No autographs, just pictures

Kate warned us that we'd be gawked at during our time in China considering Westerners are still somewhat rare in parts of China. And she told us we'd likely have our picture taken, as she has numerous times (I'll link to her blog post on the topic just as soon as I'm back in the United States with access to blogspot again. In the meantime, you can visit Orient Orientation and choose Orient Orientation 2 and find it for yourself).

Ryan and I didn't feel like most people gave us a second glance in Beijing, but Xi'an has been different. We had our photos snapped by a few groups Thursday as we explored the Shaanxi History Museum, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and the surrounding shopping area.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't full-on paparazzi. But it was kind of wild when this gentleman above approached us at the Buddhist Giant Goose Pagoda and asked Ryan in decent English if he would be so kind as to take this snapshot. 

Earlier, we had stopped to eat snacks on a park bench when two girls in a small group stopped and started giggling. They first tried to be sneaky about taking photos of us.Then two decided to be brave and ask if their friend could take a picture of the five of us together. We of course said yes. But it didn't occur to us until afterward to take our own picture, leaving Ryan to scramble to get this photo of their backs.

- Elizabeth