mulan

culture shock hit day one in beijing. no longer were we surrounded by clean and safe streets, helpful and smiley faces and a more westernized culture. instead we were being slammed into subways, hoping that the dumplings weren't stuffed with poodle, praying to not get run over by buses, taxis, bikes and even people, and overwhelmed by the smog and smells. it didn't help that it was the national holiday when apparently all of china flocks to beijing. as rough as the people appeared, the community and love was so evident- children out for a stroll with their grandparents, groups of old men squatting around tables playing cards on the streets, and community classes of tai chi, hackey sack and ballroom dancing late at night in the parks. from the Forbidden City dating back to 1406 to the current Bird's Nest at the Olympic Stadium, the history continues to blow our minds. our pride was crushed in thinking we could hike a good portion of the Great Wall. to our surprise, the steps were as high as our knees and some grandmas were more in shape than we were. it's amazing to think of all the thousands of workers who dedicated their lives to building the wall and imagining the soldiers running from post to post with smoke to warn the city of the enemy attacks. our intitial attitude toward Beijing changed when sweet Yangque let us crash with her and showed us some hidden treasures of her city.

just like the mother and daughter in Chocolat, we've left a city we've grown to love- off to new adventures in Xi'an and Chengdu...