August

This was my meal on the plane. I wasn't quite sure what to do with some of the items so the very nice Taiwanese man next to me helped. It was my first experience with real Asian food (because guess what, what we call Chinese food in the States doesn't compare much with real Chinese food) and it was great.




By the time we actually got into Beijing on August 2nd it was really late. We all stopped at a convenient store to pick up some supplies and I was excited to see some American brands in China. Plus I just liked all of the Chinese characters everywhere



The hotel that CTLC put us in had been used as a housing area for the Olympics. So on different floors there were different sports sections where the Chinese now go to train. During the day this room was completely full of people playing Ping Pong.



Depending on where the Chinese people grew up, they have not seen many Westerners. So children especially are very excited to see us and will want to take pictures and talk with us as much as possible. This little girl was the shop owner's daughter next door and got her mom to help her ask for a picture. Adults more just stare at us as we walk past.




Hot Pot is a common dinner in China, although it is more expensive. You order a few boiling pots of broth and have raw meat and noodles brought out for you to cook yourself. At this meal we had shrimp, ox tongue (next to the shrimp) and lamb (on the back right). You just throw a couple pieces in at a time into the pots and then wait a few minutes for them to cook. It's not one of my favorite meals but it is very popular among the other teachers.