Our trip to Zhouzi this weekend was the perfect end to a weekend. Xi'an is a compilation of high-rise residential complexes and wide streets filled with crazy drivers. Coal burns throughout the city, creating a disturbing haze. I still haven't gotten used to the air here, and neither have my classmates, four of which are becoming increasingly ill. As we left the bubble that is Xi'an, the air seemed lighten, and the skies brightened. Being around mountains and lakes, even if only for a couple of hours, felt like a much needed retreat.

The town of Zhouzi is extremely small. There is one main street lined with stoors and food stands. As more and more stares came our way while my group of exchange students walked down the road, it became clear that some of the people around us had never seen foreigners before. The culture and ways of these people was so apparant in everything they were doing, vastly different from the industrial, westernized Xi'an. We even got a glimpse of twins! (a very rare thing in China)