Beijing

Last year there was not a large group plan to go touring any place before or after we were in Chengdu. This summer, those coordinating the trip told us that they had arranged for anyone to be able to go to Beijing after we were through teaching in Chengdu for only $150 extra in cash. Out of the 150 of us, about 135 went to Beijing. Unfortunately, Justin and Nic didn't go. Justin had gone last summer and Nic was moving back to America with his family for medical reasons. We also lost JP, Julia, and Aaron from our Xide team who didn't go to Beijing either. It was hard, but we managed to have a good time without them. Besides all of the traditional sites around Beijing, Joy, Dale, their friend Keith, and I went out to Starbucks one night. We all got drinks(that are just like ours at home). Joy and I bought Beijing Starbucks mugs, and I bought a Beijing Starbucks t-shirt.

If we hadn't been able to see anything in Beijing expect the Great Wall, I would have gone home happy. We were all so fascinated with the reality that we were really climbing the Great Wall of China. A bunch of us brought home shirts that said "I climbed the Great Wall," and all of us took home aching calves from the extremely steep incline and very high steps. Throughout our trip, we would often say "Remember that time when..." and we would add in whatever we were doing that was so fascinating and bizarre to think that we were actually doing it." For instance, we would say "Remember the time when we climbed the Great Wall and our calves hurt for days afterwards." We had all kinds of fun with that phrase.

It was stormy the day we visited the Forbidden City. It did slow us down a bit, but it also made for some great pictures

We ate at a Beijing duck restaurant and the duck was amazing. "Culinary professionals" (I had to make them sound like experts) were on a platform at the front cutting the cooked duck off the bones and then the waitresses would bring it to us straight from them. I couldn't get enough of the duck.

The only other thing that I really wanted to see in Beijing was where they are preparing to have the Beijing Summer Olympic Games in 2008. This was the closest thing I got to it, but it was good enough for me. At Tiananmen Square, they had this clock on the Museum of History and Revolution that is counting down till the Olympics starts in 08.




Me and Mao