I arrived in Beijing on July 19. I've got to admit that at first, I was a bit disappointed. I was tired, and a little burnt out from the constant travel of the previous couple of weeks. I checked into my accomodations, registered at my school, and collapsed.
Because of my burned-out status, I couldn't really appreciate the Forbidden City as much as I probably should have. It's a beautiful place, but completely loaded with tourists (yes, I know the picture looks like it's deserted), and we were sort of rushed through it. I went with a group from school, and it felt like I was on a middle school field trip!
On the plus side, the Forbidden city has dragon turtles.
Next major landmark I visited: the Temple of Heaven. This round temple is constructed with no nails, just interlocking pieces of wood. By this time, I had settled into Beijing, and I was definitely able to appreciate the sights.
And where had I settled in, you may ask? Well, I rented a room from a Chinese family. It was me, a Chinese couple and their small daughter, and a Japanese student, all living happily in a three-bedroom apartment. After a week or so of living there, my landlady started inviting me to eat with the family. Whenever we spoke, she would make laugh as I dove for my dictionary to try to express something or understand what she was saying to me.
