Day 1: Beijing by Hannah

Hey guys!!! (this is Hannah by the way ) Day one of our fabulous journey is coming to an end! It has been an amazing experience so far just to see and be a part of the culture!

First off: I recieved about 4-5 hours of sleep last night which I greatly appreciated. We met our guide Leo in the lobby at 9 this morning (we were a tad late because my backpack broke and mom had to sew on it)! Then we were off to the Great Wall! On the ride over there Leo gave us a quick lesson on counting and more in Chinese (I dont remember much). He told us about the Chinese culture, which I took notes on, and it was VERY interesting. I think my favorite part was when he told us about how they celebrate birthdays on the lunar calendar, which would mean Mari-Grace would celebrate hers on March 23, instead of April 28! Cool huh?? I thought so!
Right before we hit the G. Wall, we were able to go to the Jade market and let me tell you it was AMAZING! We bought a couple of things, none for me though, and we were off to the G. Wall!
So I climbed pretty far up the Great Wall with Leo, mom and Aunt Kammy waited for us down below and part of me wishes I would've done the same!!! IT WAS HARD!!!

Second: After the Great Wall we went and ate lunch at some place! Yeah, I don't remember the name, but I think it had the word Friendship in it. After eating we headed towards the Summer Palace. This was probably the most beautiful place that I have ever seen!! (Actually I know it was!)

Third: We walked to A pearl market, but not THE pearl market that we've always heard of. It was called Bang Fu Chun Pearl Store. What a name huh?? Here the lady was going to show us how to tell the difference between real and fake pearls, and also how they recieved the pearls! I was able to do the honors of picking a oyster from the tank that they were in and it happened to be 5 years old. In this oyster there was about 20 pearls! From those the lady gave me 2 free ones to keep!!! They are small pink ones, but can you say EARRINGS!!
From there we went to the silk factory and got to watch silk be made! We actually got touch it throughout the process and got to help put part of a thin layer on this blanket thing they were making!! I felt honored...well kinda !

Originally posted on Jellybean site. . . .