Marjorie-Airplanes, little sleep, and smog

Well, we've made it to China!  Our flight was smooth and uneventful, but did not allow us to get much rest.  Malissa, who seems to be able to sleep anywhere, did not sleep much on the airplane. Maybe it was the excitement, easy access to endless movies, or the cramped conditions, but whatever it was kept us awake for most of the 14 hour flight.  We also lost 12 hours due to the time change so when we arrived we were exhausted.  As soon as we cleared customs, got our luggage, met with the RTTS representative, picked up another family from another part of the airport, and finally checked into the hotel, Malissa and I melted into bed and passed out.  

I woke up about 3:00 AM and could not go back to sleep, but Malissa stayed asleep until I woke her up around 6:30 AM.  From 3-6:00 AM I tried to access this blog to make a post, but I found it was blocked, as well as most other sites.  It seems China does not want to give me easy access to the internet.  I am not sure why I am able to access it now, but I am taking advantage of it while I can.

Today was very busy with touring.  Another family and us were given the opportunity to visit the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.  Both were beautiful and full of history, but we think our favorite part was the Summer Palace.  The Summer Palace has beautiful gardens and buildings situated on a man-made lake that was the summer residence for the emperor and his family before the Cultural Revolution abolished the dynasty.  

The photo above shows a temple on top of the hill that houses a buddhist statue.  The emperor used to be carried up the steps to worship.  We, of course, had to climb the stairs ourselves.  It was well worth it, though, since the view was breathtaking up there.  

As you can see from this photo it is a breathtaking view, but the air pollution does not allow you to have a very clear view.  I can only image what it was like before the rise of industry and car use of the 24 million people who live in this city.  

Speaking of car use, the traffic here is horrendous.  It is nothing to take a couple of hours to get from one part of the city to another due to constant traffic jams.  When Mike and I were here 11 years ago the traffic was excessive, but at least about half the population was riding bikes.  Hardly anyone is riding a bike anymore.  It seems everyone now is driving a car.  We were told that the number on your license plate determines what day you can drive on--odd numbered plates on odd numbered days and even numbered on even numbered days.  I did see, though, both numbers today so I am not sure how strict that they are about it.  

We are loving the people watching.  There are so many people to watch!  The man in the photo above was practicing his character writing using a brush dipped in water.  The Chinese characters are so beautiful and graceful.  I am thinking this would be a good method to help my students learn to write in cursive!  One of the most interesting activities we witnessed were parents with signs in the park trying to find a spouse for their grown son or daughter.  Yes, you read that correctly,  The parents were match making with other parents.  I saw no grown children-only the parents with their sign taped to the sidewalk.  There were so many people that we could barely walk through them to get to the other side of the park.

Tomorrow we are off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, then shopping in the largest mall of Beijing.  Hopefully I will be able to get back onto this blog site to share some more photos.