中秋節 Break!

Mid Autumn Holiday is a national holiday in China. I had 9 days off (including two weekends!) Our coordinator planned a trip for us to visit neighboring cities of Beijing. Cities we visited were Jin Ling Shan Chang Cheng  (A part of the Great Wall), Cheng De, Bei Dai He (an east coast city of China), and Tian Jin. The last three cities have a population of over 1 million. We sat in a cramped bus for an average of 4-5 hours a day. The trip lasted about 5 days.

A look into the Great Wall.

The road to the Great Wall was a narrow road and sometimes people walked a little too slow.

There are so many bugs at the Great Wall. This one is of Ben, a Humbolt student in my program with a spider on his shoulder. 

One of the entrances to the Great Wall

 Am Empress' tomb! It wasn't yet opened to the public but we went anyway! The temple was lined with crazy looking animal statues.

This is the end of the great wall going into the ocean! We traveled to another city to see this part of the great wall.  

Crazy mosquito bites!! They get really red and swollen and then after a few days, they dissipate slowly. They end of looking like bruises for a little while. 

Night Lights in the city of Cheng De

I forget the name of this, but it's some kind of special bridge.

I also forgot where this was..... but it's really pretty.

Paddle boating with Fanny!

At a cool park. It was a big park with temples that are intact with some restoration.

I tried to imitate a picture our dad had of china a few years back.

1976 earthquake of TangShan memorial.

They had large granite walls about 50 feet high filled with names of those who passed away.

Look, a puppy in a rolling bag!

A guy paid to dress like an emperor from the traditanal times and saw my white classmates.  He motioned them to come over to take a picture.

At an entrance by Bei Dai He

At TianJin. This is a place where shops line up in the middle.

Dried meats and sausages

Dried fruits!

I was trying some sort of noodles that were dry and once a sauce was put in, it became a moist salty noodle.

A higher view of the market.

My friend and I wondered off to a mall nearby and there was an ice skating rink... in the basement level!

Finally Settling In

One and a half month later, I'm finally settling in. School isn't easy, but I'm getting the hang of my classes. Recently it was the mid autumn festival and it's a big holiday here. Including the two weekends, I had 9 days off! woo! I went around Beijing and went to different areas like the Art District 798, San Li Tuan and Wang Fu Jing. 

 At San Li Tuan, it's definitely different than the rest of Beijing.  It's so foreign! There were foreign products like Casio, Coldstone Creamery, Lacoste, Adidas, Nike, and many others. All of these imported products are pricier than in the US. It is so foreign, when I was there, I felt out of place because of how I've adapted to Chinese culture. The apple store of Beijing is also there. Around Beijing, I've seen so many "authorised resellers" for apple products, it's ridiculous! San Li Tuan also had a huge five story and a basement level bargaining market. I think it was meant just for foreigners.  The sales people try to rip people off for fake products. One of my roommates and I really like going here to bargain. It's become a bit of a game for us.

Wang Fu Jing also has a mall with plenty of foreign brands.  What I most enjoy about Wang fu Jing was a little side market for food and souveniors!  This is also a bargaining market. 

These pics are from Wang Fu Jing.  They had meat on sticks. This pic is of squid, squid legs, and (i think) octopus)

corn on a stick! 

 Squirming scropians! They were a little pricy but I bought a stick for my friend and I to try.  They were squirming after they were cooked. It just tasted to salty seasoned insect shell. The thought is scarier than the taste!

Poor little starfish on a stick

This are lamb sticks. These are really popular in China.  There's also chicken sticks too.

Candied fruit on a stick.  It's basically fruit with a thick layer of sugar glaze. It's a little too sweet for me.

More food...

I'm not sure what eggs these are but there are five little eggs on each stick. Talk about your protein! 

More random food.

At Hou Hai Park in Beijing, there are people fishing with the longest fishing rods I have ever seen!

This is one of my language partners, Lei Lan! She's studying to get her Master's at Peking University.

I was waiting in line for food when a guy in front of me had a backpack on with a horrible English translation. 

This is a building at San Li Tuan. It's so fancy!

I was on campus looking for clubs to join and they had an Anime Club and boy do they get into it! I'm not sure what character he was trying to dress up as.

These next pics are of a Japanese buffet in my neighborhood called DaoLe Restaurant. So far, this has the best non chinese food. Unlimited drinks and food for 188 Yuan! Thats about 30 USD. It's a little crazy but it's worth it every once in a while.

Edamame, Sake, Beef Loin, and Sashimi Platter

Some kind of sushi roll with eel on top.

Clams, Sake, Salmon Sashimi, and edamame

PIckled cucumber, sushi roll, beef wrapped mushrooms, and really salty prawns.

SQUIIIIIIDDD! It was so good but we ordered it at the end so we only ate half of it.

That's all for now, but wait! There's more to come!