All journeys have secret destinations of which even the traveller is unaware.: Beijing

Josh, JinJing, Lindsey and I went to Beijing last Sunday. We started out super early, our train at 4:55am was canceled, so we had to take the 6:15 train. We made it to Beijing around 8am. We started at the Temple of Heaven-we didn't go inside the temple, but I think I will when my mom comes to visit-it looks cool. Around the temple is a park that older people come to do Tai Chi, play hackey sack (that's not what they call it), dance, etc. The elderly are much more active and fit here than they are in the US. I loved watching the Tai Chi leader-I had to stop myself from trying to do it with him. He was so graceful and calming to watch. Temple of Heaven does not have western toilets, which didn't make me happy. I thought they updated most tourist spots for the Olympics. Nope-they still have the squat toilets, which I refuse to use.

After Temple of Heaven, we went to Tiananmen Square. There was a huge line of people waiting to see the preserved body of General Mao. I'll pass. Then, we walked to the National Center for the Arts, which is super impressive. I plan to go to an opera there next month. By then, it was lunch time and we went to Outback Steakhouse, which I was super excited about. I had chicken for the first time in 3 weeks and not just any chicken-chicken strips and french fries (I had to eat off the kid's menu, but that's ok). It was delicious and I was super happy! We met up with one of Lindsey's friends, Sid, at Outback. He's a Chinese American who works for Google and was recently transfered to Beijing. He took me to a mall-a real western-type mall-I was so excited. It has stores I recognize, a Dairy Queen, a movie theatre, and a nail place-the perfect place for me! Then, we went to the Pearl Market, which is quite the experience. It has hundreds of clothing, shoe, handbag, etc stalls where you have to barter for everything, which is exhausting. I did buy/barter for a knock-off D&G handbag.

I really like Beijing, but I wasn't that impressed with their tourist attractions. Don't get me wrong, they're cool, but not London or Paris cool. I'm probably just bias for a European flair. I did like Beijing though and plan to go back on our 5 day October holiday. I want to go back to the art galleries and eat at TGI Fridays. We were all ready to head back to Baoding that afternoon-even though it isn't as westernized as Beijing, it feels more like home.

I still love all of my students-they're so sweet! I'm very slowly being up some Chinese. I don't need my picture book now to get back to campus-the cab drivers understand me. However, that's about it. We're all hoping to take a course at the university, so maybe that will help.

Also, Verizon and I are fighting, so no calls. I'll let you know if something changes. The best way to get a hold of me is email, Facebook, or Myspace or SKYPE if you have it.

Lindsey at Tiananmen Square