Today the group ate breakfast before heading to Tiananmen Square, which was a quick ride from the hotel. We took many pictures in the square before heading through to the Forbidden City. The buildings were brightly colored and decorative, but I didn’t like how crowded these sights were.

Next, we went to lunch and I was so happy that rice was finally served! I was so surprised that rice had not been served with any of your meals. Before I came to China, I was expecting that we would have eaten it with every meal.

After our lunch, we went to a small village that was very old. It was really cool to see what Beijing looked like before it became extremely populated. We took a rickshaw to a living quarters and a 70-year-old local told us about what it was like growing up in the little village and explained to us the importance of respecting elders. When we were finished learning about village life, we took the rickshaws back to the bus. Riding in the back of a rickshaw with Nilaani was the highlight of my day. We interacted with locals and saw many cute dogs, even a dog wearing glasses!!

Next, the group headed to the Temple of Heaven. It was pretty to walk around and see the nice landscaping. My favorite part of this visit was the Tai Chi class we took. Our instructor taught us a short sequence of moves and we tried our best to mirror his moves. After a much needed Tai Chi session, our group headed back to the hotel.

Jordan, Nilaani, Maddie, and I tried to go the silk market by taking the subway, but we got a little lost and ended up at the pearl market. More fake Michael Kors bags were purchased that night before we headed to dinner. We went back to the restaurant we ate at the first night. I got the egg drop soup that I ordered the first night because I knew I liked it. I enjoyed getting to watch Nilaani try dumplings for the first time and just hanging out with Jordan, Maddie, and Nilaani.

When I got back to the hotel, I quickly showered, packed up my suitcase, and fell asleep since we had to be up and ready to go the next day at 6am.