So I know it’s been a while since I last posted, and I bet you’ve
been wondering what I’ve been up to. I’ve been exploring in the small amount of
time I have to spare when I am not working. Here’s a little bit about
everywhere interesting I have been thus far.
1.
Lama Temple – We went here the first week during
training. My favorite part was this giant statue that was inside the main
building. It was unbelievable.
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| The Entrance |
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| The Tall Buddha |
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| Another Buddha |
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| The Whole Group of New Teachers |
2.
International Art District – My roommate and I
went to a local art district one day, and we were pleasantly surprised with
what we found. This place is maybe a 15 minute walk from us and has a lot of
cafes, art museums which change every so often, a gift shop, and some
restaurants.
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| A Neat Chair Archway |
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| Posing by Some Outdoor Statues |
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| Neat Piece of Art Showing Chinese Paper Cutting |
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| Random Outdoor Statue |
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| Awesome Light Fixture of Many Lightbulbs |
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| Interesting Armour |
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| Funny Statues |
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| A Wall of Moving Pictures |
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| Outside One of the Art Museums with Random Statues |
3.
IKEA – After getting our first paycheck, we
realized we needed more things to fill up our apartment with. Things like
knives, good quality pots and pans, and other miscellaneous goods. We knew IKEA
had knives so we went there. (It was hard for us to find knives anywhere, and
when you do find them, you have to provide your ID in order to buy them.) After
we got to the closest metro stop, we decided to take a little 3 wheeled vehicle
to IKEA since it is cheaper than a taxi and it would have been a lengthy walk.
Little did we know, we would be driving without the door shut and on the wrong
side of the road. Thankfully we made it, and we now have knives.
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| The Driver |
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| The Open Door |
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| My Roommate and I |
4.
Temple of Earth Park – This park was nearby our
hotel so some people went there every day. For me, I just went once with some
friends and explored since it is a rather large park. We found so many
different activities going like kite flying, playing music, Chinese card
games/chess, and dancing. Yes, we did participate in the dancing for a few
songs.
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| Two of My Friends Dancing with the Chinese Women |
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| This Expert Chinese Kite Flyer |
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| Do You See the Kite? |
5.
Qingfeng Park – Parks are everywhere in China
which is something that I really like. This is the park that is closest to our
house. It offers a great view of Guomao which is Beijing’s Central Business
District (CBD). It also has a riverside running path, a kid’s carnival area,
and a pond. I will definitely be visiting this park rather often.
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| The Peaceful Lake |
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| Walk by the River |
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| CBD Across the River |
6.
Rush Hour Metro Ride – With my work schedule, I
typically miss rush hour on the metro which is so nice; however, one day I had
training at 9 am on a Monday. I had completely forgotten about how busy the
metro can be. I waited for the second train since there was no room and was
still squished like a sardine. Luckily, I only had to go one stop like this,
and then it wasn’t as crowded.
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| Packed to the Limit |
7.
Company Water Park Party – Last week, one of my
off days consisted of a company party at a waterpark. I would normally be very
excited for this since I love swimming and water, but this time I wasn’t as
excited. It was supposed to rain all day. Turns out, it only rained in the
morning and late afternoon so the middle of the day wasn’t so bad, and we were
able to do our dance competition and swim in the wave pool for a bit.
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| The Sandy Beach before the Wave Pool |
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| The Water Park |
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| A Chinese Twist to a Water Park |
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| The Water Park |
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| My Co-Workers! |
