Week+One

__ We Made It to Beijing, China! __ // Top 10 for "The Flight" //
 * 1) 14-hours!
 * 2) 6 movies (probably should have passed on viewing //Contagion// pre-China)
 * 3) Aisle-seat
 * 4) Noodles for breakfast
 * 5) Snack of cheeseburger in a bag :( and Hagan Daaz ice-cream :)
 * 6) People hardcore stretching and doing yoga at the back of the plane
 * 7) Sat next to a British couple
 * 8) Slept for 1 hour
 * 9) Flew over the North Pole and Siberia
 * 10) Drank my last coffee for a while

We arrived in Beijing's airport, which I later learned from May, is the 2nd largest in the world (the 1st being Dubai). We went through Chinese Customs before picking up our bags. There were lots of cameras everywhere. We exchanged US dollars for Yuan and then met our contact person, Grace at the arrival gate. We took a 45-minute shuttle to the school where we grabbed a quick dinner before settling into our apartment. We carried our bags up 5 flights of stairs and struggled with the keys, which are very different from the ones in the US. Later in the day, we may or may not have locked ourselves in our apartment for 10 minutes. Other than a few hiccups (no internet or hot water on the first day), the apartment is great! It's very spacious for myself, Morgan, May, Michelle, and Laura. I included some pictures to take you on a virtual tour of the apartment:

This is the room I share with Morgan. We each have desks and a wardrobe. This is our living room with our water cooler (since we can't drink, cook, or brush teeth with the tap water). This is the toilet and hot water heater (which wasn't working for my first shower in China). This is our stocked pantry complete with peanut butter crackers, Easy Mac and chocolate. This is our kitchen (aka room with 3 sinks, washer, and fridge). This is the view from our back porch where we hang our clothes to dry.

__ What's the Food Like? __ ** School Cafeteria ** The food is pretty basic with a choice of rice and then some sort of meat and vegetables. We've resorted to pointing out our choices and then we pay by swiping a meal card. The school is very hygienic, so we have to have blood taken and tested later this week to be able to eat with real dishes in the faculty cafeteria. //Here are some of the meals we've enjoyed so far:// Thank goodness for the spoon :) Breakfast pizza with egg, cheese and ham


 * Grocery Shopping **

The Carrefour is a grocery, a couple bus stops away, that serves everything from peanut butter to cow hooves. My favorite section was where they sold meat because they would have all different types and cuts in these freezers that people would handle and select from once they had made their choice. We also saw the infamous Durian fruit that smells like a dirty diaper, but is a type of delicacy. I stuck with the purchase of green tea, but want to go back and try some other loose leaf teas while I'm here. Here's some pictures of our grocery experience: These are individually wrapped eggs. The Durian fruit Looking for the perfect piece of chicken.


 * Dining Out **

Our group went out to lunch yesterday on Wang Fu Jing Street. We were given a private room and in the middle of the table there was a Lazy Susan to rotate dishes around and share. I ordered the noodle bowl with fried pork on the side (top right on the menu), but also tried bamboo, spicy cucumbers, and wontons. Here's our place setting where they set out ginger for you to eat before your meal to cleanse the pallet, along with hot tea. For our group of 8, the entire meal cost //less than 50 US dollars!//

After lunch we ventured onto 'Snack Street' where we were introduced to some unique foods that were looked at, but not eaten. People were crammed into this alleyway scarfing down scorpions on a stick (that were still alive and kicking'!), cockroaches on a stick, and pieces of 'stinky tofu' that had been rotting in the sun for months. People would just toss the sticks on the ground when they were finished.
 * Snack Street **

//(Pictures to come)//