DAY ONE

Day one

We arrived in Beijing around 4am and we were greeted by two students and one teacher in the airport from the high school. Upon arriving, we enjoyed our first Beijing breakfast before heading out for our first walk around town. We visited Shi Cha Hai (lake) and Lotus Garden. After the Lotus Garden, Zhong Lao Shi and Mackenzie went out to the Guo Mo Ruo Museum while Kevin, Matt, and Mark played basketball with fellow students. We all then met back at the school and ate a wonderful lunch along with the "Terrible Tang." After lunch, we trekked to the local supermarket to purchase toiletries, waters, and towels. After that we met up with our good buddy Chris Terrile and we all visited the high school, sat in the spectacular auditorium and witnessed an awesome tae kwon do performance by our Chinese friend Eric (aka Cindy). We then took the Beijing Subway to Xi Dan with our Chinese friend Hugo to shop at "Joy City Mall" which was six stories and housed the longest escalator in Asia! The mall was packed with several American brands such as KFC, DQ, Nike, etc. Limping back from our exhausting trip admist the sweltering humidity, we met up with the rest of the international students back at the school. They came from an eclectic group of countries such as The Netherlands, Slovakia, UK, Singapore, Thailand, Norway, the US, and China. We then ate dinner which featured the "questionable chicken nuggets. After dinner, we all gathered in the "small auditorium" for a "icebreaking game-session" which helped us remember each others names and break the ice. Following the great experience, we returned to the school exhausted and ready to shower and sleep (the showers were very unique and interesting because they were doorless). Our first day was nothing short of a success and a day we will forever remember.

Signing off/Peace and Love,

Kevin Chu + the rest of the gang.