Beijing Language And Culture University Conference Center

... It is free to visit Mao, but you have to declare your cameras, check them and check your bags. All of that cost us 25 yuan! We had our bags screened twice and had to show our passports a few times.

We did not have a long wait to see Mao. At first it looked like his head was lit up from inside, like a glow worm, but as we got closer, we could see that they have lighting on him. He is in a glass topped casket and is surrounded by glass. It did not take us very long once we ...

... white shirt group all hugged each other and the older lady went to tears. The medal ceremony followed immediately afterwards on the sand. Several people left to escape the heat. We stayed to watch the ceremony and sing in on the anthem. Considering how we got in, we weren't going to leave early. Jen pointed out to me that everyone in the white shirt group had a picture of one of the American players on their shirt with name titles on the back saying "mom, dad, uncle, sister ...

... by the hand and baby on her chest sprint 3 blocks to show me a bus stop once. The area I stayed, Qianmen in the old Ming city, right next to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, was incredible. Extremely bustling, mostly with Chinese people, and the architecture was all in the old style built in winding mazes of Hutong alleys. I loved staying there, always someone interesting to talk to and at night I could get beat awfully at Chinese ...

... was amazing though, before the batteries started to die. Today, Saturday, we got up at 3am to help lay out ropes and cables for the overhead cablecar system. This was quite a process, laying out almost a 1/4 mile of rope from one tower to another, then attaching it to a pulley, then returning back to the original tower to make a clothesline kind of loop. This loop was then used to pull a ...

... out this weekend that the Chinese people pay no income or sales tax, making me all the more inclined to want to work here. There are more issues (if everyone understands me) that I have changed my opinion on and being here has certainly alerted my world view. Two more months and lord knows what will happen to it. There was an interesting news story that I read (with a grain of salt) yesterday about photos that CNN doctored. One CNN photo ...

... rays comes the rebirth of seemingly every part of the city....Ooo poetic.....and a tad trite which isn't very spring-like....but we'll continue...actually NOT rebirth but replacement. Creative destruction? Destructive creation? At night They knock down poor-looking concrete flats (possibly with poor people still inside, using poor people to do the work...poorly) and with the dawn come fresh buildings emerging from beneath the rubble, their shiny new windows ...

... we are looking for the 808 bus, and he motions for us to follow him. We walk further down the street, as the man begins to tell us how he wishes to go to NYU (he was easily 35 years old). He tells us that the bus is only around the corner, but wanted us to come in his store for one minute so that he could give us his email address. I felt a scam coming on, but figured 'what the hell'. After we exchanged email addresses, he asked our names. He ...

..... such was the excitement as the group made it on to the train at Beijing's Western Railway Station. The station itself was an experience - an enormous mass of humanity, mostly sitting on massive bundles and waiting....We caused quite a stir - nearly 90 westerners marching through the station to our "special" train. The train had been built originally for high ranking party officials but refurbished ...

... by Lauren Weisberger "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton "Dracula" by Bram Stoker "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho "Everyone Worth ...

... for under US$ 400.00. So it's a done deal and we agree to meet the next morning at 8:00 AM to hit the bank for some cash and buy a Ural at the market. He asks me for M10,000 (about US$10.00) so he can take a taxi to his village and get some clothes and a bedroll ad he'll be back in the morning. So at 8:00 I'm outside with Chris the other American, and I'm still there at 9:00, and I'm still waiting at 10:00. But I'm not completely stupid, so ...