I don't even know how to begin to describe my life right now!

Sorry, I've been bad at posting again! But we have been non-stop for the past 4 days- hence today I slept in, called home, got a massage, ordered in papa johns, downloaded the new Jason Marz cd, and am hanging out and blogging......great lazy Monday (although I am surprised I can tell you want day of the week it is!

Thursday: Lama and Confucius Temples and Night Market

We (Allie, Eric and I) started the day off at the Lama temple, which is the big Buddhist Temple in Beijing. It was really interesting, however I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see Buddhist in their robes all around the temple. The statues and the customs that were followed here were very neat to experience and pictures can be found in my album (I'm going to try to add captions tonight).
After that temple we walked a few blocks to the Confucius Temple. This was amazing because within the temple there were museums that told about Confucius and his teachings etc. We got here about an hour before in closed so it would have been nice to have a little more time. The thing that I was amazed with the most is the fact that both these temples are in the middle of a city right next to high ways- and we couldn't hear anything. Both were very zen places.
We ended the night going to the night market- which is famous in Beijing. This is booths set up on the side of the street. We met Matt, Mark and Leslie there and began trying food. This is just the most strange combination of foods that you feel like you on fear factor. I ate: snake, scorpion (a whole one- although I spit it out after eating the head because I could feel its little feet in claws in my mouth) cow heart, pork, and grapes. Matt and Allie were more adventurous (Matt made a video that can be found on KOMU's website) They ate starfish, silk worm, and I forget what else- more bugs. This was definitely an experience.

Friday: Begin the tours
We started the day off with at a water treatment facility- one of the most complex in the world. Not the most exciting morning ever, but we didn't have to pay for anything for 3 days and got food and to see great sites in Beijing. In the afternoon we went to a suburb of Beijing. We got to see the golf course, condos (that no one is currently living in), a temple which was "500 years old" (it was still being constructed) and an old persons home. They gave us a brochure and the afternoon can be summed up with this quote from the brochure: "Without the forward looking policy of the Communist party of China, there wouldn't be any prosperity as seen in Xiangtang." I felt like i was in the movie the Truman Show or Plesantville. It was just very different and I will end on that. We ended the night going to a peking duck restaurant. It was very good- and interesting to watch them bring the whole duck out and carve it.

Saturday:
This was the best day we've had in Beijing- blue skies and clear- I could actually see the stars in the city that night!-one thing I have missed a lot. The Great Wall was one of- if not the- coolest thing I have seen my whole life. The day started out rough, the Mexican President was in China and decided he wanted to visit- so we got stuck at the bottom of the wall for about an hour while people from Purdue got stuck at the top so the president could see. Once we got up though it was just amazing. Mountains just make me a happier person and climbing the wall was one of the most surreal/amazing experiences of my life. I could have spent the whole day ( or a week) there but we had to go to the emperor's tombs in the afternoon, which wasn't as cool but it's neat to see the history. We then had dinner and went home. I don't know if I am starting to really love the food or just really hungry by the time I get to eat- but I think I'll get home in 6 weeks and crave Chinese food on a daily basis!

Sunday:
We started with the New Summer Palace- paid 10 rmbs to go to the temple on the grounds. We had to walk up a lot of steps but the views were worth it and this was my highlight for the day. In the afternoon we went to the old summer palace- which was just a bunch of ruins. Then dinner and then we went to the opera last night. It was very interesting and I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't say I would ever go back in my life. It was not what we would consider an opera it was more of a musical and not a very good one. One of the Chinese grad students said she has to read the english subtitles on the side to understand it still and she's seen it like 3 times. When we got home I went out to a local bar on a campus to have a beer. This was fun because it was all international students. We met and made friends with people from Ethiopia, China, Leigh High, and Belgium. It was very relaxing to sit outside and talk with students from all over the world.

So after those days you can see why I slept in, hung out and indulged in American food this afternoon. The next few days I have off- training is different for everyone and we're still trying to figure that out. My life will slow down a little for the next few days and I will be able to blog more. Sorry for the long update- Hope all is well!