Beijing, China

Unfortunately, I think I have become jaded to certain things on this trip.  Today in Beijing, I saw The Forbidden City and The Summer Palace all in the same day and I was disappointed at the end of the day because we did not get to see any modern architecture.  I am grateful for the opportunity to visit these places, but I can only handle so many Chinese gardens and ceremonial spaces; they all start to look the same after a while.  The Forbidden City was still cool though because since the beginning of China, it was the location of all politics and power.  The emperors lived and worked in The Forbidden City.  As cool as the city is, it is still difficult to appreciate the place because I am not very familiar with Chinese history.  I am also sad because I do not think that we will get to visit the Olympic Park.  No Bird’s Nest pictures for me.  In addition to The Forbidden City and The Summer Palace we visited the Landscape Architecture School of Beijing Forestry University.  This is where Lin and Chin completed their undergrad education before coming to Ball State.  We all realized how lucky we are to have them with us because the LA program at Beijing Forestry University is the number one program for LA in China.  Lin showed us to a small art store similar to ArtMart at Ball State.  I was so excited because I was able to get a lot of sketching supplies for dirt cheap!

Today is Drew’s 21^st birthday so we all enjoyed a drink with him at our hotel this evening.  The place where we are staying is really nice; it has a small bar and pool table in the lobby.  We hung out downstairs for a couple hours celebrating with him.  Jake and I were 2 for 2 as pool partners.  It was a pretty great night away from homework.  Tomorrow is the day we visit the Great Wall of China, just another one of the many significant days to prepare for.