Songzhou, Year 7, Century Park Campus

Our EOTC (Education outside of the Classroom) trip to Xi’an was pretty cool. We saw a lot of things that you cannot see in the big city of Shanghai.

For instance, random people wanted to take pictures of us because we didn’t look like we were from China. There were also people begging, and that was quite sad to see. However, the good things heavily outweighed the bad ones. One good thing was that the food was very, very, VERY different and delicious. Also, a lot of times the cooking happened right in front of us, and that was really neat. Another example was the citizens’ behavior. The people living there were extremely kind. They were always willing to give directions to the nearest restroom, or suggest what we should eat at the Muslim quarter night market. They were so nice!

There were also some other unique things about Xi’an. For instance, every time you take about five steps you can find a shop selling little trinkets or food and beverages. So if you visit Xi’an, you probably won’t ever run into the problem of ‘I’m going to die of thirst’ or ‘shoot, I don’t have enough souvenirs.’ And I’m 99% sure all of you have run into that problem before, so this convenience is a nice aspect of Xi’an.

Also, a pretty cool thing is that Xi’an, unlike Shanghai, is, in a way, much older. For instance, take the landmarks. In Shanghai, we have the Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, and many other skyscrapers. In Xi’an, what do you get? The Terracotta Warriors, the big Wild Goose Pagoda, the city wall, and much more. It feels like you are travelling back in time.

Though Xi’an was really cool and I want to visit again, I do believe Shanghai is a better fit for me. It’s cleaner, for one thing. It’s also quieter, most definitely. And the technology is just more modern. And though the past seems pretty interesting, since time travel doesn’t exist (YET, that’s a huge ‘yet’ right there), for now, I think we must all live life to the full in the present.