Today was one of the most exciting days for me—we got to see the Terra Cotta Warriors! This was another attraction that definitely did not disappoint. They are every bit as amazing as you can imagine. Every single one is different, so archeologists know that they were made by hand which is ridiculous to think about when you see the sheer number of them. And only three pits are open to the public—many others were reburied to preserve the colored paint on them. Ancient China was a pretty legit culture—they were making sweet things like the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors before anyone else in the world existed practically. In the afternoon, we went to Banpo Neolithic village, an archaeological excavation of an ancient village site. That was also really interesting to me, being ... read more

Today was probably my favorite day here so far. We got up early to catch our plane from Beijing to Xian, but it was delayed so we had a few hours in the airport to chill. It was actually nice to have a breather from constant activities. I was able to catch up on emails and blogging! Once we got to Xian, we met with our new guide, Henry, who held up a stuffed Smurf on a baton as a flag so we could find him. Then on the bus ride to the hotel, he taught us a Chinese rap that we are all going to learn. He is great. We checked into our hotel, Xian City Hotel, which is really nice and in a great location on the main drag of the city. Xian is ... read more

Today was possibly the greatest birthday ever! Who can say they turned 19 on the great wall of China? Not many people. I actually turned 20 because in China they start counting age on the day they are born, so when a baby is born it is also its first birthday. So it was an exciting age to turn also! Haha This morning a few of us didn’t really feel like eating the mildly strange hotel breakfast, so we went into a hutong for breakfast. I got two baozi (steamed buns…like the ones they have at big bowl in the grocery store but better) for 1 RMB which is basically nothing. They were delish. The Great Wall is one of those tourist attractions that actually lives up to the hype (unlike Mt. Rushmore, etc). Climbing it ... read more

This morning we went to the Summer Palace. It is a giant park where the emperor used to live during the summer. It was a really nice change from the city! There was a souvenir store there that was selling t-shirts that had a picture of Obama dressed as a red guard that said "Obamao" or something on them. I was really tempted to get one but I doubt that could get back through customs. It was meant as a compliment to Obama though because a lot of people in China really like him. After wandering around the summer palace, we went to the Olympic park. It was incredible and everything was even huger than I imagined. It was hard to get good photos of everything because it was all so giant. It kind of felt ... read more

The hotel breakfast in the morning was a very interesting cultural experience--a weird mix of American things like eggs and Chinese things like jiaozi (potstickers), tiny egg rolls, and fried rice. After breakfast, a couple of us went on a walk around the hotel's neighborhood. We went down an alley into an old residential neighborhood (hutong) and finally it felt like we were actually in China. We got a lot of stares from the locals! I can already notice the air pollution here. My lungs felt yucky from just a 20 minute walk. Hopefully its something I'll get used to and won't cause too many health issues... After breakfast, we went to Tiananmen square, just a short walk from our hotel. In China, it seems to be more of a gathering place than a historical/memorial place. ... read more

I will be leaving for China in approx 7 days and 14 hours! ... read more