Final Thoughts

First, let me express how thankful I am that I got the chair in my terminal next to the power outlet. That NEVER happens, and I got incredibly lucky. Also, thank you Peking Capital Airport for having wifi that functions properly. 
I'm sad to be leaving already (has it really been 8 weeks?), but at the same time, I think I'm burned out on China for the time being. I love, love, love it here, but I also miss living in a proper 1st world country. I miss not having to worry that the running water won't be working,  that I will step in the poo of a baby on the sidewalk, or if today is the day I get hit by a car. China is technically still considered a Second World country, and I tend to agree. I would wager that in Beijing proper, no more than 20% is developed to standards that most Americans would consider acceptable. Don't get me wrong, China is perfectly wonderful, but the amenities were certainly not my favorite part of the trip here. 
My internet isn't good enough to upload the amount of photos I want to share, but I will do that when I do have functioning internet. I went crazy busy and visited tons of places for the last time in an attempt to somewhat satiate my craving to see as much as physically possible. 
See everyone in the USA!!

Mountain Climbing & Olympic Park

This weekend I signed up to participate on an overnight excursion to a place called "Phoenix Mountain", which is in the outskirts of Beijing. We got up around 6 so that we could attempt to beat the heat. I was anticipating a light climb to the top of a larger hill. Hahah, no. I made it halfway up, died, and went back down. It was fun while it lasted. Plus, while everyone else was sweating out their kidneys, I took a shower in a waterfall. I think I win this round. We got back to Beijing around 2, and I left for the Olympic Park with my tutor group at 4. I've been running on 5 hours of sleep for a long time now, and strenuous physical activity only makes things worse. 

As usual, I'll explain through photos. 

Before we went to our place to stay for the night (before climbing a mountain the next morning), we stopped at a beautiful temple. Some of the buildings, as you will see, are incredibly old. 

The lighter Koi fish was HUGE!! It was the size of a medium sized cat. Insane. 

Ribbons tied onto the temple buildings. 

These two buildings (above and this one) were both built around the 15th century, and are still in their original form. The murals inside (where it is forbidden to take photos) were made from colored (and uncolored) mud. It was insanely beautiful and surreal. 

Friend picture at the top of some stairs in the temple. 

A large building at the back of the temple. 

This was carved out of granite sometime around 905...

A cool doorway.

Me being awesome on a bridge in the temple after a lecture on feng shui. 

Our bed in the hostel/accommodations. It is a really popular type of bed in the country side. You basically squeeze as many people as possible on it and call it a night. 

The mountains. 

The Stairway to Heaven. We were supposed to climb up this. Hahaha. NO. 

The braver souls climbing the stairs. 

A temple on the top of the mountain.

Beijing from the mountain. 

To go down, I had to climb through this cave. 

My friend and a teacher climbing down the stairs. 

I made friends with a cat and gave the poor thing some food. It loved me. 

My University on a nice day. It actually looks really pretty. 

The library. 

Near the Olympic Park, we saw this magnificent building going up. After some investigation, we found out it will be a giant observation tower (think Space Needle).

The Bird's Nest!!

China: Awesome traditional pagoda, giant construction project in the back. 

A cool art project (?) in a mall area near the Olympic Park. 

The Bird's Nest!

Water Cube!

A friend/classmate and I at the Water Cube.

We bought a kite and flew it in the Olympic Park. So cool!

Me at the Bird's Nest! Normally, we would have been able to get a photo of the Bird's Nest in whole from a closer point, but there was a giant screen up blocking the view. I guess it wasn't really that bad though since it was showing the Olympics live from London. 

The street near my neighborhood. On nice evenings like this one, the restaurants expand into the street and parking lot so that everyone can enjoy the nice weather. 

My entire body looked like this after the mountain expedition. Chinese mosquitoes are not to be taken lightly. When I woke up, I thought it was a rash, it's actually just countless bites that all merged together to create something that looks like one. I hate mosquitoes....

T-Minus 10 Days

I have a little less than 10 full days left in Beijing at this point. I've been putting a bunch of stuff off for a long time, and now I'm feeling the pressure. I am still hoping to go to the Forbidden City again, and I still have MAJOR shopping to do (although I did get a ton done today). I love China and Beijing, but I am 100% ready to come home. It's been real Beijing, it's been real. 


There are a lot of things I will miss in Beijing, a lot of it revolving around how extraordinarily cheap everything is in this country. A complete meal for $2? Sounds good. I will die when I get to the US. However, I am ready to not slowly die from lung cancer, but mostly I am ready to escape the insane amount of rain Beijing has been having recently. The rain hasn't ever really stopped since the deadly flash flooding from last week, but I was never really affected by it in ways other than my favorite supermarket being closed because it flooded to the point where severe structural repairs are necessary. 
However, that all changed last night when I found myself outside in one of the more severe times of torrential downpour this week. It was all fun and games until I was trudging home in water that was up to my ankles. Not the best thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, Beijing has been getting A LOT of rain recently, but by NW standards, it's pretty normal spring weather. The problem is, Beijing's sewage system is so poorly constructed/outdated that severe rain causes a lot of back up and problems. It's just not meant to handle that kind of thing. Southern Chinese cities can handle typhoons just fine, and usually escape with minor injury. 


----------------------


Today I went to the Silk Market again, and to a similar discount shopping center called the Zoo Market (it's near the zoo). I'm a big fan of the Silk Market as opposed to other markets. There is a lot more freedom with bargaining, and everyone speaks English. I'm so used to hearing Chinese background talk, so when someone said "excuse me" to me, I almost fainted. It's the little things that make a difference. 

In other news, the Olympics are HUGE here. Although the United States are ahead in the number of medals, China is leading in the number of Gold medals. China is dominating this year, and national spirit here is feeling those wins. It's hard to avoid it too. Every time China wins a Gold medal, every subway in the Beijing subway systems plays the Chinese national anthem over the speak system. I experienced it today while I was going to the Silk Market. It's actually really cool. Plus, their anthem is surprisingly pleasant.