"Sally Group"

So we finally decided it was time to stop shopping and actually do some touristy things. And boy did we. Get ready..it's going to be a long post.

On Thursday we went and visited the Forbidden City. We were immediately greeted by an English speaking woman named Ma Sa who wanted to be our tour guide. We were a little bit hesitant but once she gave us her cell phone to hold we knew she was the real deal. Ma Sa was quite the spitfire of a tour guide. We were allowed about two seconds to look at things before she would say "next next come on". But she was very informative and we got a good feel for all the history. We then went to to Tiananmen Square and chilled with Mao. After that we got the brilliant idea of going to see the university I will be studying at. Much to our dismay we did not realize that all the students are on vacation because of the new year. We could not really find the university much less anyone to direct us to it. Hopefully come Monday it will be a bit more happenin. That night my dear friend from CU, Consto (or Chris as they called him...weird), was in town from Semester at Sea. He, his friends, and I headed to the drinking district of Beijing. Maybe people in China don't do "thirsty thursdays" because there weren't many people out but we still managed to have fun. Of course this included some karaoke. Not sure the Chinese people thought we were as great of singers as we did...Nonetheless it was great seeing a familiar face!

On Friday I woke up in a state of anxiety. My mother had lent me her Blackberry the night before in case I needed to call the hotel. I woke up that morning while she was at breakfast to find that her phone was not in my purse. I spent the next hour replaying in my head how I would break the bad news to her (all the mean while playing solitaire on my phone so I wouldn't think about the deep shit I was about to be in). Soo you can imagine my relief when she walked back in the room with her phone in hand...phew! Feeling 5 pounds lighter from all the sweat I sweated out we then headed to the Lama Temples which is still an active Buddhist temple. The amount of incense was overwhelming but it was very beautiful. However, trying to find a restaurant to eat at was not so fun. I ended up settling for Ritz Crackers which by the way are no where near as buttery/salty as in the US. After that we decided to go to Bei Hai Park. We go off the subway looking for a big white bagoda. After 30 minutes of walking to a big white bagoda we realized we were at the totally wrong one. On the positive side we got to walk down a sketchy ally and see how many people really live in Beijing ( with one communal toilet in the street). After a nice nap we headed to the Legendale Hotel which is super fancy but very empty. Guess the Chinese don't drink on Friday's either..

Today we took a guided bus tour to the Ming Tombs and Great Wall. Our tour guide was named Sally or Pan Jiao..whichever you prefer. She was super cute and her English was really good. The best part was she kept referring to herself in 3rd person "Sally group!" or "So you might ask Sally". The Ming Tomb we went to was not very exciting but the Great Wall was great! We took a cable car up to the top and then walked the rest. The walk was straight up but we were informed that if we made it we would be "heroes". Of course we wanted to be "heroes" so we hiked our way on up along with a thousand Chinese people. The view was breathtaking and so was the trash. There was litter every where!! Not sure how people can do that to such a historical place.. We also visited a factory where they made Jade which is the stone of China, and a factory where they made silk. Some very interesting stuff indeed. Tonight we almost ate at a restaurant until we saw "dog meat soup". Yes, the rumors are true. They do eat dog.
Tomorrow is moms last day :( We have had a great time and I am whipping her butt in Gin Rummy!

Here's to a fabulous last day with my mama for 4 months! Much love to all. Pictures are below..

Lauren
柯若兰