Yesterday

---

Yesterday was as busy as today, and we collapsed when we returned to our hotel around 11pm. I will have pictures to attach for today and yesterday when I return home!

The Olympic Venues - Ken, one of our fellow teachers, is here now too. He arrived here on the 2nd and will stay until the 10th. He met us for lunch and then we took the subway to the Olympic area. The new Beijing subway system is amazing, and they have done a great job merging it with the old. I feel like a pro using the subway!

We took a special bus around the whole area - the stadium, the birdsnest, the Olympic Village and all! WOW!!!!! The bus ride was over a half an hour. It was a beautiful sunny day - and VERY hot! First time I have seen blue sky and the sun in Beijing. Maybe there pollution control efforts are working! We actually saw blue sky Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before we left. It was nice.


The Night Markets - Megan was on a mission to eat scorpion! She had seen a show on CCTV channel 9 (remember the only English station on China TV) about the night market and scorpion. Plus one of her classmates/friends from college had eaten it, so she had to try too!

We went with Ken and one of his former Chinese students and friend, Nancy. Since we weren't able to connect with our friend Louisa, Nancy became our guide to help us find the night market. She didn't know where it was, so we questioned (rather she) many passersby on our way (we new it was somewhere new Tianammen Square. We find a very interesting market street, obviously done for tourists (Chinese tourists though, not necessarily foreign ones), that sold goods and had many interesting stores, but it wasn't the food market. Meg and I went back there next day to do some shopping.

Finally we got directions and headed to "the other" market!


Megan eats scorpion - the other market was full all kinds of


And more

---

Photos

The Ethnic Minorities Museum
Ths where we exited the subway and went in search for the Olympic venues. China has 52 ethnic minorities.

Our walk to find the Olympics!
And boy was it hot!

Ah ha!
The entry!

Signs, signs everywhere are signs!
If you know the song, Megan and I sang it a lot in Beijing!

THE map
In Chinese of course, but it gave us a rough idea where we were and were everything else was. Obviously TOO FAR to walk! Plus they wouldn't let you in without a ticket for the prelims.

And more
Actually very beautiful! Beijing had REALLY transformed during the 3 weeks since we first flew in!

The Information Booth
Volunteerism is high in Beijing. These little booths are everywhere! Manned with students there is usually at least 1 that speaks English. They helped us find the "special" bus that cruised around the Olympic venues!

The sights
By now most of you have seen pictures from Beijing all over the TV, but it really is neat to have seen it all up close and personal. Much of it is a impressive as you have seen on TV!

Back Track
Marching back to the subway entrance and Ethnic Minority Museum to catch the special bus!

On the road!
The rest of the pictures are from the new AIR CONDITIONED bus! Oh yeah!

The Olympic Village
We couldn't capture it all, or very well, but it really was spectacular with all the different country's flags draped from the buildings.