Strictly Business

May 17, 2008

Ni hao!

After months of anticipation, many days of preparation, hour(s) of packing
and going over checklists, at least 24 hours of traveling and mediocre
airplane food we have FINALLY arrived in China! Our airport adventures
included many of us having our first encounters with Eastern style toilets (aka
squatters) and Jamie buying a squid in a bag. At the airport last night we
met our China Sense managers Jennifer and Phoenix and our tour guide John. At
the bus, we met our bus driver "Jack", who coincidently does not speak any
English.

Today is one of two tourism days and in order alleviate jetlag our guides
have given us an early wake-up call, there definitely won't be any sleeping-
in on this trip! After one of the best breakfasts I've had in a long time we
were off to the Great Wall of China. Being outside during the daytime showed
us how bad the smog really is in Beijing, it felt as if there was a low fog
hovering over the city.

Regardless of the air quality, the site of the Great Wall was amazing,
climbing the Ju Yong Guan Pass was even better! You might be thinking, "But
Kim, it's a pathway on wall. You'd walk on it, not climb it." And you may be
correct, for other parts of the wall. But I'm pretty sure Dr. Cochran picked
the steepest pass for us, which would be more aptly named the Great
Staircase of China. About half the group made it to the end of the pass,
which was quite a feat in itself without having to turn around and go back
down! I have never felt my legs shake so much in my life!

Lunch was at a Brazilian steakhouse style Chinese restaurant where we were
presented with everything from pineapple to cow tongue. It is a good thing
that there are some adventurous eaters in the group to tell everyone else what
the "strange" stuff tastes like.

The afternoon was spent at the Summer Palace where the weather turned from
windy (which was nice at the Wall) to windy and cold with some sprinkles of
rain. John told us all about the Dragon Lady, who lived in the Summer
Palace. While the name would seem derogatory to us I think it was more
endearing to them as the dragon symbolizes power in the Chinese culture.
Essentially, they are just calling her a powerful woman.

The palace is beside a huge manmade lake. The soil from said lake was used
to build Longevity Hill, where the palace resides. On the edge of the lake
sits the Marble Boat, which was built because either she liked boats but
would get seasick or she wanted to show that her "ship" was indestructible.
The palace grounds also contain the Long Corridor, famous for its length,
which contains paintings on the ceilings that tell stories about China's
history.

Our first dinner in China was at a traditional Peking Duck restaurant. It
was also our first experience with the Chinese way of serving food: on Lazy
Susans! It was an adventure and I am sure there are more food adventures to
come!

The Great Wall by Amy Thran

Summer Palace by Charlie Canon

The Marble Boat by Ryan Arthur

The Long Corridor by Clint Hill