2Teach's Saturday July 21st, 2012

We had asked our hosts early on if they would be able to arrange for us to be able to see some of the sights around Beijing. They said that they would be happy to arrange something for us and we figured they would point us in the direction of a rental car place and off we would go...OH, NO! We were asked to come to the KITPC in the morning and that everything would be taken care of...oh, was it ever! There was a small bus waiting for us and three more young people waiting to happily show us around. They were another graduate student, the director's daughter, and the director's nephew and they were wonderful! So friendly and warm and willing to answer all of our questions and happy to just show us around town.

We first went to the Summer Palace...the place where the Emperor's would spend the summer. I know...strange name, isn't it? We arrived and went to pay for the our tickets and our host told us that she had it taken care of...she was given money to pay for everything!!! We do not deserve to be treated this well!!!! We went in and the first sign we see says...number of guests 70,000...that was yesterday! Seriously...there were people everywhere! But, I understand why...it was beautiful even in the smog and cloud cover. We explored the grounds and walked all over and then it started to sprinkle and then it really started to rain...needless to say, we got a little wet. Of course, our hosts had a solution...they went and bought us ponchos and umbrellas. We explored the grounds even more, climbed up some serious steps, and took a boat ride across the lake. I do not think the few photos that I took can really do this place justice...it was incredible! Although, unlike in the States, everything inside is blocked off and you can only see the items through the windows...made it tough to get a real impression of the history.

After the boat ride, the rain really started to come down and we had to find our bus in the 1000's of buses that were around, but we eventually did and off to downtown Beijing and lunch. Oh, lunch! We went to have Peking duck...our students hosts ordered for us and it was incredible and the food kept coming and coming and coming. They bring the duck to your table to cut it up and there is a special way to eat it, too. I was going to do chopsticks, but I gave up and went with a fork...life is too short to work hard at eating! The food was excellent...a few duck dishes, shrimp, other meats, vegetables, soup, tea, conch...I ate it and then asked what it was. The funny thing is that it seems that nobody ever knows what everything is...they just order it and eat it. We had a wonderful time at lunch and again it was covered by KITPC...I can only imagine how much this lunch cost!!!

After lunch, the rain seemed to have stopped (NOT!) and we went off for Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. The square was big, but we could not really get an impression of it because we were hurrying off to the City and the rain started coming down again...hard. We went into the Forbidden City and it was amazing, again. So, incredibly large and so incredibly impressive...the structures, the painting of the walls, the expanse...made me feel very, very small. I think that was the idea?? The rain intensified and we were the only people, it seemed, to not have umbrellas...so, the street vendors happily came up to us constantly and tried to get us to buy one...we were already soaked what is an umbrella going to do now? And, a new sport was created called Dodge the Umbrella...I almost lost an eye on more than one occasion! But, we were able to explore and to observe and it was all very awe inspiring. We walked around and then around 4 PM the City closed....I know, pretty early. But, I was wet enough and happy to board the bus and head back to the hotel.

Martin, one of the other teachers, made a perfect comment as we returned to the hotel...the rain may have made the day a little more challenging, but we just experienced something that very, very few Westerners have ever experienced or will ever experience...kind of put the day all in perspective. What a day!

It was interesting to note that although I saw more "westerners" I was amazed by how few I actually saw...nearly all of the people at both locations were Chinese. I just thought this was interesting.

Another item...once the rain started coming down, the air cleared up and it was a lot easier to breathe! So, the rain was good for something, at least! Found out that the rainstorm was the most amount of rain in 60 years to fall in Beijing...

Oh, one more thing...I really need to learn more about my Chinese history. Between the rain, the people, and the minimal signage I really did not get a true understanding of what I was really looking at.

Due to the rain, it was difficult to take a lot of pictures while experiencing the Forbidden City. But, it was amazing...one courtyard after another! I am not sure what each one was for, but I am sure they all had a purpose. I have some reading to do! This is just one of the courtyards...how many people did it take to build this? How long did it take? How many people lived here...the place is huge!!

As we walked through the Square, this was one of the many structures surrounding you...there were so many and oh so large! More learning that I need to brush up on, but this was quite impressive. (I just wish that it had not of rained so hard all day long.)

When I saw this brought out, I immediately thought of chinese food from home...it looks just like General Gao's chicken (just for you, Tom)! And, it tasted just like it, too! One small twist...it was duck! These last two nights I think I have consumed Daffy and Donald Duck! By the way, the food in the background was a spicy biscuit...filled with duck!

That is not the name of the restaurant, but this is close enough! The restaurant was 5 stories...with enormous amount of seating on each level. The place was packed when we arrived...regardless of what my Dad used to say to me when I was young, people in China are NOT starving! Look at how much food we had and this was not all of it...the entire table was covered with food and, in some cases, plates had to be piled on top of plates! The duck was excellent and so was all of lunch! I am still not using chopsticks...I like my fork! When I look at the picture...I know that I tried all of the food, but I have no idea at all what it all was! (Maybe that is a good thing.)