Packed Weekend #2

So as we're counting down our weekends, we realize we have to pack more and more activities

into one. So this weekend, after our test, we headed off to a hutong. These are basically ancient alleyways that create a grid-like pattern in the city of Beijing that have been preserved for hundreds of years. Now many of them range from buzzing shop/restaurant areas to purely residential streets. The ones we went to were mostly lined with one-story houses that seemed to had very minimal plumbing/electricity. Many of these hutongs are inhabited by Beijing's poorest residents. It was kind of strange how this sort of life was literally just a block away from a very developed street with restaurants/hair salons etc...

We decided to pass on the expensive restaurants and adventurously try one off the beaten path. The food was really cheap and the paint was chipping off the walls. But the food was soooo good! Seriously, the best noodles I've had in Beijing all summer. We all packed doggy bags since the portions were so large too. We were so happy with our decision.

Then we headed off to the Olympics Sports Center. Which is basically now just a symbol of overextravagance gone to waste. We went at night because that when all the lights go on and it's pretty. First stop, Bird's nest.

Then water cube! I got hungry and sat down to eat those noodles. My chopsticks were drenched in oil that spilled out so I had to use my hands. But seriously. Worth the effort.

Saturday:

First we go to the Temple of Heaven Park. So not only does it serve as a historical sight, but people often go there just to hang out, dance, sing traditional Beijing Opera, etc...The guy in the middle for example, was using that stick in his hand (which is essentially a giant paintbrush that uses water instead of paint, to draw characters on the ground). He taught me how to more prettily write my Chinese name. He also knew a lot of English which was surprising (even though we just responded to him in Chinese). He told us English and Chinese riddles and was overall one of the coolest people I've randomly met in China. He was also pretty impressed with our Chinese skills.

We eventually pulled ourselves away to go see the sights we paid to see. Below: Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

It's always interesting going to places like these that not only have a lot of foreign tourists, but a lot of Chinese tourists from other parts of China. Unlike most of the Beijingers, these people have not seen foreigners. So they often ran up to me asking to take a picture with me. (gotta prepare for the celebrity life somehow...) I was really afraid of Chinese racism before I came to China. But what I've noticed everywhere is that their treatment of colored people isn't negative at all. They simply have not encountered colored people and are more curious than accusatory.

So later that night...we went to the most famous teahouse in Beijing. The walls were lined with pictures of all the world leaders that visited it.

We even had live entertainment.

I'm missing home really hard right now. And I only have one week in New York that I'm already packing with plans. But I know at the same time I'm going to miss China a lot. The wonderful teachers I've been bonding with, the students that I will probably not see nearly as often when we go back to Yale, and all the wonderful places I'm discovering in China. I have only begun a superficial survey of the language and culture and there is so much more left to 了解(deeply understand is my best English translation of that). I'm excited to come back....so many mixed emotions right now.