more of China...

Since I am home sick recovering, I thought I would post more pictures while I have ample time. It is very boring to be home sick in a foreign country... it is also uncomfortable being sick in a foreign country. You know how everyone will tell you to eat chicken soup when you are sick there, well... here everyone thinks the solution is kongi (rice cooked with lots of water turning out the consistency of tapioca pudding...with NO seasoning...iiiikkk). Anyways... the pictures...


This is Billy and I at Chau-Yong Park in east Beijing. It is a huge park and very nice, especially being in the middle of a city with 20 million people! Like most parks in Beijing, there is an entrance fee... which is annoying... but which also makes it nice because few people go to the parks, and it gives the park the money to keep it very nice. So in a huge city bustling with hordes of people, the public park is an escape. It was a lovely evening and we actually got to watch something of a sunset! (rare in this city)







This is an old worship site at the park also. Now they have replaced the altar/or place for burning incense with a bell that rings now and then... It looks pretty cool with the moon there. (Sorry, I couldn't figrue out how to get it rightside up?!)






Billy loves Italian food... it is his favorite kind of food and he has managed to learn how to make many different Italian dishes (the authentic way). So... being the engineer that he is... he did research and found out about this restaurant that is said to be "the most authentic Italian in Beijing". So... we had to go! :) It was really good! A nice change from rice and seafood! The funniest part was that we asked for bottled water to drink (because if you don't ask, you just may get polluted tap water... I mean really polluted). So they brought us out this water that is imported from Italy! One bottle cost as much as one of our entrees!


I love this picture because it is so typically China. These are two school boys playing with the lid of a manhole. I mean... really playing. We watched them for awhile. People actually get seriously hurt here falling into open manholes. I mean, someone removes the lid--probably for a legit reason like working in it-- and then doesn't put it back... the result... you are walking one night and fall in! Anyways... these boys are near a busy street and lots of people were walking and riding by, but no one said a word... so China of them! :)








Lastly, this is me at our dining room table studying Chinese. You can see a little bit of our view... and you can see that Chinese diet has slimmed me down (a welcomed change!).




OK... that's all for now...

tami