Beijing

I figured it's a good time for a blog post!!

so with heat + floods + time keeping us from going on any more major escapades for glory, adventure, women, and fame (usually just end up with adventure and a hole in our pockets) I've been stuck in sunny old home sweet home 100 degree Yizheng city.

I made a post about the average day here but I feel like I should go in a little more detail about neat stuff and other random things that come to mind.

BUT FIRST

I'll tell some stories about Beijing, from a while back.

We went to Beijing riding the fastest train in China- the Gao Tie 高铁
our room had 6 beds all in bunk-style, and Jack in I were assigned to the middle bunks. An old man got assigned to the top bunk (there's no easy way to climb up) and it just so happened I really wanted the top bunk too (nobody above you + it's like your own little private alcove of relaxation, but most people don't like it) so I chatted with the other men for a while and asked the old man if he would like to exchange beds (换床) and he said of course no problem. I said thank you and another guy busted out laughing and said "No, he thanks you!!!" and we all laughed.

Mao Zedong's tomb, which holds Mao's body on display

When we were there I made quick friends with our tour group (again reminds me of my dad) and particularly with a little first grader named Sun Mingrui 孙铭蕊 who we all affectionately knew as "Xiao Xue" 小雪 (little snow)。Her grandma and mom were trying to get her to eat an apple outside of the Beijing Museum and I came up and told her she should eat her apple （你苹果吧）and she wasn't expecting that from a foreigner and smiled and ate her apple. Her mom and grandma took a liking to me right then I guess haha. Afterwards Xiao Xue would sing songs for me and once pretended to do an adorable Chinese opera while holding a fan for me. She also loved to learn English words and would show off around me in front of her parents haha

For the rest of the trip we all made light conversation and she would call me 哥哥 (ge ge) which means "big brother"

At the ancient gardens in Beijing (where a lot of western countries invaded and treasures were plundered and destroyed, it remains broken and never rebuilt and they don't shy away from mentioning over and over how western countries did it) she asked me "哥哥，你们的国家为什么入侵我们的国家“ which translates to "Big Brother, why did your country invade ours?" everyone busted out laughing and her mom helped explain I had nothing to do with it haha.

The ruins

At The Great Wall 长城 many other Chinese travelers loved taking pictures with me. Two girls on vacation from college where walking beside me discussing whether or not I could understand them if they asked for a picture got a good shock and laugh when I told them I could understand haha. It went a little something like this, after a good minute of conversation when I finally broke the ice

“他不会听懂普通话。” (he doesn't understand Mandarin.)
“我听懂啦！！” (I do!!)
laughs all around~

 Another picture and we went on our way.

One of the things I didn't like most about Beijing was how commercialized it was. You see the exact same bracelets, fans, pictures of Mao, toys, and hats everywhere you look. All over Beijing. On the streets being sold by old women on literally every street corner within 5 blocks of anything worth traveling to, in shops outside of attractions' gates, in shops inside attractions' gates, in the middle of attractions (the forbidden city must have had at least 7 "official museum shops", after attractions, after after attractions, in grocery stores, EVERYWHERE. If you're a foreigner you're their prime target and it's that much worse. For fun (and 1 yuan [about 16 cents]) I bought a little Chinese flag on the way out of the Temple of Heaven and it fell off the flagpole before I even reached the gate haha.

Our Tour group- Little Xiao Xue in the middle and me and jack on the far left

Jack and I in tiananmen square

After we got off the train from coming back home from Beijing, I was tackled by an adorable running hug from Xiao Xue and she gave me a picture where she wrote a little message to me (ill post a pic) and her parents thanked me and smiled. I gave her a little message on an American dollar bill telling her to never give up studying English and to always study hard.~~

Xiao Xue's letter to me