Hi,all! I have decided to go sequentially in an attempt to stay organized. I will use some excerpts from my journal. Here goes: Its really cool seing a whole city of all Asians. I mean NO other nationalities do I see. We look exotic to them and when I was at the Forbidden City, a few people came and wanted their photo taken with me! (little did I know that type of thing would increase depending on the city...FUN) We toured the Forbidden Palace which was quite stunning and massive. What most impresed me was the garden that the Emperor made for his concubines. We are very tired at this point as we went straight from the airport to Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City and we got rained on quite a bit and I discovered my raincoat is NOT waterproof! Beijiing is a very lush and green city many Weeping Willow trees and the apartment Buildings look rundown next to super mondern office/high rise buildings. I seem to have recovered frm my sadness spell as the sights are so awe inspriring! Photos Next

Let me start by saying the 2012 Study Tour was amazing. When we arrived in Beijing, we were met by an exceptionally competent guide, Gao Qing Juan. Her English name is Jean Gao. I found this interesting as we continued on through our tour. Many Chinese citizens have English names. It made me wonder, what is my Chinese name? Anyway, Jean was extremely knowledgeable and professional without being too stiff. Every bus trip was a mini-lecture giving us background information about where we were going or perhaps what we were seeing at that time. She brought many of the sights and places to life. For me, Tiananmen Square was the highlight of the first day. The energy in this square was electric. I totally understand why Chinese students chose to demonstrate in this square. You can't help being energized by the effervescent Chinese spirit. The people are warm, beautiful, and friendly, although many of them have little or no regard for lines. Some group members may have been tired but I could have stayed up for days. The food was interesting, plentiful, and good. Every meal was truly a feast. We were treated like emperors and empresses.
edited by straylor on 7/23/2012

The 2012 Study Tour was filled with such memorable moments but the first day as we touched down in Beijing I could really feel the excitement and anticipation we all had as we drove towards Tiananmen Square. Standing in the world’s largest public square was quite the experience. They had this epic Disneyish music blasting out of loud speakers, which added to the ambiance. The vast majority of visitors were Chinese from places other than Beijing just like when people within the US visit LA, NYC, Florida, etc… It was surreal visiting a place in the world I had only read and seen images of. After about twenty minutes we quickly made our way into the Forbidden City. The sheer size and fact that for 500 years common Chinese could not access the city is incredible. For as much as I enjoyed walking from courtyard to courtyard snapping shots of palaces and Chinese lions, dragons, and phoenixes, I couldn’t help but think what Chinese people felt towards being denied access to a city for such a long period of time but then was self-critical in comparing this to what my opinion would be on places in the US where status or income denies me access to. Anyway, as Steven mentioned I probably could have continued running on adrenaline that first day until jet lag kicked in. It was a great start to an epic study tour!
edited by elopez on 7/26/2012

I remember four years ago, when the Olympics were in Beijing, looking at the televised footage of the city and thinking how cool it would be to go to China. At that time, if someone told me I would be standing in Beijing before the next Olympics unfolded, I would have just laughed and shook my head.

So, walking around Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was completely surreal for me. I remember I kept touching things, almost as if what was in front of me was not really there. I thought the Square was a lot smaller than I had pictured it in my mind (how did that tank roll down it during the student protests?), and the City was, well, a city!

I think that is why traveling to the places we teach about is so important; among other things, it gives a sense of scale and dimension. Now, when my students ask me questions about the Forbidden City, I have pictures to help me describe, but I also have memories of size and depth and such. I know how big those temple dragons are in relation to me, and I know how those buildings seem to stretch into forever.