So I am now officially back in the same time zone as my home. Having started my blog entries in Vancouver, Canada, I decided it would be best to finish with one last blog from Vancouver. It is currently 3pm and hopefully I will be back in Seattle by 7:30pm.
The last two weeks in China were crazy. I was super busy with Thanksgiving, finals, good byes, and doing all the China things I had been meaning to do all semester. These two weeks were also plagued with negative events. My camera, cell phone and bike were all stolen (3 separate events). I really missed these three essentials, but was able to make do with out them for a few weeks. My dad has already replaced my camera and I will get it as soon as I get off the plane in Seattle (For those of you have seen me with my camera, you know it is a very well loved essential in my life. Living without it has been frustrating and difficult). Another damper in the last two weeks was a stomach bug that attacked my last 4 days in Chengdu. This made packing and visiting all my favorite restaurants one last time very difficult. I was bummed that I did not get one last opportunity to see all my favorite places, but also was relieved that I got rid of the bug and was healthy enough to see all the sights in Beijing.
The last 4 days have been spent in Beijing. Wow! It is a city full of history and amazing sights! We arrived on Saturday and immediately jumped right into the tourist scene. We went to the forbidden city and tian'anmen square. Some how our timing was perfect and we were able to see the guards march out to lower the flag in the square. However, Tyler, Troy and I were a little slower than the rest of the group and actually ended up getting stuck in the Forbidden City for the whole process, while the rest of the group waited, freezing to death, in the square. Saturday night concluded with a visit to a Beijing Acrobatic show-Think Cirque De Solei, but not quite as fancy.
Sunday we visited the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Both places had elaborate architecture and intricate painting on the rafters. We really enjoyed all the photo opportunities (Dylan and Troy became my official camera buddies and helped me capture all the Beijing photos I wanted). The day ended with a trip to the Beijing Opera. The show we saw consisted of two parts. The first was a short story about an emperor and his wife, while the second story was about a monkey who did all sorts of awesome cool fighting moves.
Monday was my favorite day! We went to the Great Wall. We climbed and climbed and climbed straight up. I thought I was going to die! It was the most exercise I had gotten in months. It was so exhilarating! The wall itself was amazing and the view was beautiful. Once again we took many many pictures. Monday night we didn't have any group plans so we decided to check out the local bar street. It was more of a bar loop that circled a nice lake. However, it was sooo cold so we were only there for a few minutes.
Tuesday was another great day. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted so a group of us decided to go to Olympic Park. We went to both the Water Cube and the Birds Nest. Both places were awesome designs and it was so cool to be somewhere I had seen on TV.
So that brings us today. This day that has gone on for over 24 hours. It is now finally the same day and time that we left China. It is crazy how this time change thing works. Well, hopefully I will be getting on a flight to Seattle soon, but with the current storm we will just have to wait and see...
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