Jen & Clare Flee the Western Hemisphere

Yesterday's word of day is yusan, which means umbrella。 During our first full day in Beijing， it poured and we ended up crowded into an archway in one of the gates between Tienaman Square and the Forbidden City. After lunch, during which it seemed like everyone was watching us attempt to use chopsticks, the rain finally lightened and we made our way to Tienaman. We wandered around beneath the gaze of Chairman Mao, taking in the Great Hall of the People, the Monument to the People's Heroes, Mao's Mausoleum, and the National Theater。No less than five people wanted to take pictures with us on our first day in China -- we're just as much of a spectacle as the monuments and buildings. It took us an hour to cash traveler's checks at the bank -- the teller used both a computer and an abacus to do the calculations and stamped literally 10 different papers during the process. Jennifer took a break in the middle of it to go vomit outside but felt much better afterwards. Interestingly, there are tons of Chinese tourists here too. When we visited Mao's mausoleum today to see his body, people were crying and laying flowers by his body. For dinner last night we went to the Night Market where they sell lots of things we weren't adventurous enough to taste. Jennifer has an excuse because she's still a little under the weather. Clare's only excuse is that the grasshoppers were remarkably large and the sheep penis looked a little under-cooked。 We indulged in a variation on moo-shu, dumplings, corn on the cob, fried dough, and a fruit kebab instead.