First full day in China!

First, I must appologize that it took me so long to post this blog. I meant to update you last night but I was so exhausted and fell asleep as soon as I hit my bed.

Anyways, yesterday was completely jam packed of some of the most amazing adventures I have ever taken and it is only our first day. We woke up in the mornin a little earlier than we we hopped still trying to get used to the time change. My roommate, Drew, and I were up at around 5 and watched Freedom Writers. It was pretty good and with only 3 TV channels in English it was not a bad option. We ate breakfast in the hotel which was a very Eastern world continental breakfast. I ate rice and potatos and was a little scared to try the rest of the foods. After that, our group boarded our bus and departed for the Temple of Heaven. Before entering the temple, we had a little lesson in Tai Chi. We were taught be a 67 year old Tai Chi Master and his son a basic exercise. None of us had ever done Tai Chi before and the "basic" routine was not all that easy. Nonetheless, it was a very awesome experience and was a very relaxing morning exercise. After the routine the Master challenged us to try Tai Chi combat to push him down. The frail Master successfully beat all of who dared to test him. When I took my turn I tried to push him down but he transfered my energy to push me back. I still don't really understand how it worked but it deffinately was impressive.

When we finished our lesson the group entered the Temple of Heaven. This complex was used by the Emperors of the Ming and Quing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer for good harvest. The arcitecture of the temple was absolutely amazing and very interesting. Most of the areas had two walls; a square outer wall and a round inner wall. This represents that the ancient Taoists believed the world was square and covered by the round heavens. A constant theme in all of our sighs was the Dragon and the Phenox which are signs of luck in China. In words I cannot truly explain the beauty of the buildings we visited. They were all filled with blue, green, red, and yellow and had a plethora of marble and gold leaf. After looking at these buildings it was obvious that we were no longer in America. I am going to try to upload some pictures later so that you can really understand this world.

After the Temple of Heaven we got back on our buses and arrived at Tiananmen Square. This square is the largest open public square in the world and serves as the entrance to the Imperial City and the Forbidden City. Our group walked around Tianamen Square and were amazed by the size of this center. As we exited the square and entered the Forbidden City area we passed a huge (probably 40 foot tall) photo of Mao, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party. We passed through the remarkable buildings that are 600 years old and arrived at our destination for a delicious lunch feast. As we were walking the air smelled putrid from the vast amount of people and excess garbage in the entrance. Nonetheless, we all closed our noses and sat down for another shmorgusboard meal that included beef, duck, french fries, fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, poridge, and many other delicious meals. The rice in China is absolutely delicious. I must say, even though the eyed shrimp were very tasty I was happy that none of my food looked back at me durring lunch. After our meal we embarked on a 3 hour tour of the absolutely breath-taking Forbidden City. The City is absolutely huge. It covers about 7.8 million square feet and comprises of 9,999 rooms because the Emporor's favorite number was nine. This metropolis took a million people almost 15 years to construct and their hard work is surely visable. I'm not going to try to describe to you the grandure of this palace because words cannot at all do it justice so I will work hard to upload pictures.

When we finished our time at the Forbidden City we went on our way to the Beijing Dongzhimen High School. At this school we were met with 15 of the fiercest, most talented 10 year old Ping Pong players I have ever seen in my life. We were challenged to play them and I must admit that I lost terribly to these kids. It was amazing to see how talented these kids were at this sport. They really take it very seriously in China and high school games attract spectators similar to American high school football games. After loosing so badly I had the opportunity to have Ping Pong lessons from a master, but, I was so bad that he gave up on me and walked away. I came to the conclusion that I will never be playing Ping Pong in the Olympics but some of these kids may be in 2016.

After our defeat we took a stop back at the hotel to freshen up and then had a nice chicken dinner at a restaurand down the street from the hotel. Dinner was a little spicy but very good. We then called it a night; went back to the hotel, hung out a little, and then headed to bed.

My next stops include the Beijing Urban Planning Center, a local home to learn Chinese culture and Caligraphy, a Mongolian lunch, and then to the Silk museum. I hope that you continue to follow my experiences and get your friends and family to do so as well. Also, to answer a question, feel free to quote anything that I am writing for any purpose. If you want to let me know about any reproduction of what I'm writing feel free to email me at cbolotskydsa@gmail.com, but it is not necessary. Thanks for being a loyal follower!