GeorgeTownRaja
Senior Member
The Beginning, Part 1
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the sound of vehicles is making a ruckus in this one particular Chinese city, Xi'an. I stepped out of the bus whilst arriving there as I came from the United States. This is my first trip abroad. I am a student from a prestigious, but expensive high school in Indianapolis. We are one of the lucky ones to go on such a trip like this. I sure hope that the foods are great here. Probably.
Lots of people got out of the bus after me. I wasn't the first one who got out of the bus. It was quite painful. I'm glad that I got away from this situation.
The buildings I saw consists of traditional Chinese architecture combined with modern ones. It blends well with the old and the new. I find it very unique. The humidity in Xi'an is perfectly warm.
Unfortunately, I do not have an excellent grasp of the Chinese language as with the signs I saw all over the area. There may be a few of my colleagues who might understand it, but I doubt it. Besides, I don't care about it. I'm not here to study a foreign language for my benefit. I'm here to learn about Chinese history in general. No, it is not related to American history as with the case of the American Civil War, and African Americans who were living in slavery in the past, which I am. There's nothing wrong with learning something foreign, right?
The backpack I wear on the back of my shoulder fatigue me with the amount of things inside. I could barely stand up straight from it. This is the heaviest that I had ever carried. I sighed as I was sweating from the humidity that the city has to offer. Why do I have to carry this much, anyway?
I looked at the watch to check the time. The time is wrong. Why? The answer is fairly simple. I am no longer living in the United States and China's time zone is unlike any other. Yeah, this is not good for me. I guess I have to try to make the watch to match with the current time that I am in, but different.
I waited for the tour guide to show up. The teacher is not with us because the tour guide will be the one to monitor our behavior, which is a weird thing to do. I don't find it unsettling, of course. Just to expect with something obvious, there will not be an American tour guide, but a Chinese one who can speak fluent English.
The tour guide finally shows up in the form of a Chinese woman. Her skin is snow-like and her body size is thin. Her appearance consists of soft brown eyes and her short, straight, black hair is pulled into a bun. Her clothing consists of ordinary business attire. She has an attractive appearance, but I'm not romantically attracted to her. Uh, okay, maybe not. Don't take me the wrong way, please. Otherwise, I'm not old enough to go on a date with an adult as I am a sophomore. That would be messed up.
The Chinese tour guide smiles towards us to try to come off as welcoming as she could provide. In other words, hospitality is what she was going for. I appreciate her for it. She proudly speaks up to introduce herself to us and by giving us a bow to show respect. An act of courtesy in Chinese etiquette and culture.
"Hi! Welcome to Xi'an! My name is Shui Mao and I will be your tour guide from now on. Of course, you can just call me Ms. Mao, if you like. Please remain in the group as leaving your group can lead to a thorough investigation and issue, so please take it seriously. If I call your name, please raise your hand and say 'here'."
Shui? I like that name. However, I find it rather difficult to pronounce it.
She called every student's name to see if they are in the right group and not somewhere else. This is to avoid a student from getting lost and it is very important to stay with their group at all times. While doing this, she jotted down their names with a clipboard. I waited for mine to be called.
When she did call my name, I waited to get her attention from me to show my presence. She smiles while doing it.
"Uh, Georgeson? Fitz Georgeson? Are you here?"
Yep, that's my name! The one and only, Fitz Georgeson. My name may not be fabulous, but it works, right?
"Uh, I'm over here!" I raised my hand to get Shui's attention.
"Great!" Shui wrote something on a clipboard to take note of my appearance.
For now, I just have to wait until Shui has decided to begin with the tour. I sat on the sidewalk to enjoy viewing the streets of Xi'an. Today is going to be a wonderful and boring day. Who knows?
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the sound of vehicles is making a ruckus in this one particular Chinese city, Xi'an. I stepped out of the bus whilst arriving there as I came from the United States. This is my first trip abroad. I am a student from a prestigious, but expensive high school in Indianapolis. We are one of the lucky ones to go on such a trip like this. I sure hope that the foods are great here. Probably.
Lots of people got out of the bus after me. I wasn't the first one who got out of the bus. It was quite painful. I'm glad that I got away from this situation.
The buildings I saw consists of traditional Chinese architecture combined with modern ones. It blends well with the old and the new. I find it very unique. The humidity in Xi'an is perfectly warm.
Unfortunately, I do not have an excellent grasp of the Chinese language as with the signs I saw all over the area. There may be a few of my colleagues who might understand it, but I doubt it. Besides, I don't care about it. I'm not here to study a foreign language for my benefit. I'm here to learn about Chinese history in general. No, it is not related to American history as with the case of the American Civil War, and African Americans who were living in slavery in the past, which I am. There's nothing wrong with learning something foreign, right?
The backpack I wear on the back of my shoulder fatigue me with the amount of things inside. I could barely stand up straight from it. This is the heaviest that I had ever carried. I sighed as I was sweating from the humidity that the city has to offer. Why do I have to carry this much, anyway?
I looked at the watch to check the time. The time is wrong. Why? The answer is fairly simple. I am no longer living in the United States and China's time zone is unlike any other. Yeah, this is not good for me. I guess I have to try to make the watch to match with the current time that I am in, but different.
I waited for the tour guide to show up. The teacher is not with us because the tour guide will be the one to monitor our behavior, which is a weird thing to do. I don't find it unsettling, of course. Just to expect with something obvious, there will not be an American tour guide, but a Chinese one who can speak fluent English.
The tour guide finally shows up in the form of a Chinese woman. Her skin is snow-like and her body size is thin. Her appearance consists of soft brown eyes and her short, straight, black hair is pulled into a bun. Her clothing consists of ordinary business attire. She has an attractive appearance, but I'm not romantically attracted to her. Uh, okay, maybe not. Don't take me the wrong way, please. Otherwise, I'm not old enough to go on a date with an adult as I am a sophomore. That would be messed up.
The Chinese tour guide smiles towards us to try to come off as welcoming as she could provide. In other words, hospitality is what she was going for. I appreciate her for it. She proudly speaks up to introduce herself to us and by giving us a bow to show respect. An act of courtesy in Chinese etiquette and culture.
"Hi! Welcome to Xi'an! My name is Shui Mao and I will be your tour guide from now on. Of course, you can just call me Ms. Mao, if you like. Please remain in the group as leaving your group can lead to a thorough investigation and issue, so please take it seriously. If I call your name, please raise your hand and say 'here'."
Shui? I like that name. However, I find it rather difficult to pronounce it.
She called every student's name to see if they are in the right group and not somewhere else. This is to avoid a student from getting lost and it is very important to stay with their group at all times. While doing this, she jotted down their names with a clipboard. I waited for mine to be called.
When she did call my name, I waited to get her attention from me to show my presence. She smiles while doing it.
"Uh, Georgeson? Fitz Georgeson? Are you here?"
Yep, that's my name! The one and only, Fitz Georgeson. My name may not be fabulous, but it works, right?
"Uh, I'm over here!" I raised my hand to get Shui's attention.
"Great!" Shui wrote something on a clipboard to take note of my appearance.
For now, I just have to wait until Shui has decided to begin with the tour. I sat on the sidewalk to enjoy viewing the streets of Xi'an. Today is going to be a wonderful and boring day. Who knows?
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