What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

We have just returned from our Trek around China and feel like a whirlwind surrounds us. All the excitement continues to run through our veins. Since I last wrote we have traveled Beijing and Shanghai. Let’s just say I have taken over 5,000 pictures since in China which is a little over 10 gigs of memory. Though I have no idea what I will do with them I am sure to have a plethora of memories. Our past 10 days begun with an 11 hour sleeper train from Xi’an to Beijing. Checking the weather back home in Xiamen was a mistake since it is still 85 degrees and we just got word that Beijing had 5 inches of snow dumped on them. Arriving in Beijing was a blast and we ended up having more snow during our stay. I have now seen all climates in China even though the last two Beijing snow storms were artificially created by seeding the clouds with moisture producing chemicals. Makes you wonder……

 

Temple of Heaven

Beijing was an absolute blast! As I climbed the Great Wall, I stood with pride and a huge smile…..one of my life dreams had come true. We also spent a ton of time touring the city to see the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City. I had to give a history tour of the Forbidden City which was great with 2 inches fresh snow and my little tour surprise. As we have traveled around China our group has seen masses of Chinese tour groups wearing lovely vibrant hats and tour leaders with flags…..so I went ahead and made 17 newspaper sailor hats and flag to make my tour Grade A Chinese Material. To my surprise, walking through Tiananmen Square (Which probably is the most visible, guarded and treasured place in China) with 17 Meiguorens (beautiful country people=Americans in Chinese) brought a lot of attention. How dare they look at us funny when they wear stupid pink, purple or lime green hats. I tried to keep my anger down before I turned them into Fried Rice for starring.

 

Tour Guide Larry

I did get to see a lot of great things in Beijing. I had breakfast the one morning with Chairman Mao Zedong which was great...dead 30 years but still looked pretty good. Unfortunately, the cat got his tongue that morning so he didn’t have much to say…or maybe my Chinese is that bad still. Trip highlight was definitely meeting up with Denny (fellow Messiah Classmate now graduated and MED member) in Beijing. He is currently completing and Internship and soon to begin working full time for HOPE International here in China. At this time, he was living with one of my guy’s (that I was an RA for last year) parents. I got the real tour of Beijing! To start: two absolutely incredible meals, shopping at the Pearl Market and Silk Alley, time at the Olympic Water Cube and Birds Nest Stadium, some historical streets, Worlds largest LED roof, the CCTV building and burnt down hotel from Spring Festival, and so much more!

Denny and I

I could talk hours about all my times in Beijing, but it was the food that was much impressive. Trying scorpion for the first time gave me a knack to try new things. Before I knew it we were eating dog and then I am sad to say but had a taste of cat. You would have thought I would stop there, but there is so much you would do for a Klondike Bar when you eat Chinese food for 3 months. By far, the weirdest thing we have tried here in China was ……never mind I probably should not talk about it…..or should I? You know what….I think I should feel honored with the bragging rights that we tried and ate sheep penis. It was a huge accomplishment for some of us not used to going outside our box but it sure was an adventure.

Shanghai was not filled with as many wild experiences, but it sure was just as fun if not more. Our hotel was an absolute blast and we ran all over the city. Saw some incredible architecture, the Shanghai Museum, the 2010 World Expo Sites and the Urban Planning Museum. It is always fun trying to see how many buildings we can try to get to the top floor by playing the Ting bu dong (I don’t understand) card. Our time was short but definitely a rush. I have seen so much of China and there is so much more to see. It is great to be back in Xiamen. Internships start tomorrow which should be great and I am super excited! We have a driver to pick us up and lunch is provided…life doesn’t get better than this.

Me in Shanghai