China

I had a fabulous time in China!
We arrived in Hong Kong where Marisa and I darted to the nearest Starbucks. (don’t judge, it’s been awhile) It was nice to see more familiarity in the city. We spent our day exploring the city and wound up, of course, in the markets where we proceeded to purchase much more than we ever needed. I think I’m finally getting the hang of this bartering situation, though I fear culture shock upon return to America. I’ll be trying to negotiate my bills everywhere. I do love to strike a deal. (I got it from my mama) Our only night in Hong Kong, we had a delectable dinner and found ourselves at a local hotspot with live music that our waiter had suggested.
Our second day, we left early for an SAS trip to Beijing and the University of International Business and Economics. That night we met with some students from the university and quickly made new friends! My two favorite, Joanna and Joy (I know you’re reading this and I miss you) joined us for a few drinks at our hotel and took us to a karaoke bar. The next day we visited Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Mao’s Mausoleum, and the Temple of Heaven. That evening we had the great pleasure of seeing a Chinese Acrobat show. This was truly incredible. Tiny men were doing back flips from one man’s shoulders and landing on another man’s shoulders who was in turn standing on another man’s shoulders! (drawing a visual may help that resonate) At one point, I counted 13 little Asian women in a pyramid formation… riding a bike. They were also as flexible as noodles It was crazy, and I loved it! Our third day we hiked the Great Wall of China! The wall was stunning, but I must say that our toboggan ride down the Great Wall was also worthy of mention. My experience was enhanced by a Chinese man ramming into the back of me and shouting “Go! Go! Fast! Weeeee!” around every turn. That night we met up with the University students again for dinner where I met my new pen pal, Ulysses. (Or Simon, depending on his mood) We also met up with Joy and Joanna and they all joined our SAS group to go out that night and we had a great time! The last day in Beijing we visited the Summer Palace and the 2008 Olympic venues. We were able to go inside the bird’s nest and the water cube. While at summer palace, I acquired quite a nose bleed. As it started to drip, Marisa and our friend Jess and I took a seat on some outside stairs to wait it out. Thirty-five minutes later… my nose was still dripping. It was nuts. And in the midst of that adventure, Marisa’s nose started to bleed. Now those are some videos I’m sure you’re all dying to see!
We arrived in Shanghai to meet the ship and had one day to spend in the city. Unfortunately, 4 hours and miles of walking were spent in an attempt to acquire a rail pass for Japan since we cannot buy them in Japan. After many failed attempts and headaches, we finally obtained our passes and are ready for Japan!

I have to say how happy I am to have met Chinese students on our trip! They are already proving to be great friends and we’re all learning so much from each other! Ulysses has also offered to help anyone with Chinese or Cantonese languages if you’re up for a challenge =) I’ll try to post pictures of them soon.