Beijing

I took my first trip to Beijing during the last weekend in September. Emily, Kim, and I took the faster, more expensive train. It felt as if we were on an airplane. The seats were nice and I actually had a lot of leg room. For about $7 we made it to Beijing in an hour. Oddly, the first feeling that came over me as I stepped into the big city was "am I leaving?!" Beijing is definitely a Chinese city but has many modern buildings. This was my first time leaving Baoding since landing in China. For some reason, all I could think about was returning to a city in America and my brain kept saying, "I can't leave my students yet!" I really am attached to them!

Not to worry though, I had an amazing weekend in the big city. We met up with a former foreign student of Hebei, Kim's Russian friend Slava. He was hilarious and spent the night with us. We all had dinner together with a main course of BEIJING DUCK!!! Yes, the same thing as Peking Duck. I can honestly say it is in my Top 5 of Favorite Foods Around The World. That's how good the meat and sauce tasted. It certainly lives up to its name.

All three days, we stopped at Ya Show. It is a large, 6 floor shopping center. The "stores" are all open fronts with clothes, trinkets, shoes, belts, maps, and paintings. It can be overwhelming if not for all the products, then for the workers. Most of the workers are young women trying to make as much money as possible. It is normal to bargain (they might tell you shoes cost 400yuan and you can get them for 60yuan). The trouble is standing up to this little Chinese women who say, "I am going to be poor because of how much you want to pay me!" or "Please, friend, help me out here." I ended up with two new button down shirts (40yuan or $6 each) and two matching pairs of socks (15 yuan for both, about $2). I also bought a few DVDs at a store around the corner. The trip felt like a shopping success.

Kim had to leave Saturday afternoon but Emily and I stayed until Sunday. Saturday night, Emily and I paid 180yuan each to hostel and received transportation to and tickets for a Kung Fu show. Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu is a famous show seen around the world but mainly in Beijing, China. I loved it! The stage opened up several ways. The actors did crazy tricks. There were people from various nations in the audience. It was a great experience!

Overall, a great first trip to Beijing with many more to come. As I write this, I am two days away from going again...