Still Westward Bound: May 19

Date: Monday, May 19
Time: 8:04 PM Beijing
Location: Hard Bed 001, Middle Tier, Car 12, somewhere between Mian Xi and Chengdu

Well, we passed Xian about 12 hours ago and we're still on the train. Because of the late departure, some stops have been cut out to help make up the time. What we didn't know when we boarded was that apparently Xian was one of them. So the decision had been taken out of our hands: we were going to Chengdu. Our only other option at this point would be to stop at one of 3 minor towns and who knows how long it might take to get back if we were to stop there.

They shut the lights out for sleep around ten last night. Feeling rebellious I turned my mag light on to read for another half an hour.

I woke up a good 10 hours later, having had solid sleep, and saw that we had about half an hour til we got to Xian. Great. Then I found out we weren't stopping there. Oh.

Unlike last night though, I didn't opt to spend today as a hermit in my bunk. I climbed down and started palying B.S. with a group of maybe 5 or 6 and eventualyl we started playing it in Chinese. It was a good way to review our numbers. After that it was a crazy game of Go Fish in Chinese. We chatted for a while and Dr. Chandler was on the phone to the university to let them know we'd be arriving tonight after all. They didn't want us to come now. Too late, we're coming. Generally by this point in time an earthquake's aftershocks die down, but these aren't. We'll be getting to Chengdu around 2 AM and will be met by someone from the university. We'll assess the situation tomorrow (they'll have us tonight) and either stay, take a boat to Shanghai, or fly to Xian. I broke out my M&Ms and have periodically passed them out as an alternative to beer as a way to de-stress and feel at home.

The little kids on the train kind of adorably gravitate toward Dr. Chandler. Lunch in the dining car I had a fried egg and tomato dish in some sort of unidentifiable sauce. It was pretty decent and I ordered it for dinner too.

As far as I can tell, my suitcase was spitfree. I hauled it up on the bunk with me anyway. In it's new position it takes up half the bed, but no one has asked me to remove it. I didn't take my alertness pill today, so I managed a lovely 4 hour nap after lunch.

I understand now why China isn't really moving toward western toilets. While squatting is awkward for all of us who don't possess fencer leg-muscles, it's definately more sanitary than the western style ones I've seen. I hung out with Eric, Kelsey, and Merideth after my nap, and was even adventurous enough to try a bite of Eric's spicy tofu dish. Bit of an after burning taste in your mouth, kind of like Slaughter Sauce.

I've still got a while 'til lights out. I'm going to condense my stuff as best I can, read, and grab some shut-eye. I'm about a dozen chapters into Snow Crash and enjoying it. I still don't totally understand why the hacker has mad sword skills, but that's okay. As annoying as climbing to the middle bunk is, the bright side is, unlike bottom tier, no one is sitting at the foot of my bed. I'm hoping to upload these entries at the university to morrow so you can see how I've been. Missing you all. And fresh air.

Erin

Location: Hard Bed 001, Middle Tier, Car 12, Somewhere between Mian Xi and Chengdu
Time: 8:59 PM Beijing
Date: Monday, May 19