So yesterday was my first full day in Beijing. No one can
quite prepare you for jet lag. People told me it would feel like a hang over.
If this is what a hang over feels like, I will never drink. Basically my head
felt like it was in a fog all morning, and I also felt really dizzy. Your body
just feels completely out of it. Pretty sure I could not walk in a straight
line.
It was amazing race day. We broke up into our teams and went
traipsing around the city taking pictures and doing various strange activities.
Our team had a blast! Here are a few of the things we did:
#1: Lunch
So we went to this Chinese restaurant right down the road
for lunch. Chinese restaurants are all family style, so you order a few dishes
and share. I love it. We had 3 treasures (potatoes, eggplant, and green
peppers), sweet and sour chicken, kung pao chicken, spicy green beans, pork
dumplings, and some cucumber in vinegar. My favorite was the sweet and sour
chicken because they put sprinkles on it! Also, yes I can use chopsticks. My
technique isn’t great, but I do well enough to be able to eat.
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Sprinkles
My first Chinese meal
#2: Tea Shop
We visited the neighborhood of Houhai. I have no clue where
it is on the map but apparently that’s where we went. After walking around the
lake there, we went into a tea shop to look at prices of teas. The lovely owner
brought us to the back and made us tea for free. He gave us fruit tea (which
apparently is good for the skin), some kind of black tea (good for the stomach,
he informed us), and two different kinds of jasmine tea. The fruit tea was
AMAZING!!!! I wasn’t that big of a fan of the jasmine tea, but it smelled
wonderful.
Team at the Tea Shop
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#3: Dalmatian Family
We were supposed to take a picture of the most “different”
fashion we saw. We thought this qualified. Here is Chesney with the Dalmatian family.
#4: Massages
Another activity we had to do was get a massage by the lake.
This old man grabbed me and asked me if I wanted one, so I said sure. He sat me
down and gave me a fantastic shoulder massage. As a few of us were getting
massaged, a large group of Chinese locals gathered round and started chatting
animatedly about us. All I caught was the word “beautiful.” Then the old man
kept patting my cheek and saying “Beautiful! Beautiful!” I guess maybe they
don’t see that many super pale, blue-eyed American girls. J
We had to kind of rush away because they wanted to give us leg massages, and we
weren’t quite ready for that yet.
#5: I survived my first squatty potty. For some reason, this
was a big deal for me. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, but my thighs were
killing me afterwards. Guess I need to do some squats for practice. J
There are a few things I’ve noticed about China that strike
me as kind of funny. Overall I haven’t really experienced “culture shock” yet.
While it is very different from America, it feels normal to be here. I do get
stared at a lot, but it doesn’t bother me. There’s a sense of peace being here
that I have never experienced before. I know that it is because I have a team
of friends back home who are thinking of me often. And to those of you back
home, thank you for that.
Just a couple random things I’ve noticed about China:
#1-there are lots of people. LOTS.
#2-there is no such thing as a line in China. I find this
highly amusing.
#3-Traffic rules are basically nonexistent. And when walking
around, the #1 rule is “don’t get hit.”
#4-People walk everywhere. My feet were killing me by the
end of our day. Pretty sure I’m gonna lose weight this year.
#5-When someone honks at you, it means either “I’m coming”
or “Get out of the way. Fast.”
#6-People go out of their way to help you. A few times we
were unsure of where to go, so we asked some locals. They were extremely kind
and gracious even if they didn’t understand us.
#7-Parking your car: park wherever you want. Even if it’s in
the middle of the street. Lots of cars are also double parked. This cracks me
up.
If you made it through this post, I'm very surprised. Sorry it was so long. Will post more about Beijing later.
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