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Friday, June 08, 2001 3:20 AM
ok, ok, so i always say that i don't know when i'll
get to email again, but it seems that beijing has
quite a few internet cafes. this one is near tian'anmen square.
we have the day to ourselves, so a couple
of us decided to head on over to the air-conditioned
cafe after shopping.
wow! saw mao's tomb. i couldn't really stare, as they
wisk you through pretty quickly. it is a very large
building and people are lined up for quite a ways to
get a glimpse of their communist hero. the casket is
encased in glass inside of a glass room. two military
men are in the room guarding the casket. you cannot
bring backbacks or cameras inside, so one of our group
stood outside to watch our things. mao's face is
pinker than i thought it would be. probably the nature
of the preseratives.
we also strolled through the forbidden city. it is a
city, indeed!! i don't think i even saw 1/3 of it.
many toursists were also at the city. parts of it were
packed with chinese visitors from rural areas wearing
their matching baseball caps so they could keep
together. my friends and i were able to get into some
less populated areas to explore. (partly because our
bus parked at the rear gate rather than the front).
we get a lot of looks. one of our group is very tall
and she has been asked to be in family photos of the
other asian tourists. in general, we have been treated very well
here. many of the chinese have not seen foreigners, as
they don't frequent china (as i have been told). they
are not as used to seeing groups of white people like
we are of seeing different races. so, we don't mind
the stares.
it is incredibly hot here. probably the hottest day,
since we didn't attend classes this morning, and spent
all day outside. i'm sure you can check your internet
weather source to see what i am up against (i don't
want to know!!)
so, i mentioned that we were going to the silk market
the other day, but it wasn't the silk market we were
supposed to go to. luckily, i only bought one thing,
and today at the "real" silk market! glad i waited. i
still have not bought a lot, as we have two cities
still to visit.
did i mention that it is really hot? i am in air
conditioning. hot hot hot.
so, i have a lot more time to compose this letter
today, as you can see. i don't have to be back in tian'anmen
square for another hour. there is a nice
laminated dessert menu hanging right next to my
computer....!! may have to order one. the names are:
icecream spaghetti, holiday in rome, pretty girl, and
summer celebration!
so, the great wall is on sunday. tomorrow we go to the
summer palace and to the perl market. i will go home
and hydrate tonight with some gatorade and get to bed
early.
i miss you all! i will have lots of pictures and
stories when i get back.
love,
ingrid
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