 14-June 20

Hello everyone! Well after our Beijing trip we headed back to Xi’an only to rest for a few hours then get on another bus to head to An Kang. An Kang is a city in the southern part of Shaanxi province. This city is a little smaller than Xi’an is but while we were there it was as action packed as any other place I have been. First of all the bus ride there was a ride through the mountains of Shaanxi. These mountains reminded me of being in The Great Smoky Mountains. The mountains were a lush green color with high peaks and amazing beauty. One thing about the pollution here is within the urban areas like Beijing and Xi’an it is very thick but once you make your way outside those urban areas the skies are blue and gorgeous. The trip through the mountains was almost a surreal feeling not because I had never seen mountains but the people I was with. The trip was organized by Shaanxi Normal Universities’ International Office. So there were around 30 to 35 international students that were with us. People from all over the world, who speak numerous languages and all have a unique story to tell. I sat at the back of the bus and just so happened that there were some American students, Australian students, Kazistan students, and Brazilian students. The wonderful thing about having all these students together is that to be able to communicate with each other we all must speak Chinese. It is absolutely astonishing to have many different people together and all speak in a language that is not their native language in order to communicate. Anyways after we reached An Kang I was blown away by the river that the Dragonboat festival would be held on. It reminded me a lot of waterskiing at the Ten-Tom River in Alabama during the summer. It was a very wide river with rushing currents. Reaching the hotel we headed up to our rooms to unpack and then met for dinner. After having dinner a few of us decided to go out and explore the city a little. We walked the river banks and saw people swimming, singing, and dancing. It was truly an embrace of life and humanity. As we walked we had many people stop us to say hello and I say they said hello because that was the only English that they could speak, but it gave them a chance to have a picture with us and for us to practice our speaking skills. After seeing a little bit of the city we headed back to the hotel to sleep. The next day we awoke early to have breakfast then headed to the center of the city to prepare for a parade. The parade started at the center of the center went all way to the riverside where we got to see the opening ceremony for the festival. After the ceremony we went to a mountain and saw some more cultural treasures of China. It seems that no matter where you go here there are so many hidden treasures within each city. The mountain was home to some caves which ancients used for places of worship and in addition to these caves there had also been temples built there later. So after climbing the mountain and walking through many of these temples we headed back to river to get some training on how to power the boat. The boats contained 18 rowers, 1 drummer, and a lead man which helped to keep the pace of the paddlers. While paddling the boat every person had to be in sync with each other member of the team. Now the interesting thing about these boats is that they seemed to be only held together by a few nails. They were completely wooden and old. So after our training we headed back again to rest for the next day’s activities. The next day we had breakfast as usual then headed to the riverside and started the festival. We hopped in our boats and became part of a 24 boat parade that included fireworks and floats. The boat parade was absolutely wonderful to see but after the boat parade we experienced a tradition that was a little odd. Soon after the parade was over a ski boat approached and started throwing numerous ducks into the river and the men from the other boats would strip down to their underwear and jump in the river to try and catch the ducks. Not only did the members of the other boats catch ducks with their bare hands they also would catch fish also. Then after the activity was over the boats would all pass by the main stage and show their perspective catches of the day. The Dragonboat Festival was a piece of Chinese culture that I will never easily forget not only because it was so different but because I was able to experience with so many different people from so many different places in the world. Next week we return to Xi’an to see the historical treasures that are housed there. It is going to be very amazing. See you guys next time.