China

Back in May I visited my sister in Chengdu, China where she has been teaching English since last January. During my trip I was able to travel to Beijing as well, right in the midst of the May holiday. I haven’t captioned the pictures, but they are pretty self explanatory.

The dark haired fellow in the pictures in Leland, a close friend of my sister, who was also teaching English in Chengdu at the time.

The cute blond couple in some of the pictures, especially of our Great Wall backpack, are a Danish pair that we met in a hostel in Beijing.

The Great Wall section that we visited (HuangHua) is totally un-renovated. This was by far the highlight of the trip.

I found that we really take for granted all the opportunities we have here in the US. So many of the people I met in China wanted nothing more than to find their way to the states. They are really friendly and caring people. In Beijing, Chinese students will follow you down the street practicing their English. One evening when I was locked out of my sisters apartment, I had a very long and strange conversation with a security guard. He was so excited to practice the English he learned as a kid that he was reluctant to let me leave.

They are also very eager to take pictures with any fair haired tourist. You will see several pictures of my sister with random people. It was tough getting across Tiananmen Square with Jessica and the Danes in tow because they had to stop every few feet to pose for a picture.

It really is a different world. Here are the pictures.