The Summer Palace

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Friday was the first of what will hopefully be many sunny days here in Beijing and it was also the first test day. I was so excited by the sun though that I snapped a picture of the blue sky when I went to get breakfast. The test wasn't all that long and it replaced the day's class so I had a lot of time to rest before I went out that night. My friend Ge Wei and I found a German bar which he decided we had to check out as he spent a few years in Germany with the army. It definitely had better beer then most places in China but he said it was just okay.

Today I went with the group to The Summer Palace which is a huge Qing Dynasty structure located on the biggest lake I've seen so far in Beijing. We took a canal boat to get there which took quite a while but was really cool. I had to climb a lot a of steps and walk a long way but it was worth it for the pictures and video I took along the way. The Summer Palace also turned out to be a good place to see tourists from all over. I heard French, German, and Portuguese today on top of the usual Chinese and English. You can find people from anywhere in San Li Tun, which is the embassy district and also contains Beijing's original Bar district. French is especially common. Last night I heard a pair of men who looked like American bikers speaking French in San Li Tun.

Tonights dinner was very cool. A whole bunch of us went to a hot pot restaurant where they give you raw food which you prepare yourself with a pot of boiling water each person has at the table. This allows each individual to prepare their own variation of the foods provided using spices and vegetables to change the flavor.

My weekend is pretty much over though as I have to do homework tomorrow and study for next week. I still am trying to find time to check out the dragon boat club I read about on the internet and if I make it tomorrow there will almost certainly be an entry about it.

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