On May 25th, I turned 20, and (not quite as a celebration, but I can look at it that way) we all went back to Muslim Street because some people had not been yet. This time we went in the afternoon, and it wasn’t nearly as lively as it had been Sunday morning. I’m so glad I went the other time with Jiang Zhi. This time, we also stopped by the Great Mosque (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Xi%27an). This mosque, around 1300 years old, doesn't resemble mosques in other parts of the world because it's built in 100% Chinese style. It looks more like a temple.
We met this fascinating middle-aged man from the Hui minority, and he told us all about Hui culture and Islam, and specifically Islam in China. Of course, he did it in Chinese, although one of the things that made this man so interesting was that he could speak basic English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Japanese, and Korean. It seems that, after retirement, he spends almost all of his time at the mosque, and has picked up several languages by talking to the visiting foreigners. He spent 2 hours talking about the mosque and the Hui people, and answered our questions patiently and clearly. I should have asked if he was once a teacher because he really did a fantastic job. I feel like I know so much more about the culture, history, and religious practices in Xi’an now.
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