DATELINE: Xi'an, China 

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Author: Lauren Cohen

The heat in this city is crazy, but otherwise I adore it. The nightlife here is especially vibrant, with neon lights everywhere and lots of vendors out, food and otherwise. When I was out during the day today, the heat and humidity were so overwhelming that I was worried I wouldn't be able to eat; fortunately I found a hand-pulled noodle cart that had gathered a crowd. Even though the old lady preparing the noodle dishes made mine with significantly less red chili oil than the bowls the Chinese girls I was sitting with were eating, it was still flavorful and satisfying. I was sweating so much from the heat and humidity that one of the girls gave me a packet of tissues. I really wish I understood some (any) Mandarin, because people here keep trying to talk to me, and I feel bad not understanding. Last night some guys were trying to talk to me and they called over a little girl to help. I couldn't communicate with her that well, but I made her laugh by showing her random phrases from my Mandarin phrasebook ("There is a problem with the toilet." "Is there a fitting room?") This evening, I went to the Tang Dynasty music and dance show. It was a dinner theater, and they served us quite the dumpling feast beforehand - including duck dumplings shaped like little ducks, pork dumplings shaped like little pigs, and walnut dumplings shaped like little walnuts. (Guess which ones were the only dumplings I refused to try?) The show had lavish costumes and scenery, good Chinese music, but most of all it provided a nice break from walking around in the heat to find my own fun. After coming back to the hostel, I decided to venture out again. I walked up to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, then to the Muslim Quarter night market. While walking around, a ton of taxis, pedicabs, and motorbikes kept stopping to ask if I needed a ride. I decided that taking a motorbike was something I really wanted to do, so I went to one of the taxi stands and found a female driver so I wouldn't get raped (stabbed maybe, but likely not raped). I showed her my hostel on the map and she said she could take me there for 10 yuan (realy cheap!) I had so much fun on the bike, and the cool breeze dried all of the sweat off of my drippy forehead. I should be getting to bed reasonably early tonight because tomorrow I'm going to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I hear that it's another sweatbox, but it's something I do want to see (besides, I'll likely be just as sweaty if I stay in the city). I hope I meet someone on the tour who wants to explore with me during my last night in the city - I enjoy walking around by myself, but there are some discos I want to check out and drinking alone isn't much fun.