Journal Day 9: June 15th

Journal Day 9: June 15^th

What did we do today?

v Woke up… Got ready

v Started early at the Flower Market

v Went to the Bird Market

v Went to the “Ladies’ Market” (not just for ladies… it’s just called that)

v Lunch

v Qianshui Bay (swimming!)

v Went to Victoria Peak

v Dinner

v Back to hotel to swim in the pool

Prompt: Top 10: Experiences, learning moments, funny moments, realizations/ revelations/ discoveries

*Not in any specific order… I couldn’t pick an order… I had too much fun on this trip!!*

Top 10 Experiences~

v Seeing the Great Wall

v Terra Cotta Warriors

v Acrobat show

v Repulse Bay

v Big Wild Goose Pagoda

v Yu Yuan Gardens

v Strange foods… not knowing what it is

v Bartering

v Forbidden City

v Markets

Top 10 Learning Moments~

v Haggling

v Learning some Chinese words

v Chinese home visit

v The Great Wall is held together by sticky rice paste

v Legend of the dragon and his sons

v Traveling to a new country

v Getting around the language barrier

v Truly learning why we travel (See Journal Day 10)

v Tea ceremony

v 15 layers of brick in the Forbidden City

Top 10 Funniest moments~

v Jumping into the fountain at the Pagoda at night

v Tyler having to pee on the bus

v Illegal taxi ride

v Crazy food… on multiple occasions

v Hotel room party

v Swimming at the beach/ pool

v Karaoke

v Singing in the taxi

v Mimicking the poster at the Huaging Hot Springs

v Being laughed at and with, at the Chinese school in Beijing

Top 10 Realizations/ Revelations/ Discoveries~

v Long trips fly by quickly. But… No matter how long you stay at a place, you cannot experience everything.

v Traveling is one giant leap of faith. We don’t know what we’re getting into, but we jump into it for the adventure.

v I wasn’t a picky eater until I didn’t know what I was eating. It’s hard to trust new foods.

v I love flying, but I hate busy airports.

v Currency in other countries is really cool.

v It’s hard to get accustomed to a new culture.

v No matter how much water you drink, when you’re in the hot sun and walking miles on end, you will get dehydrated.

v We take advantage of everyone understanding the same language; whereas in China there are so many dialects it’s hard for the people to understand each other. Since we take advantage of this, we don’t normally have to overcome language barriers. Discovery: Key words, gestures, and pictures are very helpful to helping people understand you.

v The Great Wall is very hard to climb. There are sections that go up on steep, uneven steps. A whole lot more vertical than I expected.

v No matter how much you miss home and your comfort zone, the experience is always worth it.

Alright… this is more than 10… but these two are my favorites.

v While traveling there will be some rough spots, but in our memories we edit out those parts. Keep only the good ones.

v We travel for the little things. They are just as important as the big things.