Goodbye Tianjin...Hello Beijing!

I am no where near awake enough to get everything in my head down into this blog but I'm going to try to post a short update before I forget everything. Today was non-stop. Non-stop. I think the longest, quiet moment Terri and I had today was the 25 minutes on the bullet train from Tianjin to Beijing and even that wasn't really a rest.

So quick recap, details will come when I have a minute...hopefully.

Today started with another breakfast of noodles and tea in the hotel, a walk to campus and Terri's class. Professor Sun, a law professor at Nankai, did a short guest lecture for the students and then Terri finished covering everything that they needed to know. I sat in the back of the classroom per usual but did have a good conversation with one of the Nankai student ambassadors, Yaun (Terri and I are guessing on the spelling...). After class we walked back to the hotel with 2 of Terri's students, finished packing our bags and grabbed a quick lunch at the pizza place next door to our hotel that we just discovered. Mmmm, my mouth is watering again just thinking about that potato and sweet potato pizza. Yummy.

After lunch we grabbed our bags, said goodbye to Ming and caught a cab with Yaun who Ming had tasked with getting us to and on the bullet train to Beijing. I have to say without Yaun I don't believe Terri and I ever would have been able to navigate that train station. He was an enormous help. He directed the cabbie, carried our bags (that one I couldn't believe), helped us buy our first class tickets for the train, got us thru security, up the elevator and to our departure gate. The boy was simply a blessing. He probably would have gone all the way to the train door with us and helped us into our seats if they'd let him. But alas without a ticket the gate was as far as he could go. He did, however, send us off with very detailed instructions and watched us go down the escalator with one last "I'll miss you." It was cute.

The bullet train was something else. Other than subways and the El I had never (to my knowledge) been on a train before and the bullet train was an great way to start it. Despite what everyone said I did not get sick when looking out the window. This train was amazing. It took the 2 1/2 hour bus ride we had our first night here from Beijing to Tianjin and cut it down to 25 minutes flat. 25 minutes! The fastest speed Terri and I saw the train hit was 335km/hr. I took some video to share (man I love my little camera) but again will have to post that once I get back to the states since YouTube is a no-go here. Different city, same firewall.

Getting off the train and up off the platform to the exit was an adventure in itself. I've never really felt like a fish caught in a current before. We really had no choice but to just go with the flow. Very difficult when you're trying to carry a laptop bag and 2 small suitcases. We managed to make it though and at the top of the escalator, right thru the exit gate, there was our guide Andy with a sign, in English, that read "Terri". Not that he would have a hard time finding 2 Caucasian girls in a sea of Asians though, lol, but the sign was good for us to identify him, that and the fact that he is a very tall Chinese guy.

After quick introductions Andy walked us to our car for the weekend where we met our driver, loaded our luggage and headed straight for the Acrobatics show. We had arrived a little later than Andy had hoped so we had to delay checking in to the hotel until we were finished for the evening. Not really a problem for us since the car had a nice big trunk to store all our luggage in and the fact that the driver stays with the car even when we're out and about. Andy got us our tickets to the show, helped us to our seats and then said he's meet us in the lobby afterwards. This show was really, for lack of a better phrase, off the hook. These people were bending and twisting, jumping and soaring, it was CRAZY! Terri at times said they almost gave her a heart attack from some of the things they were doing on bikes or in the air. If I had only a 1/4 of the upper body strength these people had, well, I could kick some serious butt. Now I know they said no photography or video taking, but my little camera is small so I managed (with sounds and flash off) to sneak a few quick photos from between the seats and a couple really cool videos since Andy got us seats in the 2nd row.

Once the show ended and we were able to get our stunned little bodies out of the seats and into the lobby we found Andy's smiling face in the crowd. He led us down the street to our car where we proceeded over to dinner. Tonight I had my first hot pot dinner and boy was it delicious. Lamb, beef, veggies, mushroom soup and noodles (that came with a show, also video taped). So much better than fondue and I have to say I think I'm getting pretty good with chopsticks, finally. I was able to fish meat and vegetables out of bubbling vats of soup and broths with no problems tonight. Go me! Not sure my skillz were enough to impress Andy but I am proud to say that I have only used a fork once since arriving in China. Once, during breakfast at the hotel. How's that for being a silly American? I even turned down a fork/knife when offered the other night at dinner. Go me!!!

Dinner was followed with a trip to the Olympic venues here at sunset. Andy had it timed perfectly. The bird's nest, the water cube, national stadium...it's just so much to take in. Right now I can't put into words really just how amazing, how breathtaking, they really are in person. TV last summer did not do them justice. No, not at all. Since a photo is supposed to be worth a 1000 words I'll let them do the speaking for what we saw tonight. Just know this, I don't think my camera, any camera, would be able to capture their beauty in the way they're meant to be seen....

The sun set fast and soon it was too dark to really take photos anymore. That was our clue it was time to leave. Andy lead us back to the car and then to the hotel where, since we were checking in late, he managed to get us an upgrade for the weekend. Can we say YAY! This hotel is swank. A true 5 star in every way, well, maybe minus the fact that we don't have WiFi in the room. But AC and a wired connection, OH and a soft comfortable bed are good by me. I'll have to post pictures of our room with tomorrow's posts for everyone to see.

Still trying to take everything in I sit here in the dark typing this entry (Terri is already asleep) and resizing pictures. So much happened today and this was really only a small snippet. There are so many more details, little stories, jokes and adventures that if this hadn't already taken me over an hour to type I would get into. Hopefully in posts to follow. Tomorrow is a busy day. Terri and I are meeting Andy at 830 for breakfast (it's almost 12 right now) which will begin our non-stop day. Andy said it will be go-go-go and hot, but it will be exciting and fun. I can't wait! So with that I'm off to get some beauty sleep peeps....peace out!