The Warriors of Xian

During the same October break (2011), we left Xinjiang province after a few days, and headed to Xian.  We went there to see the terracotta soldiers, but that is not the only thing about Xian that was memorable.  For about a month before this trip, I had been following the blog of an expat family living in Xian.  They have 3 kids of their own, and are foster parenting a chinese orphan who is HIV+.  We had also been foster parents in the past, and I felt a sort of connection with them.  Since we were going to visit Xian anyway, we e-mailed them to ask if they wanted to meet up while we were there (hopefully that wasn't against any unspoken rules of blog-followers!).

This family graciously invited us to dinner, and we were able to see firsthand how they have turned their home into a warm, loving place.  It is obvious that they want to reach out with love to the lonely and abandoned, and they have a real gift for hospitality and parenting.  Later in the year, they fostered 2 more HIV+ children for several months; this means they were caring for a total of 6 children!  We were so impressed and inspired by their selflessness.  It's even more impressive to note that this couple is younger than us!  We know that being a foreigner in China is not easy, and that being a foster parent can be incredibly difficult.  But this family chooses to face the daily struggles and challenges, because they know their lives serve a higher purpose.  They are some of the true "warriors" of Xian. We know several people like this in our own city, our own province, and I know that there are others like this in Xian, as well.  They give of themselves so they can make a difference, even if it's one child at a time. Obviously, I have so much respect for these folks!

For those of you who are wondering about the warriors of the "terracota" variety, here are some pics.

Tuyoq

Although we enjoyed Urumqi, we didn't want to spend all our time in the city.  After all, we were coming from eastern China, which is basically one giant city.  So we found out about a place that even our Lonely Planet guide didn't talk about.  Very remote.  Our kind of place.  A tiny, dusty village called Tuyoq, tucked away into the mountainous desert.  It took a few hours' drive to get there, but it was well worth it.  Although it was an ancient village, it had a very authentic feel, since people were still living it it.  We were charged a fee to enter the settlement, which seemed almost eerily quiet.  We saw a few friendly people here and there;including one welcoming man who persuaded us to buy some of his raisins (my husband claimed they were the best he'd ever eaten).  A few giggling children played nearby and stared, intrigued by the "foreigners". We walked through the narrow streets, peeking in at this or that tiny building, sometimes not knowing if it was in use or not.  Interestingly, the men of the village seemed to be installing some sort of piping system, and had dug up many of the roads.  Several times we found ourselves precariously edging along the path, trying not to fall into a deep hole.  We wonder if maybe they were installing a system for running water.

So many interesting things to see here, including a very old mosque, an ancient tomb, and the ruins of old homes.  This was definately one of the neatest places we've ever been.

Urumqi

Since the exhausting school year is over, and I have some time on my hands, I want to post about some of the coolest places we’ve been in China.  Up first: Urumqi (Which, surprisingly, is pronounced “ur-a-mooo-che”).

It was a week-long vacation in October.  Our fellow teachers were sunning themselves and relaxing on  the pristine beaches of the Philippines.  We were driving for hours through the desert of China’s “wild west”, a 3-year- old in tow.  Were we crazy?  Probably.  However, we had long looked forward to travelling to Xinjiang province (in the northwest corner of China).  Because of its proximity to Central Asia (all the “-stans”) there are many ethnic minorities living there; including the Kazak and Uyghur peoples, who are predominantly Muslim.  So many interesting cultural influences mixed in with the mainstream Han Chinese.   My husband has lived in Uzbekistan before, so he was looking forward to some good Central Asian cookin’!

Our first stop was the city of Urumqi.  There in the main square, across from a mosque and a KFC, was a 5-story bazaar that was a souvenir-shopper’s paradise!  Merchants sold every type of local handicraft from carpets, to wood carvings, to traditional clothing and jewelry.  Definitely my favorite part of the city!  For lunch, my husband was pleased to find a small restaurant that served  Central Asian cuisine.  He immediately ordered “plov” (rice pilaf cooked in OIL) and various greasy pastries.  It was to be the first of many such meals we would enjoy that week.  So greasy, but so good!  We agree that we have no idea how the Uzbeks and Kazaks live past age 40, with a diet like that!