Monday, March 30, 2015

Day 1: Crazy Night in Beijing

The first day in China was mainly used to get adjusted to our surroundings After a 14-hour flight we finally arrived at the Beijing Airport, I went through customs and I withdrew 600 RMB (about $100) out of the ATM. Chinese currency is very interesting and they even have coins and paper bills that equal the same amount. After I took pictures of my yuan, we met with the Asia Institute who walked us to our charter buses. When I looked out the windows, I noticed a couple of things that I had expected.

The smog was immediately noticeable and I definitely could not get any good pictures because of it. Also, the traffic was terrible. It was almost bumper to bumper the entire time we were on the highway. It’s to being expected considering Beijing is one of the most crowded cities in the world. After we checked into the hotel, we got to know the international students accompanying us and our guides from the Asia Institute. We had two students from Israel and another from Japan. Our guides were named Ivy, Jody and Ariel. After we mingled for a little bit we went to a nearby mall to explore and get dinner. The way the Chinese eat dinner in restaurants is different from American dining. Instead of each person ordering their own entrĂ©e, in Chinese dining, multiple dishes are put on a spinning disk on the table and everybody spins the disk to their food of choice and adds it to their own plate.

                                               


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