Beijing in 3.

Well as you all probably have figured from my pictures on Facebook and Instagram, I have been a busy busy girl the past 3-4 days! I think I will just take you guys day by day and let you know some of the fun and interesting that have happened...

Wednesday: Jennifer Zhang was essentially my personal tour guide through my trip to Beijing. Ric and Cindy asked her to travel along with me and show me the sites and since she is Chinese, she was an excellent translator as well :) On this we day we went to the Great Wall. We were planning on going to a very touristy place where they charge you admission and all that stuff but someone told us about this secret non-public place to the climb the wall sooo we decided to go on that adventure :) It was an hour drive through back country roads to get to the wall so that itself was a beautiful scene. In order to get up TO the wall we had to walk through someone's yard so they she made us pay them 2 kuai (which definitely beats 45 kuai) and then we had to walk up this crazy hill/pathway. Once we got up on the wall, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I'm sure you could see by some of my pictures how beautiful it was. Not just the wall itself but we could see mountains for miles and miles and there was a gorge right below us and we could see other villages as we walked... We climbed (yes, climbed- not walked) for almost 2 hours and then decided to turn around. I was absolutely terrified the whole time because I'm so scared of heights and the wall's sides weren't there any more so there was practically no edge/side. SCARY. But it was worth every second :)

Thursday: I woke up with sore legs. This girl isn't used to climbing. But we went into the heart of Beijing- where Tianamen Square & The Forbidden City are. It was SOOO crowded because it was a holiday- Tomb Sweeping Day. This is where the people decorate the ancestors tomb in honor of them and also burn paper money for them in the afterlife. So there were people everywhere and we took lots of pictures and went to the Forbidden City where we got to see all the old buildings and architecture of where the emperor and all his wives lived. It was really neat to see all that history from so many years ago. Since I forgot to take a piece of the wall home with me, I grabbed some stone that chipped off the road in the Forbidden City and saved it :)

Friday: Today we went to the Pearl Market which is essentially a Chinese mall. You can bargain for ANYTHING and there were like 5 levels of just stuff- purses, shoes, some clothes, electronics, Asian stuff, etc. I had a really really fun time learning how to bargain and the tricks of how to get the price you want. All the workers spoke English so it was pretty nice, although I do know how to bargain in Chinese too :) I got some really good deals and was very proud of myself! I got 2 pairs of Toms for about $15 each. One of those pairs are actually for Brittany's (my roommate) wedding so I was thrilled to have bought them in China for way cheaper.

On Sunday I am headed back to Kunming where I will finish up my last 4 weeks student teaching! Next weekend I will be traveling again so I'm enjoying being a busy girl :) I have really really really enjoyed my time here with Ric & Cindy. They have truly been such a blessing to me and have made me feel right at home. I don't know how I'll ever thank them enough for everything they have done for me. God has been so good to me.

Things I've Learned:
14. Street vendors are illegal so when they see/hear police coming, they pack up and leave asap!
15. You can trust Muslim restaurants here because since they are religious, they're restaurant and food will be clean.
16. Beijing dialect is so different than Kunming. People who live in Beijing add like a "r" sound at the end of words/sentences. (And I can actually tell the difference!)