Time Flys When You're...

... trying to keep up with that Chinese work ethic, exploring Beijing, researching, oh AND having fun!

I am ashamed its been almost a WEEK since I last posted. But it has been a very VERY busy week!

I have been working hard: two tests and a ton of dialogs under my belt, a couple essays too! I can now more or less go through our Taichi routine without major problems, and we consistently draw a decent crowd of gawkers that watch us. I have been speaking lots of Chinese, meeting lots of friends here! The W&M kids have even gotten into a habit of speaking "chinglish" with each other. We are gearing up for Midterms at the end of this week, then we only have 3 weeks of class left!!!

I have seen a lot more of the city. I went to the Forbidden City, it was very big. But seriously, that place is actually a city in itself. So many courtyards and buildings. It was very impressive, but I have to admit a tad repetitive. The garden was amazing though, a typical Chinese garden full of oddly shaped rocks and old tress. I went to Yuan Ming Yuan, the old summer palace from the Qing Dynasty that was destroyed by the French and British troops during the Second Opium War in 1860. It was beautiful! All the structures have been destroyed but the gardens and lake/ponds are breathtaking. The Chinese never do anything small, its always extravagant and overwhelming. I visited the old part of Beijing to one of the last remaining Hutongs. A hutong is an alleyway between two old courtyard style housing full of little shops and vendors. They are really only found in Beijing and have been rapidly disappearing to new construction. I found lots of fun souvenirs there and the boys on our trip ATE SCORPIONS there! I declined the invitation to try one, but they described them as salt and crunchy, almost like a potato chip. I also  experienced my first bit of Beijing Opera... its unique but it was actually really interesting! You should all look it up on Youtube (oh how I miss youtube).

Eating here is always entertaining. We have found some really good restaurants, we finally know more or less what to choose at our cafeteria AND we have even sampled some street food! I know it goes against my policy, BUT you can't pass up a fish shaped waffle filled with chocolate, especially for 2RMB or 29 cents. 

I think that is all for now. I will try really, really hard to post again soon! 

PS. Thanks to everyone that has sent me emails, I enjoy hearing from you!