Ashley

Hello from Beijing!
I can't believe we are in China! It is sooo crazy here...not really culture shocked quite yet, just alot of surprises. Just to name a few: squatting toilets, chicken foot in our food, everybody smokes, crazzzy crazy drivers (they won't stop for you, so you must RUN across the street), and I am also very surprised at how at home I feel in China.
Yesterday we visited the forbidden city, Tie an men Square and a Confucius temple. I was astounded at the size of Forbidden city! It is huge! My favorite part was the gardens at the North gate (I will show pictures later). The Confucius temple was so peaceful, it is said to be one of the only places in the city where you can hear birds sing; and we did. I have been seeing so many birds that I know the family name of, but I am not quite sure of the species name, so I am hoping to find a birding guide book tomorrow.
Today we went to temple of Heaven. The temple itself was very beautiful, but the people around it we even more beautiful. The park around the temple was filled with retirees playing games, dancing, playing music, singing, painting...it was excellent. I even got to hold someone’s bird (I think it is a cross bill!), and had someone teach me one of the dancing games.
After lunch we went to the Great Wall of China! Although it was really quite smoky/smogy, the views from the first tower were incredible. I decided to stop at the first tower with my new friend/roomate Janice, but a few people went ahead; they made it quite far. The steps are what killed me...there are hundreds and hundreds of steps, and they are all about a foot tall. Good work out!
After the great wall we ventured to the children’s orphanage where we watched a performance by the children. The orphanage is not a school itself, but it does teach the children performing arts because many of them are from the country side and will not have the educational skills to continue later in life, so performing arts will be their back up. I will explain this more later. It was good to visit with the kids, they are all happy, healthy children and the enjoyed having us there, showing us their rooms, the kitchen, their friends, and sharing a meal.
Next we were on to Xi’an.
Man sitting outside a shop in Beijing

The Great Wall

Kids at the Orphanage performing for our group