Our car was split up into 10 — 12 cabins with four bunks in each. Bill and I had the two bottom bunks, which were basically like single beds and comfortable. They were a bit shabby, but had clean sheets, blankets, and pillows. Two brothers were in the upper bunks; one a policeman. They spoke some English and were pleasant and friendly. The policeman had a girlfriend in the next cabin who came over and spoke with Bill in English for quite a while. After she left, all four of us pretty much fell asleep to the rhythm of the rails and woke up after the dining car had closed for the evening; no supper for us. Luckily we had some fruit and munchies on board with us and that was just enough to make it through the evening.

We arrived in Xi’an around 8:00 am and were met by some friends of a friend from Changzhou. Proud owners of a medium-sized Buick, they drove us to a restaurant just outside of town where we had a huge breakfast of fish soup, sardine salad, mushrooms, and vegetable dumplings. I was so hungry I ate about twice as much as I usually would have, and was very satisfied. Then, we headed off to see the Terrracotta Warriors at the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first Emperor.

Qin wanted to recreate the imperial palace in which he lived to protect him in the afterlife so he had over 8,000 soldiers along with horses, chariots, and other figures — all out of terracotta (“baked earth” in Italiano} clay, and each one unique in its characteristics. Apparently, over 700,000 workers, most of them prisoners and slaves, toiled for years to build the figures and surroundings, with many of them dying in the process. Very high levels of mercury have been measured in the area and the conjecture is that shimmering rivers were simulated using the toxic liquid metal. There is still much of the mausoleum that has not been excavated, so many surprises still await discovery. It’s truly fascinating; you can find out more about it at these sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army, http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=441, and http://www.china-family-adventure.com/xian-terracotta-army.html.

After the warriors, we were dropped off at the Xi’an airport for a trip back to Bejing. We got back to Bill’s apartment quite late (after a rather wayward taxi ride), grabbed about two hours of sleep and shower, and then returned to the Beijing airport for the trip back to the US. I had a few tears in my eyes when I left them; it was such a special and wonderful experience and it reminded me all the reasons I left my sales rep job a couple of years ago after a very similar experience in Vietnam.

Traveling and sharing music, the English language, and American culture to people around the world, learning about other’s cultures and countries, and making new friends is truly what I wish to be my life’s work. At the age of 56, I feel I have at least 20 years left in which to pursue these dreams; stay tuned …

Today (Friday) we are teaching a class in the morning, then doing a bit of sight-seeing and shopping before we take a 16-hour train ride to Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army. Stay tuned for more …

Sunday morning we caught the bullet train to Jinan and Shandong Sports University, where Bill teaches English. We hit speeds of 311 kph (193 mph) and the ride was smooth and relaxing. The train was clean and the seats comfortable. Why we can’t get it together in our country to invest in this mode of transportation is beyond me; it’s so much more enjoyable than flying. Our former MSU student Rose picked us up at the train station in Jinan. Rose was one of my favorite students at MSU; attractive, smart, and a great sense of humor. She has been Bill’s “right-hand woman” in Jinan: she is very connected and helps him navigate the often confusing structure of Chinese bureaucracy and culture. I had an amazing peanut dish at a very nice restaurant which seemed to contain peanuts, soy sauce, cilantro, onion, and tomato: I am going to have to try and re-create it when I get home. She dropped us off at Bill’s small dorm room on campus and we settled in to get prepared for a concert in the school auditorium that evening.

We did a sound-check around 3:00, which I insisted on after my experience in Vietnam with the karaoke-type approach many college Asians have to mixing, set it up so it sounded reasonable and then headed over to the college radio station for an interview. Sophie, the interviewer, was well-prepared and we did the interview in English and Chinese, with a very capable young interpreter by my side. I sang a few songs and then it was time for the show. We had well over 200 students in the 300-seat auditorium, so it was reasonably full. Many of the students were English majors, but others knew little English at all, so I had another interpreter with me, along with Bill on stage. The students were engaged most of the time and enjoyed singing along on the songs. I mixed in a few of my originals with some folk classics; the big hits were: “This Land is Your Land”, “Erie Canal”, “500 Miles”, and of course “Country Roads” (which I have found to be the favorite American song anywhere in the world.) A personal highlight of the evening was getting all the students to sing “Root, root, root for the TIGERS” in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”; it was a funny moment. I spent at least 30 minutes after the show getting my picture taken with various students and had many nice comments from them about the performance.

Bill and I spent Monday and Tuesday teaching together in his English classes and it was like old days back at MSU. We have a good back and forth with each other that the students really enjoy. Everywhere we went on campus, we were greeted with “Hi” or “Hello” from students who Bill said had never said anything to him in English before. The ones that were at the show or in the classes came up and told us how much they liked the songs and the singing; it was very heart-warming and reminded me of my trip to Vietnam two years ago which made me embark on this new career. We had a hot-pot dinner with Rose and her friend Sherri, choosing various vegetables and other additions to the soup from a toy train that would pass our table.

Sophie, the young lady who interviewed me on the radio, and her mother (a former colonel in the army) took us to the train station with a couple of stops at the Black Tiger Spring in Jinan, one of 72 in the city: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tiger_Spring. We also went to a beautiful lake and stopped at a friend’s music store where I gave Sophie a guitar lesson and jammed with the owner on American folk classics. Then it was on to the bullet train station for another smooth ride in the countryside, this time to Changzhou. After we arrived, I played my uke and sang “You Are My Sunshine” with a cab driver, had dinner with some VIPP alumni and went back to the hotel where we both crashed about 7:30.

I’m up at 1:00 am Thursday typing this — so that means its Thanksgiving; a very happy one to you all! I hope to get some photos posted soon, but no video until after I return (no YouTube allowed in China).

Happy Thanksgiving from Changzhou, China!