Days One, Two, & Three

Day 1: Travel Day

When we left Eugene it was Monday morning and when we landed in Beijing it was Tuesday afternoon. The 12 hour plane ride was an adventure. There was a baby in front of me and a baby behind me, they cried for a little and then I was able to block them out. On the plane with us was the US Paraolympic team. When we landed it was hotter than I expected but we went straight to the hostel so it worked out. For dinner we all walked around the corner and had our first real Chinese meal. It was a dumpling feast with so much food that we had to take a bunch home for breakfast the next day. The hostel is a traditional Chinese house with a central courtyard and even a kitty. The beds are extremely firm but I have been so tired at night that it hasn't even mattered.

Day 2

Our first full day in Beijing was jammed packed with activities, Ying had hired 2 buses to take us around. To start the trip off right Sam and I explored the surrounding streets a little to find a local breakfast. We had dumplings and a fried dough thing, it was all very good. Our first stop of the day was a series of art galleries that doesn't usually see tourists. From there we went to the 798 art district and explored the many galleries and little shops it had to offer. Among many other wonderful things we found a gallery with two original Any Warhol's and a Chuck Close, it was nice to find artists that we could recognize. We then went to the Central Academy of Art and met with the professor that headed the design team that was responsible for the design of the Olympic medals. We then went back to them790 art district to explore a little more before going to the Professors studio to meet with a few of his designers. He had an amazing work space the he designed himself and he had a pet peacock and a dog. They then took us all out to dinner. Because they were going to take care of the bill they ordered all the food. We had know idea how much or what kind of food was coming until it was on our table. I have never seen that many plates on a table all balancing on each other as they piled more on.

Day 3

Today we left the hostel at 7:30 am for the second day in a row. It didn't seem that early because my body clock is still a little off. We all walked over to Jing San Park which over looks the Forbidden City. Inside the park were senior citizens doing all sorts of dances/exercises. The mountain in the park was created by when they dug a mote. All the dirt from the mote created the mountain and fulfilled the yin/yang property that the Chinese always try for. There were about 330 steps to the top where a large and mini Buddha was housed. We all met at the top and Ying taught us about the Forbidden City as we were able to get a birds eye view of it from where we were. From there we walked to the Forbidden City and dispersed to explore it's entirety. Sam and I wandered through much of it in aw of it's size and design. We were the first to arrive at our group meeting spot and, while we waited, several groups of people walking by asked it they could take a picture with us, they wanted a picture with the Americans. As more of the group gathered we took a few group photos and a crowd started to form to take picture of the crazy Americans. At some point, while were taking funny pictures with the whole group, and a very nice Chinese girl was generously acting as our photographer, a large enough group formed to watch and take pictures of us that a police man had to come over and break up the group. We then had some free time so a few of us went to a very large, incredibly overwhelming, counterfeit mall. After making a quick trip back to the hostel and grabbing a quick dinner we all went to a tea house for tea and a show. We certainly drank a lot, a lot, of tea. They just kept walking around and adding water to everyone's cup that already contained loose tea. It was another tiring day and it feels like we have been here for much more than 3 days, I can only imagine what it will feel like after 3 weeks.

We are experiencing an incredible amount of stuff and I am very excited to see what the future holds for us here in China!