Anna and I roomed together last night and had our own beds. The hotel we were staying in was nice; our room also had A/C, running warm water, and Western style toilets.
All of the students received a wake-up call at 7AM. I woke up a bit before then, but stayed in bed and chatted with Mar, Kellie, & Annie via WhatsApp. Kellie woke up at 5:30 AM to find the hotel gym and run but unfortunately learned that the gym opened at 9. I had a nice solid 5 hours or so of sleep. The students who flew in on China Eastern arrived later than the Delta passengers at around 9AM I believe.
There was a variety of options at breakfast with both Western and Eastern options. I regret piling a quarter of my plate with Western food because the Chinese food was so tasty and filling that I didn't even touch it. The chow mein was my favorite. They also had rice, soup, meat, and veggie dishes.
Hotel's breakfast area
Group photo outside of hotel breakfast spot!
We all convened as a group a quarter before 9AM to check-in before departing on the buses to Tian'men Square. It was exciting seeing all my h.s. buddies in a new setting! I am still having a hard time believing that we all actually made it in China! We had been talking about the trip in class all year, and it's still unbelievable that the time already arrived.
On the bus!
Sitting next to Anna on the bus. Sorry for annoying you with my practicing of Chinese
I learned several things about China today. The cars really do not stop for you! Or even slow down for that matter...Beijing is a super crowded and busy city. 27 million residents with 6 million of them owning private cars. The streets are definitely bustling and the tourist attractions like Tian'men square are several times worse.
Walking to the square
Tian'men square was quite clean. Chairman Mao's corpse was preserved in a building there; however due to the preserving process, his corpse vault or however you term it is only open to the public for 2 hours a day. Our group wasn't able to visit. We all took pictures there and walked around a bit. Helena and Anna got a few strangers approaching them asking for pics. The first Chinese man that came up to Helena and I really confused the both of us. He stared at both of us and held out his camera, and I had no idea what he wanted, so I awkwardly stood next to Helena. He then snapped a picture, and then gestured for me to take a picture of him and Helena. He probably deleted the first pic of Helena and me LOL. The other Caucasians in our group were asked multiple times as well by different strangers. When it came time for a group photo, there were several strangers who formed a large semicircle around us to snap photos. In the beginning there were even some people sneaking in on the sides to get in on our group photo!
At the square
Anna and her fan
Lol super cute.
Our semicircle of fans
Tried interacting with locals by waving to them. One man said Ni hao to me.
Sorry I'm all over the place. It was a long day, and just got back in the hotel room.. Have to leave to get my cello in 20 minutes...
However.. Back to Beijing! The smog was definitely noticeable as soon as I stepped outside. I ended up getting used to it. I treated it like morning fog because that is what it felt like to me. The weather was fine to me. It was humid, but I thought the temperature was bearable. It didn't bother me much.. Minus the sweating. I was told by many of my Chinese relatives and friends that this trip is definitely good prep for the Houston weather that I will encounter next year at Rice!
That city life
Okay I'm going to have to keep this short because I'm tired.
We then went to the site of the 2008 Olympics. Mar and Annie bought hats. I helped them haggle the original price of 30 yuan to 15 each ;).
Annie and Marissa with their newly purchased fashionable hats
I further interacted with the locals here! I practiced speaking! I said " I am American". One guy working a stand started talking to me.. I think asking questions in mandarin because he thought I could speak.. But I couldn't.. So I said my one liner .. In broken Chinese lol... He then looked at my tag that read " I am an American artist and I am lost. Please call my translator". I think he understood after that.
The man reading my card.. My fail at communication. That's immersion for ya! :)
After that I wanted to learn more Chinese so I talked to Sarah who earlier taught me that one liner that I used. I learned how to say "sorry" and I am an American student. Shawn taught me how to say " I don't want to buy". I recorded them saying the phrases so I could listen later and practice.
After the Olympic site we went to lunch at the 2nd floor of a porcelain factory. It was family style. Food was O.K.
They were making pieces in the factory!
Their pieces were for sale
Jewelry was also for sale
Then we went to the Great Wall!!
Group pic at site. Observe the very small sliver of the Great Wall in the background
As we drove up, it began to POUR rain. Luckily it subsided slowly and came to a complete stop as we were ready to go up the wall! That was fantastic timing... Although a few ended up buying panchos from street vendors for 5 yuan/each.. (Around 80 cents so not very bad).
We took several pictures (most are on my camera.. But I can only post the few ones that were taken. on my phone at the moment) and ascended a portion. The descent was the hardest part! Some stretches were very steep, so it was a bit difficult to traverse.
At the wall.
I talked to more people around the site. I mostly said "sorry" and "I can't buy". I was very excited because they understood me!!! I was with Kellie when I was talking to one lady, and Kellie was confused about what I was saying. So the lady explained to her by repeating what I said. I was happy about that. Thanks Sarah and Shawn XD!
Following the Great Wall, we ate dinner at a Peking duck place. The meal was excellent!!! I loved their duck and their other dishes. After eating, our tour guides, Mr. Park, and the other h.s. orchestra's director gave a brief welcome/info session. Then we drove back to the hotel.. Low strings (cellos and double bass) chose their rental instruments. People played a bit to get comfortable with them.
Kellie, Anna, and Katherine.. Tired after a fun-filled day jam-packed with activities :)
It's 11:41PM now. I'm dead exhausted. Going to sleep. Today was fun and exciting. I've realized however that I very much appreciate living in America. I enjoy my freedom of speech.. Talking to the tour guide today about the sheer number of people in china 1.2-1.3 BILLION.. And the competition for work positions/higher educational institutes/money in general.. And the single-child policy.. And Beijing's smog. Traveling always makes me appreciate my home in different ways. I definitely enjoyed today and started appreciating America even more today.
Will post again soon! With the help of my friend Leah of course because Blogspot, Facebook, & Twitter are banned here.
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