China. I Went There.

Ugh. Major picture overload. I really, really apologize. I'm going to try to make this as easy as possible for everyone.

Dumplings. So. Good. So cheap! I think this cost $1 USD - holler!

My first full day we went to the summer palace. You know? Growing up there would have been alright. Well, more than alright. The grounds were lovely, but unfortunately it was really hazy that day.

The grounds overlook this gorgeous, huge lake

Oh heeeeeey Meghan!

That happened

Bridge over to an island 

Pretty. Whatever.

I love graffiti

We went to an art district in Beijing. It was fabulous! There were tons of galleries and shows, but my favorite part was all the graffiti! I got some beautiful pictures

This is a yogurt that is sold all over the place. You give them a 1 yuan deposit for the ceramic container. I never tried it because Meghan said it's really thick and plain. She loves it, whereas I need sugar.

On the Great Wall. Funny story - I saw this guy position his friend in front of Meghan so that he could basically take Meghan's photo. The entire time we were in mainland China Meghan kept hearing "take the foreigners picture" (she said it's common and sometimes people will have full albums of foreigners). So this guy then positioned himself in front of me but I was sick of having my picture taken so I raised my camera and blocked my face. Homeboy taking the photo was obviously exasperated and kept sighing and then finally gave up after he realized I wouldn't lower my camera.

Bah! So hazy that day!

I was there

So was Meghan

Chinglish

After Beijing we went to a coastal city called Dalian. We took an overnight train. In our sleeper compartment there were 6 bunks and we had the top 2 and a little family occupied the bottom 4. Meghan heard, "when that woman comes down from her bunk she's going to teach you English so stay close" several times. She said she hears that often, mothers will tell their kids to sit by white people and learn English. Meghan didn't leave her bunk until we got off the train.

Everyone in China lives in an apartment - from what I observed

I like his attitude

The beach in Dalian. Yes, those are pebbles. There was zero sand, it was awful! The beach was so crowded, most of the women sat under tents all day because being white is important. All of the lotions are advertised as having whitening components.

I have never seen so many inner tubes in my life, especially at the beach!

Muslim noodles - I miss them! These are some of the most delicious dishes I have ever had. Chinese food in America is SO different! I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, so now I'm going through withdrawals! I want Muslim noodles!

At the airport waiting to go to Hong Kong. We like ice cream.

You have no idea how many pictures I wanted to post......