wandering around on a Sunday afternoon.

in the Haidian District.

The physical size of this city...the amount of space to hold nearly 21 million people...is overwhelming.  It is too much to mentally absorb.  Frustrated by this, I often get lost in the underground labyrinth of the subway system.  It's the easiest way to navigate around the city, and the vastness of it is forgotten while you're literally rubbing shoulders with fellow Beijingers.  With my backpack on and my earbuds blasting my favorite playlist in my ears, I deal with everyday life.  

However, a few weekends ago, I grew tired of this, frustrated not with the city, but with myself.  And so, after my traditional weekend breakfast at Lush, I braved the cold but clear weather and wandered around my district for the rest of the day, encountering some beautiful parks, close-knit neighborhoods, and quiet university campuses.  I grew to love and appreciate this city even more.  

the flu in Beijing.

the People's Hospital of Peking University.

It's difficult to know if you're really sick, or if the pollution has simply gotten the better of you.  I have run fever several times while living here.  However, my body fights it off, and it disappears after a day or so.  I always attribute it to the pollution and high level of germs/bodily fluids in the city.  However, after teaching my morning classes on Monday, something felt a bit off, and I knew this feeling was different.  I was feverish, achy, nauseous, and diarrhetic. After the school nurse stuck a thermometer under my armpit for seven minutes, I was instructed to go to the hospital. 

Don't worry.  Going to the hospital in China doesn't mean the same thing as in the states.  Chinese doctors hold their practices in hospitals rather than in private offices.  

And so, I was accompanied by our school's assistant, Amy Song, to the ever-famous People's Hospital of Peking University.  It is a huge hospital that boasts being the best in Beijing.  

We took a number and waited about 15 minutes before being taken back into the doctor's office.  He had on a mask, so I could only make out his eyes.  My symptoms were translated to him, and I was instructed to go pay the cashier for blood work to be conducted.  After my blood was drawn, I sat alone for over an hour (Amy left me to go run some errands.), dozing off as my head felt like it was going to explode out of my forehead.  I was awakened by a Chinese nurse yelling, "Wirriam!"  

I called Amy, who returned five minutes later, and after listening to another long stretch of Chinese communication between her and the doctor, Amy told me that my white blood count was high, and I was to be administered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and intravenous antibiotics.  Amy went to pick up the TCM (which totaled about 350 RMB...about $58), and I was hooked up to an IV while sitting in a hard plastic chair.  I was joined by about eight other sick people, all receiving intravenous antibiotics with masks over their faces.  When Amy returned, she carried about ten boxes of medicine tucked under her chin.  Each box had different daily instructions, all written in Chinese.  My jaw dropped.  Amy wrote out the English translations, taking her about 15 minutes, and then left me for the evening, wishing me good health.

After about three-and-a-half hours, I scraped myself off my seat and stumbled back to the subway to go home.  My head was pounding, and my fever raged (They don't believe in Tylenol here.).  But 24 hours later, the TCM kicked in, and I miraculously made it through my first bout of the flu in Beijing. 

the Great Wall. the Ming Tomb of Wanli. the jade factory.

experiencing a bit of Chinese history.

(02 Oct 2013) Josie arranged a trip to the Great Wall for all of us (Josie, Maria, Wil, and me).  Despite it being planned in the middle of the Chinese National Holiday, the experience was one to remember forever.  

We all loaded onto a mini-bus along with about ten other English-speaking foreigners.  Our Chinese tour guide, Jennifer, was knowledgable and very...candid.  After her introduction to all of us, she said that she never recommends this tour during the National Holiday.  It was going to be overcrowded, and we would be sitting in traffic for hours.  By the time she finished speaking about our tour, reminding us that we all knew nothing about Chinese history through a barrage of trivia questions ... followed by, "Do you know this?  Oh, you do not know this.  I will tell you"... we were all a bit bewildered.  She then promptly collected our 210¥ fare.

Two hours of sitting on the highway passed by as we all napped, and we arrived at our first stop: the jade factory.  This place was very cool.  I now know how to test the material of a piece of jewelry to determine if it's glass, marble, or true jade.  After a short tour of watching workers making happiness balls out of a single piece of jade, we were set loose in the jade retail store, AKA a place for clueless, touristy suckers to decrease their hard-earned VISA credit card balances.  I didn't do too badly, leaving with a low-priced bracelet and roped necklace.  

Second stop: the Ming Tombs.  There are many Ming Tombs,on scattered around the outskirts of Beijing, but one of the most famous ones is the tomb of Emperor Wanli, the Dingling Tomb, constructed from 1584-1590.  The tombs are located about ten stories underground, and they are a series of huge rooms, all connected by hallways.  The emperor's tomb is the size of a small house.  Check out the picture of the Chinese people throwing money onto it, believing it brings good luck to them.

Other rooms included tombs of Wanli's two empresses, all of their thrones, and other relics.

Emerging from the underground series of hallways, we were on top of a mountain, approaching the tower.  The architectural details and scenery were beautiful.

Upon leaving, we walked through the Heavenly Gate, stepping over its threshold with the left foot first, while reciting a Chinese saying to ward off death.  It was educational.

Final stop: The Great Wall of China Mutianyu.  There's too much to type here, so in a nutshell: CONS: Drive to the top of the mountain took over an hour, and included getting out of the mini-bus, hiking up the mountain for 30 mintutes because of the traffic jam, then getting back into the mini-bus (which caught up to us) only to drive the remaining five minutes to our destination.  On the hike, had the WORST public bathroom experience of my entire life.  Lunch at the base of the Wall was terrible.  A money-sucking, touristy pseudo-village is required to walk through in order to get to the chair lift of the Wall.  PROS: The chair lift up to the Wall is spectacular.  The scenery from the top is breath-taking.  They sell Snickers bars on the Wall.  My descent from the Wall was on a tiny toboggan atop a stainless steel slide.  Awesome.  Finally, The Great Wall of China truly deserves to be one of the Wonders of the World.  

Enjoy the pics.