I had a wonderful vacation in Beijing. The weather was perfect, sunny and in the 80s. The food was delicious, fresh and with plenty of vegetables. At one busy restaurant, I sat with an elderly couple from the northeast of China. After offering my own food to them, they encouraged me to try all of their food. We had a lovely lunch of smiling and pointing, occasionally asking the waitress to translate for us. The temples were colorful and smelled like incense. One Buddha was four stories tall. The Great Wall was awe-inspiring and the surrounding mountains stretched on and on until they disappeared into the blue haze. My afternoon spent wandering around the Beijing 798 contemporary art district was rejuvenating. Finally, interesting graffiti! The markets were hectic and the salespeople tended to be overzealous, but it was so tempting to keep on buying. Being able to shop while on vacation was such a welcome change!

After 6 days in China, I was not happy about going back to Cheongju. I knew I was making some sacrifices by coming to Korea and by going to a smaller city. Until this trip to Beijing, I hadn't had anything else to compare my experience to... *sigh*

Here is a small selection of pictures:







More on China and my back to Korea coping strategies later. I have to go teach!