In the mosque

Last night in Xining

After, dad absolutely wants to find an old mosque that he saw when he came to this city twelve years ago. To find it, we take a taxi to find out that actually, the old mosque is the one right in front of us, with a new façade. Across the entrance, we find ourselves in a sort of Taoist temple, which was the old mosque dad was looking for. At that moment, Liu Jia who is a Buddhist goes to a room where a kind of Imam was explaining Islam. That lasts 45 minutes, until the 9 pm prayer that dad photographs. As for me, to avoid the crowd, I do my prayer outside. Leaving the mosque, we go to a noodle restaurant where I order a soup and swallow it like I always do. We thank the family that runs the restaurant. We go to the cyber café to send the pictures, texts and check email. In the meantime, Liu Jia buys herself a long garment for the next day in the Tibetan plateau. We return to the hotel and get ready for tomorrow’s departure. We pack our bags and go to bed early. Before going to bed, dad has me read the SMS that says they have received the photos back in Paris, when dad slept for only 2 hours and worked all day. He’s happy. I fell asleep with my mind at ease, knowing that the work was done.