Days 2-3

Yesterday we had a few lectures in the morning, and then we were told to go get lunch on our own. I went with my neighbor and her roommate and we went to the supermarket to get some stuff we needed. I came back to campus for an advising meeting, chose my classes, and got lunch by myself. Then there was a travel info session - we have the option of either the Silk Road or the Manchurian express. I want do do the Manchurian express, since you start off at the North Korean border and travel to the Russian border. So cool. After that a huge group of people went out for some pretty expensive (in comparison to other food you can get in Beijing) Korean barbeque. It wasn't bad. Didn't blow me away. Then I came home and went to sleep, like the true party animal that I am.

Today we had some activities in the morning, and then a scavenger hunt-type  thing. We were given a piece of paper with some Chinese characters on it. We were told it was a location and to go find it without using a taxi. My group and I figured out that we were supposed to be going to the Lama temple, which is an enormous Tibetan temple. We figured out that the subway is the fastest way to go. It took about an hour in total to get from campus to the temple. The subway in Beijing is way smoother and jostles you less than the subway in DC! So that was nice.

And it wasn't even that crowded!

This temple. Oh my goodness. It was so incredible. Breathtaking. Huge. There were people everywhere with incense, bowing and praying. It was awesome. This place gave me chills. Let me show you with too many pictures.

 This was the biggest statue I've ever seen in my entire life. Holy crap.

I took like 50 more pictures. If you want to see more you can email me.

We made our way back to campus, and met up with two other groups. We got lunch at a noodle place. I got beef and noodle soup. It was COVERED in cilantro. Oh well.
Did nothing for the rest of the afternoon. Got 20 dumplings and 3 glasses of fresh soy milk for 13 kuai (less than 2 dollars) for dinner, which I shared with friends. Another info session. Free food outside the IES building, but I'm too tired to function right now. Will post again soon.

再见