Today we woke up early to start our first full day of experiencing Beijing. We had breakfast in the hotel lobby and then boarded our bus, accompanied by Jenny and Jennifer, two young teachers from Tianjin University who will be sharing our trip with us.
Our first stop was to Olympic Village—the site of the 2008 Olympics. We went to the BIRD’S NEST where the opening ceremony was held, and took pictures with the mascots.
We were surprised to learn that people also wanted to take pictures of us! The Olympic site is a popular domestic tourist destination, and many Chinese people from far off villages were in town. Some of them had never seen foreigners before! We felt like celebrities! Everyone wanted to take pictures with us to show their friends back home.
We also visited the Water cube. The bubble-like building that held the water sports during the Games.
In the afternoon, we went to a Lama Temple—the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet!
There, we saw some Tibetan monks, and were contemplating whether it would be appropriate to ask them for a photo, when one of them came up to us and asked US for a photo!
Finally, we finished our day by going to Confucius Temple before heading back for some rest.
We have busy days ahead of us: Temples, Tombs, and Great Walls!
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