Our first stop was the Great Wall of China. It is mind-boggling how difficult this must have been to build. It goes on as far as the eye can see in either direction and up steep mountains. Our tour-guide "Happy" told us that it is 8,841 km long (or about 5,500 miles). That's why it's one of the 7 wonders of the world!
Next we went to Hutong; an old neighborhood in Beijing. Parts of Hutong are 500 years old (consider that America was founded about 230 years ago). The streets are very narrow and residents do not have bathrooms in their houses, they share community bathrooms. Mostly older generations live there, as the younger generations want their own bathrooms. We got to tour this area riding in a rickshaw (a bicycle w/ a "carriage" on the back).
Tonight we visited "Snack Street" filled with such dilectibles as fried sheep kidneys, something that looked like fried mice, and squid on a stick (eat your heart out Iowa State Fair). We opted to eat at McDonald's.
Overall, Beijing is very western. Most people speak English and the newer parts of the city look just like American cities. You wouldn't believe all the bicycles here. Happy tells us that there are about 10 million cars and 9 million bikes in Beijing alone. Wow! Guess how many helmets we saw....0!
Sunday (tomorrow) we have an orientation where we will get more information on Zach and perhaps a new picture. One of the families in our group received their little girl a couple of days ago, so playing with her today has made us even more anxious to get to Monday. The other 3 families get their child on Monday as well, just from a different area in China than us.
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