beijing.

time has been flying.. already a week in beijing, and no blog-report. the weather change here has been a treat from the last two months of heat, although our now tropical skin is finding the humidity levels difficult to adjust to! beautiful fall foliage and crisp air. i love it. i also love that i just got back from enjoying a day out with my parents, sisters, grandma and the "twisted sisters", aunt, uncle, cousins.. how amazing to be able to meet up with family on the other side of the globe! they continue on an action packed tour, and we reunite again in 10 days for the infamous wedding..

we've been slowly conquering new areas of the city, checking out different city buses and subway stations.. the architecture in this city is phenomenal, angled skyscrapers of all different shapes and sizes.. the streets are clean, and people obey traffic laws moreso than anywhere we've been thus far (which means a lot, but i am still terrified crossing the street)..

a few days ago we took a day trip out to the ming tombs and the great wall. it was the coldest day yet, but that meant for perfect conditions while we were walking the wall.. we drove an hour further than the badaling section because we were told that was the most touristy.. it was wonderful because there was hardly anyone else there, and the scenery was amazing. mountains fading into the horizon and history at your feet. we took a gondola up and roller-coastered down on plastic seats in a metal half-pipe.. (both, obviously, original features..)

i also celebrated the monumental age of 22 in beijing.. went to the zoo, which was fantastic.. pandas and zebras and alligators.. monkeys and lions and pythons.. we were quite annoyed at how many people were feeding the animals, and took it upon ourselves to put an end to it, pointing at the signs and talking sternly until they got the point.. except one time we started heckling a guy, only to find out he worked there.. he should have been much more grateful that we were keeping things in order! that evening we went out to a pub street near our hostel and went all out, china style.. and did it all again for halloween! beijing didn't know what hit em..