The morning after the fountain show in Xi'an, it was well-wishing and hugs to the rest of the i-to-i team and volunteers as I made my way to the mountains with an enthusiastic young English volunteer named Hayley. An i-to-i employee named Tony drove with us, which proved invaluable as we got oriented in the tiny town that was to be our home for the next little while. We paid a quick visit to the Shaanxi Province Rescue and Breeding Center of Rare Wildlife where we'd be working, dropped our stuff at the hotel (which, by the way, is an excellent hotel considering we're in quite a small town), and went for lunch at the restaurant of Mr. Deng, the man with the happiest face and demeanor in the universe. Seriously, you've never been around someone that glowed such joy as Mr. Deng.

Now, Mr. Deng's place is the be-all and end-all in terms of our food experience, and I couldn't be more pleased. I could feel slimmer (less “well-fed,” if you prefer), but I certainly could not be more pleased. Hayley and I hit up Mr. Deng's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, and the food is amazing! Sometimes we choose the dish, sometimes he prepares surprises for us; but, it is always delicious. In fact, one of the only full phrases Hayley and I can say in Chinese is “It's delicious!” Yeah, Mr. Deng.

From Mr. Deng's, we headed back to the park to meet the staff and get started in the volunteer efforts. Hayley was immediately placed in the Old Panda House with 6 Giant Pandas, and I was whisked off on an old red motorcycle to the New Panda House with its 5 incredibly cuddly beasts. Now, I must admit: I already have a favorite. His name is Chow Chow, and he was found in the forest after having been orphaned early in life. Since he couldn't make it on its own, and since one of the purposes of the conservation center is to in rehabilitate sick or injured animals, little Chow Chow was taken under the wing of my keepers, Mr. Cheng and Mr. Jung. Only 3 years old and still too tiny to go out into the wild, wee Chow Chow just spends his days in the park playing, nibbling bamboo and fruit, rolling around, and sleeping. When I have children, I want them to be baby pandas... Speaking of baby pandas, one of my others (an 18 year-old female named Xue Xue) is due to give birth in a month! This is an incredibly big deal, as pandas aren't particularly sexual creatures, and there are only about 1600 of them on the planet. Make that 1601 come August. Forget extinction -- these bears are makin' a comeback!

Anyway, my jobs around the park include feeding the pandas BY HAND!, cleaning enclosures, and administering medicine to those lazy and beautiful creatures. I've heard that past volunteers have been asked to help with English in brochures and on signposts, but the English looks spelling-error-free at this point. I spend my copious free time exchanging English and Chinese phrases with my keepers (always a very funny process); wandering about the park to admire leopards, monkeys, peacocks, black bears, and a bunch of other wonderful creatures; reading; and playing with the local children, who just happen to be my most excitable and devoted friends to date. The millions of beautiful children and I run about the park causing a ruckus, and it is glorious. We sing and dance and count in English and Chinese and have long conversations over-flowing with excitement in which the sentences are not mutually understood (because they're in different languages), but the beaming smiles are universal.

When 5pm rolls around, I'm off for the day, so I take one last spin around the park and come back to the hotel before dinner. Then a fantastic feast so huge you're eyes would become dislodged at the sight of it, and back through the wooded streets of the town to the hotel to admire blazing red-orange sunsets against the deep green mountain walls. If ever there were a place with Zen, this is it. Spend your days giving, and your days will give back to you. Fabulous!