The Great FireWall of China

I did not expect these sorts of technology problems in China! I have learned quickly that China has this thing called the “Great Firewall,” nicknamed after their “great wall” of protection the government has on the internet, blocking sites like facebook, twitter and of course, sperrott.blogspot.com. So, I have only been able to get on if I can get the Purdue VPN to work...

This whole trip has been quite a learning experience. So far, I’ve dodged the traffic coming at me from all directions as well as the bird poop falling from above. We spent the first couple days in Shanghai, which is more of a financial and economic city than the historical Beijing. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Pearl Tower while it wasn't too smoggy, and walk along the Bund. We also spent a lot of time inside the classroom learning about Chinese culture from various professors of Chinese Universities. 

Last Thursday evening, we took an overnight train to Beijing. I had never been on an overnight train before, and communicating with people on the train was quite a task. We arrived in Beijing and spent the next few days going non-stop, trying to see everything in Beijing in four days. I absolutely loved every minute in Beijing, probably because there were so many things to do and the city is always busy people my age since there are so many universities downtown. 

We started by touring the Forbidden City, with the classic Chinese architecture featured on building after building.  Our group walked through Tiananmen Square, famous for being the location of the student protests against the Chinese government in 1989. Our tour guide, Eddy (obviously his "American" name), did a great job of giving us a historical background for each part of the Forbidden City. 

We then went to see the 2008 Olympic Sites. We figured out how to register to be able to actually go on the track. They let us try the high jump and long jump and I of course ran on the track as much as possible. We saw the "birds nest" and the "watercube," where Michael Phelps set the world record.

After our long day of walking, a few girlfriends and I decided to get massages from some people in our hotel! I had heard so much about how I just had to get a Chinese massage, and it sure was an experience. Instead of massaging normally, they throw in hitting you and "chopping" your muscles, free of charge. In the middle of the massage the lady grabbed my leg and pulled it over my head, I guess she was "stretching" me. I was just thankful I hadn't pulled any muscles by the time the massage was over!

The next day we climbed the Great Wall of China, which has been the highlight of the trip for me so far. Johnna, my roommate, and I decided to go as far as we could during the time we had. We ended up climbing up to where the wall broke and ended; there are a few spots along the wall that break up and join again with the remaining sections of the wall.  I was surprised how steep the climb was. The view from the top was spetacular. I was amazed the wall was built by hand, especially because the builders would have had to climb through uncleared paths to drag the pieces up the side of the mountain.

After exploring the Great Wall, we headed to an area of Beijing known as "798," after the address of the factory building its located at. While it used to be a factory, it has since been replaced with modern art galleries. We were joined for the day by former ABC Vice President Harvey, and he actually introduced us to one of the art gallery owners, an American with a crazy relocation story and a passion for art and life in general.

For dinner some friends and I headed to Hard Rock Cafe, in need of some protein and meat that we could recognize. After dinner we went into a little shop to look at purses, and the lady helping us insisted we followed her to see more "designer" purses. Since there were four of us, we decided to live on the edge and follow her. She took us to this underground store full of imitation purses and bags. It was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen, and very very illegal I'm sure. 

We spent the next day visiting a Peking University and hearing from a few professors. We are now back in Shanghai, and heading to see the World Expo tomorrow!