The double bonus this week was having the heat turned on and we had beautiful weather.   The irony of the heat coming on is that it’s now too hot in the apartment so I have to open the windows.  We have no thermostat … heat is either on or off but the radiators are great for drying laundry.  It was also enjoyable getting out for a walk every day and exploring a few new streets close to campus.  I haven’t had a haircut since coming to China so I wanted to check out a couple of places.  At the music store I enjoyed listening to the students taking lessons on various Chinese instruments.   

Thursday afternoon I went with a student and another English teacher to look at bikes and we went out for dinner afterwards.  Friday I looked at bikes again and got a good deal on a used bike, so Saturday we rode out of the city and explored some of the smaller villages on the plateau East of Xi'an.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I loved the ride, the villages and the people … just a wonderful day.  You'll notice all the corn is harvested and now drying and winter wheat has been planted along with vegetables year round.  There are also brick ovens everywhere.  I hope to add a slide show with more pictures but here's a sampling of the beautiful 40 mile ride.

If you do any traveling over the holidays and have a chance to pick up a post card, I’d love to hear from you.  My students love seeing post cards and I post them outside my office.  I will be going to Beijing for Thanksgiving and eating Duck instead of Turkey.  However, last night the BYU teachers and the program coordinators who are here visiting had a great turkey dinner including pumpkin pie at the Village Cafe ... they put together the dinner just for us and it was delicious.   I am grateful for each of you and wish you all a very blessed Thanksgiving.

Mailing Address
Karla Thompson
School of Foreign Studies
Xi'an Jiaotong University
No 28 Xianning West Road Xi'an
Shaanxi Province
P.R. China 710049

                         If you double click on the pictures you can view them in full size.

Village Road

Social Corner of the Village

 

Brick Furnaces

Old cave dwellings - thousands of them all along the mountain side

 

Once on top of the plateau it's very flat

funeral

 

In Front of School

Hanging noodles out to dry

Recycling - he's puling the cart with a rope over his shoulder

picking persimmons

Music Lessons

Hair Salon

Keeping Warm at the market

Mailing Address
Karla Thompson
School of Foreign Studies
Xi'an Jiaotong University
No 28 Xianning West Road Xi'an
Shaanxi Province
P.R. China 710049