Day 12 Xixia to Shang Nan

Today we started off the day with some "baozi" for breakfast and a very lovely lady kept them coming for us hungry boys. I believe between the two of us we ate twelve; however, we required sustenance because all day we would be hammering hills! We went up and down through the hills and we were surrounded by beautiful green fields and mountains..... The scenery between Xixia and Shang Nan has been the most beautiful we have seen throughout our travels....
今天早餐我们在一位和善的女士那里吃完包子后出发。我确信我们两人一共吃了12个包子。我们需要营养，因为一整天都将在山路骑行。我们在山地上上下下，周围都是美丽的绿色田野和群山…这次旅行到目前为止，最美的一段就是西峡至商南这段…

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When we take breaks we try to find a someone who sells watermelons to refuel. This family was ripping around the hills  and was our watermelon support vehicle. It is too bad they won't be able to follow us all the way to the deep west! We could have put their kids through college!
休息时我们一直在找那个卖西瓜的人，以补充一些“弹药”。这家人在这山区附近兜售，成了我们的西瓜供应车。不幸的是他不能一直跟着我们向西走下去！我们可以供他的孩子们上大学呢！

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We had a great day and we met so many wonderful families throughout the villages we traveled through. Our first stop was in a small town called "Yan" and we met some energetic children who were very excited about the prospect of receiving basketball and soccer balls. There were two children playing soccer who were relentless and never stopped to take a break. In the end the little girl proved to be the boss.
今天是艰难的一天，在穿越村庄时我们遇见了很多有趣的家庭。我们的第一停是在一个叫“炎”（音译）的小镇，这里有很多活力四射的孩子，他们在收到新的篮球和足球后显得很激动。其中有两个孩子一直在踢足球，一刻也没有停。最后证明那个女孩更厉害。

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The best part of the day was stopping at an elementary school to meet the children who were receiving an English lesson when we arrived. The teacher was very kind and she allowed them to play for awhile and take a break from their school work. There was so much energy when we arrived and we attempted to contain the chaos of excitement from the children!
今天最好的一停是在一所小学前面，见到了一群正在上英语课的孩子。任课老师很和蔼，她允许学生们中断课程玩一会儿。我们的到来引起了轰动，我们真想记下孩子们吵吵闹闹的场景。

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We stopped for lunch at a Muslim restaurant called "Wuchong" and the couple who owned the restaurant have never seen a foreigner before....so they were excited to have us. If you are traveling through this area, you need to make a pit stop at this place, the food was fantastic and they were great people.
吃中饭时我们进了一个名叫“武重”（音译）的穆斯林餐厅，老板夫妇以前还从来没有见过老外…所以他们很开心的接待了我们。如果你也在这一带旅行，你完全可以在这里停留一下，这里的饭菜很好吃，人也很好。



We are really enjoying our travels through the northwest of China. We are really getting a good sense of the culture and it has been nice hearing the perspective of people about the adventure we have set out for ourselves. One gentlemen said that he admires that we are traveling under our own strength and that the people of China need to be more active in their daily routines....Active living is my passion and it has been something I have been trying to promote to my students since my arrival and it was nice to hear that even in rural China they can identify the benefits of living an active lifestyle.
在中国的西北部旅行的确令人享受。我们通过身临其境的方式更好的了解了当地的文化，听着人们用他们自己的方式解读我们的这次旅程也很有趣。有位先生说他很钦佩我们的这种骑行旅游方式，他说目前中国人就应该多走路多动动…我喜欢充满活力积极运动的生活方式，从我来到枫华中学的那天开始，我就一直努力尝试着把这一点灌输给我的学生。现在中国的农村也开始意思到积极运动这种生活方式会有益健康，这令我很欣慰。


Tomorrow is another day of going up and down through the hills. Our next destination is unknown, we are just go to ride until sunset....Jiayou!
明天又将是在山地骑行的一天。下一个目的地还没有定下来，我们将一直向前骑，直到太阳下山…加油！