China's Warrior's

My toes are tingling as the blood is trying desperately to flow to the outermost extremities. Both feet have been frozen for two days. We are staying in very meager accomodations and there is no "air-condition" as they call it. I would prefer to call it a heater but right now if it blows out breath warm air I would take it. I didn't know if I would make it through last night. Mateo and I put four very heavy blankets on one twin sized bed and slept with a hot duck between us (I'll explain later). I was still cold all night. When the sun came up we found out that our cold room had gotten even colder during the night because it was snowing.

We spent the last nine days in Xi'an where we thought it was cold. Beyond the cold we met some really cool friends. We were connected with a brother named Zamzam before entering China and met up with him when we got there. We were able to go places we wouldn't have because we can't read or speak Chinese. Our one goal was to see Qin's terracotta warriors and beyond that we had no plan. This brother, his wife and friends went so far out of their way spending time with us. We ate far more Chinese foods than I've ever seen in my life. I'm excited to get back to the U.S. and go to Lee Lee's in Chandler to see if I recognize any Chinese snacks.

Besides eating and snacking we drank delicious teas, strolled the ancient streets, visited brother Zamzam's University and learned to play Chinese Chess. Of course there's a story for each of those past times. We left Xi'an 2 days ago with our friends waving us off at the train station. They rode the bus with us carried our bags and helped us buy our tickets. It was another sad to see you go type departure. Even the culinary manager of the cafe at the hostel we stayed at was there. He surprised us when he strapped on Mateo's 50 lbs. backpack and walked out the hostel to the bus stop with us. Mr. Kim is a 60 year old qigong healer with a smile that will make anyone smile back. We liked him a lot and spent many mornings talking to him in the cafe over eggs and porridge. He's originally from South Korea and introduced us to some of his favorite tasty Korean dishes. He performed a traditional healing on Mateo when he was suffering from a cold and recommended an apple a day for good brain health. We liked him a lot!

So now, in the even colder cold we are off in search of the first Shaolin Temple. My feet have taken a turn for the worse and the blood seems to be headed away from my toes. Like the warriors we hope to encounter at this juncture we will brave the elements across the hanging bridge, through the pagoda forest and hopefully sight Wuru Peak. I must prepare so I will place hot duck at the foot of my bed and rub my ankles to stimulate circulation therefore creating warm feet for tomorrow's trek. In addition I will be wearing three scarves now because amid all the excitement in Xi'an I learned to knit. Wish us luck!

Joronda