The Reeeeest of the Story (6-1-08)

So today is our last half day in Xining.  The past few days have been fun, if uneventful.  We’ve been to a few markets and met with “family”.  We went to a rug factory run by family on Friday they showed us how they make hand-knotted authentic Tibetan rugs.  They’re also about to make a deal with Crate & Barrel to sell their product.  It was really cool.  That night we did a small concert on the street in front of a delicious Italian restaurant.  Saturday we just hung out around Xining, and performed that night at the Three Self Church.  It was a good concert and may be the last one we do because we don’t know what’s going to happen concert-wise in Xi’an.  Alright, well I need to shut compy down and finish packing, we gotta be outta here by 7:30, see ya.

The Gateway to the West (of China!) (5-29-08)

So I feel like I’m at home, only in China.  No, just kidding, but apparently Xining is called the Gateway to the West.  Today was great, we got up and went to a Buddhist temple, it was kinda creepy, but very interesting.  We then walked up a small mountain (which put us at about 8000 ft.) and went to a park.  In the park we had an impromptu devo, it was incredible.  We then came back and I had a nap.  Afterward we had lunch and then got ready for the concert.  The concert tonight was neat because it was a benefit concert for the earthquake victims.  We raised about $1,300 for the victims, and the pastor from the Three Self Church (sanctioned Chinese church) asked us to do a concert on Saturday, it’s so exciting.  We got back and played cards a bit, then I decided to head to bed, which is where I’m going now, so I’ll talk later yo.  BYE!

The Wild, Wild, West (5-28-08)

Howdy y’all!  Greetings from Xining!  This is the farthest west we’ll be going on this trip.  Today started out horrible.  We had to get up at 4:30 this morning before leaving at 5:30.  Strike one.  I had done some laundry yesterday in our bathroom sink and had hung out four of my five shirts.  Then it rained last night, so I awoke this morning to four thoroughly soaked shirts.  Strike two.  It was raining when we left the dorm so we got soaked on our way to the bus.  Strike three.  The bus ride was the bumpiest bus ride I have ever had in my life.  Strike four.  When we got to the airport, there was a major hold up with China Southern (the airlines) and we almost missed our flight.  Strike five.  So yes, this morning went great.  Once we finally got to Xining, everything was wonderful, it was 65 degrees outside, and looked like Arizona.  We are the largest foreign group in memory to come this far to the west of China.  It’s exciting.  When we arrived at our location, it was fantastic.  The hostel we are staying at is nice and modern, it has Internet, YAY!  Then, because we hadn’t had lunch we walked to KFC, I know, but it was fast and easy, and I was starving.  So that’s about it for now, I’m sure I’ll update at least once more before we leave Xining.