Saturday (Day 8?)

We had an incredible day today exploring Beijing. We started by walking through Tian'anmen Square, which was pretty awesome. There were a ton of people - mostly Chinese tour groups -and it was amazing just to imagine all of the history that has taken place there. The huge picture of Chairman Mao really struck me. It was a great experience.

I mostly wandered around alone today, which created a good atmoshpere for people watching. For the first time in China, I really noticed several Chinese people staring at me. Some were laughing and pointing, others just staring. Three groups of Chinese people asked if they could take my picture. Maybe it is the red hair? Several other members of our group also had their pictures taken. They are obviously pretty fascinated by Western folks like us.

Many of the toursists were school groups. There was one particular group that I bonded with. A few of the girls - probably 9 to 12 years old - tapped me on the shoulder and said "hello." It turns out they could speak a few words of English, and probably wanted to practice. We exchanged the basics, such as "what is your name?" "where are you from?" and "do you like basketball?" (that was my question, of course - I'm told everyone in China at least knows Yao Ming). Anyway.... they asked if they could take a picture with me and they took several. I had a bunch of small Notre Dame gear in my bag - mini nerf footballs, magnets, pens, pencils and little notebooks. I started handing them out to the girls that I was talking to and they went nuts. They were literally jumping around and hugging me. It was a really neat moment.

Next, we walked to the Forbidden City and toured around there for awhile. Again, I admit to doing more people watching then checking out the history... but it was beautiful. We walked to a delicious lunch nearby (my favorite tofu of the trip!).

After lunch, we went to the Olympic grounds. Not surprisingly, China has plans to build incredible facilities and infrastructure surrounding the Olympic grounds. We went to a building (I'm sure it has a name, but I'm not sure what it was....) that had pictures and models and other depictions of what the Olympic grounds will look like. Apparently, we were one of the first groups to see the exhibit. The Olympics will be quite an undertaking for China - I will definitely watch the events with a different appreciation having seen what we did today. There was a humorous moment when they loaded us back on the bus for a "bird's eye view" of the Olympic grounds. For some reason... I was picturing that we would be quite elevated for this view. However, when we got there, it turns out to be about a 4' high platform in the middle of construction area.

Tonight, we had a closing dinner at the Great Hall of the People right on Tian'anmen Square, which is a facility used for state dinners and other important events. It's hard to describe... but it was amazing. The music, service, and food were excellent. The location was once-in-a-lifetime. Everyone was looking their best - suits and dresses. We took a ton of pictures.

So now I'm in the hotel preparing for a power trip to the Great Wall tomorrow. We are taking a bus at 6:00 a.m. and our flight leaves at 4:30 p.m..... so we won't be able to explore much. But I have to go check it out as long as I'm here! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.