The second day in China I woke up early for my field program, Highlights of Beijing. I got my bag all packed and was worried about the weight and height restriction. I went to the meeting and felt fine. Yes I had my big back, but some people had bigger bags.
We took a bus to get to the airport. And when we got to the airport we had to check in, by giving the check in people our passport in order for them to hand us our ticket. After that was done and we all had our tickets, we then went through security. Though security is always a hassle for me, feeling like should I put my hair down, should I take my shoes off. At this security I was wearing Athleta leggings with metal like zippers and jeans on top, (to stay warm) and the security caught the zipper. They made me take off jeans so they could see my zipper on my Athleta pants. It was quite embarrassing because here I was, a girl in a international air port, keeping my shoes on like we were allowed to do, and all I did was take my jeans off, and slide them down my thighs so they could see the zipper.
Once that disaster was over, my Highlights of Beijing Section A (the one with the social media coordinator Mike) walked over to find our gate. We found our gate, and was soon allowed to get food and or snacks if we were back by a certain period. I ended up getting breakfast with a group of girls, Gabby, Brielle, Josie, and Sophia. I got a chocolate croissant and a coffee, with a little shortbread cookie for later, it was amazing. Others either got a pastry or a coffee. Later the girls and I wandered to find water. While Gabby, Sophia and Josie got regular water, Brielle and I found this water that had lemon and sea salt in it.
Water with Sea Salt & Lemon
We found it and thought it looked like it would be good. I found it refreshing and wanted to try it again. Then it was time to board the airplane. I looked at my ticket and then looked as I boarded the plane looking for where my seat would be. I realized I would be in the middle. I just tried to sleep the whole flight.
*****We arrived in Beijing******
We walked out of the gateway to meet our tour guide Cathy. We hopped on our bus. We drove to get lunch, which was another Lazy Susan styled lunch. At this lunch the one thing that stuck out to me the most was the sticky rice type item I believe that looked like a fish.
The group struggled to pick it up with our chop sticks because it was just so sticky. Then after lunch, we headed as a group to the Summer Palace, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cathy talked about the Summer Palace, and then we were given some free time to walk around and take some pictures. As we were walking, I saw people ice skating on a frozen lake.
Exploring the grounds and taking more pictures. Then we hopped back on the bus, and went to dinner with another Lazy Susan. I almost did not need dinner because lunch filled me up so much. However, at dinner with the Lazy Susan this was a special dinner, where we had a roasted duck that was brought near the table, and carved in front of us, and then the pieces were brought to our table for us to eat. Everyone looked at the freshly cut duck and then we dug in. Trying the new meat that had been served to us. After dinner, we got back on the bus and arrived at a karate show. Now I first thought when it said in the itinerary that a Kungfu show would be people fighting one another. When we got there we were seated in a theater. Then we saw people on stay acting out a boy that wanted to be like other boys his age who were fighting. He had to leave his mother to leave to fight and train to become better in the fighting field. After the show we met up with the Hightlight of Beijing section B group. I took a picture with the cast in the background, because we were allowed to go on stage and take pictures with them; however, I was trying to save money and did not need to take an actual picture with the cast. Then we hopped back on the bus, and went to the hotel, where Sandra and I were given our room keys. Sandra and I took the keys and walked to our room. We opened the door and were both shocked by how nice the room was. Once we got in our room we ended up just staying in, instead of going out and exploring. Sandra and I both went straight to sleep, after Sandra journaled for a little bit, something I should have been doing as I traveled on land. We were both so exhausted from the whole day, but excited for what tomorrow would bring and what we might see!
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