Hello To Everyone: Meeting Old Friends, Seeing New Sights

From Linda


Touring Beijing has been fun, but our time with precious Chinese students is what we'll cherish most. Last night, after getting settled in our hotel rooms following our visit to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, I was so happy to get together with Chase, one of my students from last summer, and his girlfriend Dora, who met me at the hotel around 10 p.m. They are going to be college juniors this year and are trying to make decisions about post-grad study in China or abroad. We walked to KFC for some beverages and caught up on news and future plans. (By the way, Chase and Carl say a big hello to "Darryl." I was able to talk to Carl on the phone for a few minutes.) I wish I hadn't been so tired; I could have talked to Chase and Dora for hours, but I finally had to say goodnight.

Now we've just returned to our wonderful Debao Hotel from a day of touring in Beijing: This morning, after a delicious continental breakfast that offered western foods like French toast and cereal, we joined thousands of others to climb a popular portion of the Great Wall (August is vacation time for many Chinese). Our tour guide told us that the Wall was built during the Ming dynasty by a huge labor force of people, many of whom died in the process and were buried in the wall (it was believed that the souls of those who died stayed nearby and would defend the wall from invaders). Btw, the photo of Justin leaning out of the wall looks scary, hey? But don't worry--his feet were held securely.

After our climb, we went to lunch at a Jade restaurant/factory and learned how to tell true jade from fake jade. We shopped in their store, then took a ferry ride on the lake at the Summer Palace, where the Qing dynasty empress known as Dragon Lady spent her summers and used money acquired through corruption to renovate the park. We then went to a pearl restaurant/store where we learned how to tell true pearl from fake pearl and shopped before enjoying a buffet meal (it even included refills of strawberry, grape, lemon or orange juice). Our last stop was near the site of next year's Olympic games where we climbed a hill to snap pictures. The stadium (French-designed to resemble a bird's nest) will be completed by next March.

Tomorrow we will do a little more sight-seeing and shopping before heading to the airport for our trek home. See you soon!