1st Impressions!

Friday, March 5, 2015:

It was exciting to go to the airport because I have not been on a plane in years!  The ride here seemed like it would never end.  I kept checking the in-flight tracker but it moved so slowly.  Before we landed, we flew over the Mongolian dessert, according to Rob. We saw a lot of sand out of Sijia’s window and that was really cool, but as we flew closer to Beijing the ground basically disappeared.  I could see the smog before we landed, covering all of the buildings, and it was pretty bad.  At least, it is not what I am used to.  Right now it looks like there is a constant sandstorm. The airport smelled weird, and outside it smelled smoky and unnatural.  As we drove to our hotel, I noticed the architecture of the buildings. They are unique and aesthetic—I love it.  I also noticed a variety of construction throughout the city, further showing how Beijing is constantly developing.  We drove past a park with little dogs everywhere, lots of food places including KFC and McDonalds, and many other shops that looked interesting.  To me, it was a mixture of a familiar city in a strange environment. I expected to be surrounded by people since the population is so much bigger here, but honestly I feel more crowded walking to class during the day in Pittsburgh. I was surprised by the amount of people since we talked about how many there would be. 

The hotel we are staying at here is modern and tailored to westerners. It took me and Claire awhile to figure out how to turn the lights on since you have to place the room key in a special slot, but I guess some things will be new regardless.  I actually found that smart because that way electricity doesn’t get wasted when the person is not in the room.  After freshening up, we went to a restaurant on the top floor of five in the Glory Mall, which is a mall filled with clothing shops and food stands about a block away from our hotel.  I actually enjoyed the Szechuan Gourmet in Squirrel Hill a little more than this place, but I will wait for at least a couple more meals before judging whether or not I like authentic Chinese food.  Also, they didn’t really serve much water and that is not something I am used to.  I suspect it is because clean water is so scarce. 

We were able to look around the rest of the mall afterwards, so naturally we ended up exploring the food stands. I purchased dark chocolate crisp gelato (28 CNY, so less than $5, which is similar to US prices) and it was delicious.  We browsed the bakeries and finally are back at the hotel.  I am exhausted, but I can’t wait for the Great Wall tomorrow!