Although the internet is filled with more blogs than anyone wants to read, I have decided to create this humble speck of a web page. The main reason is to let all of you know what is going on here in Beijing, but also so I don’t forget all of my stories before I come home. So enjoy my stories and enjoy the pictures. I miss all of you almost as much as I miss Chuy’s.

Today was a blast; we went to Tiananmen Square and the new Olympic stadium (The Nest). Tiananmen Square was pretty interesting, and I got to see some iconic buildings. The Nest is huge. I was expecting something the size of Yankee Stadium, but it was so much larger. Pictures don’t give it justice.

Afterwards we went and had lunch. Meals with a lot of people are a big ordeal in China. 10-50 different dishes of more food than everyone could possibly eat is ordered. Having grown up being told to finish everything on my plate, I feel a little guilty when literally pounds of food are being thrown away.The meal starts with a cold dish, next are the meats, tofu, and hot vegetable dishes, and finally soup. Some of the dishes will take some getting used to (like the white mushroom which looked and tasted like a sea sponge would), but for the most part everything is really good. Today we ordered spicy tofu, fried pork, grilled beef, some great green beans and eggplant, some sort of rice gelatin (think tasteless jello), rice, and an egg soup. All of the dishes are on a lazy susan in the middle of the table and everyone can swing the food they want around the table and pile some on their plate. Last night we had a bigger banquet welcoming us to Beijing, and 5 times more food was ordered. It was quite the crash course in Chinese food.

I am going to go walk around the city a little bit more, so that’s it for today. On Monday I start my Chinese classes, and on Tuesday I start my internship, so expect some updates soon.