August 14, 2009
What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. I have been back in America and it has been a surprisingly pleasant transition. After all the preparation I received for reverse culture shock, I am happy at how much I have enjoyed and appreciated the many great things about being back in America. The last few days before I returned home I spent time with some close friends sightseeing around Beijing. We basically had two days to see everything the mega-city had to offer. I think we decided it was plenty of time. The first day was full of historical sights, the pearl market, and the Olympic stadium areas. The second day we took a long bus ride out to an unrestored part of the Great Wall and hiked about 12km up and down the steep ruins, through 33 towers. It was an unforgettable day and I got a slight sunburn to go with all that exercise. The next day we headed to the airport and took a flight to Chicago together before parting ways and going off to our separate hometowns. It was a perfect way to have closure on the past two years of unbelievable adventure, wonderful experiences, and lifetime friendships. Here are pictures from my time in Beijing with my good friends.

We started off our day of sightseeing in the old palace gardens around the Forbidden City. These signs sported some classic "Chinglish" phrases, such as "Refuse to feed" and "Refuse to step on."
   
  

Historical Sights; Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven.
    
                   
    
    
    

We stopped by the Pearl Market, which was high on my friend's list of things to do. I enjoyed our time there much more than I thought I would, considered I didn't have any interest in bargaining for pearls.
    

That night we went to the north side of the city and had dinner at TGI Fridays (which was a HUGE treat!) before exploring the Bird's Nest and the Cube in the Olympic village.
    
    

We stayed in a very inexpensive hostel which was set in an old, historic Chinese home. The first night my two friends and I had a private room which slept 3. The second two nights we had to stay in the dormitory, which was full of bunk beds, sleeping up to 8 people. We were by ourselves for our first night staying in the dorm room, but the second night we had two Germans and two Italians bunking down with us. These 4 roommates were all men in their late 20's. This was a bit uncomfortable for us 3 girls, but fortunately our good friend Mike decided to join us in the dorms, which made us unconcerned about the unique lodging situation. We had to hold in our laughter at night when a loud chorus of snoring by the 5 men kept the volume level high and ridiculous in our little dorm. Here is a picture we took in the courtyard of our hostel, and also a picture of us girls having dinner with Mike.
   

Our second day of sightseeing was spent entirely at the Great Wall, giving us a great work out.
     

                
    
    
    
       
  
   
    

I look forward to updated you all with fun pictures of my GRAND welcome back to America by my friends and family. The made my return a really special occasion, which I believe is why I have had such a smooth transition back home. It's easy to adjust to the differences when you're surrounded by people who are so loving and giving. That'll will come in the next day or two. Until then I'll just say; "I'm glad to be home!"

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