Leman Prep School China 2017

March 21, 2017

After an overnight flight, the group arrived safely in Beijing. Everyone was tired after the long journey, but we collected our bags, changed currency at the airport, and then got on a bus for our hotel. The bus ride was about an hour from the airport to our hotel in the center of Beijing. We arrived at the hotel and settled into our rooms before dinner. Since everyone was tired, we went to the restaurant at the hotel for a few quick bites and then went to bed early. Everyone was ready to sleep!

March 22, 2017

This is the first day doing actual sightseeing in Beijing! We all had breakfast in the hotel, then took the subway to Tienanmen Square. There, we visited the Square and the Forbidden City and learned about the history of these places. Lunch was in a restaurant known for cooking duck and we got to try some new foods. Then, we went to the Temple of Earth for a tai qi class. The Tai Qi Master taught us new moves, including kung fu on our request. Everyone in the team absolutely loved it! We even extended the class an extra half hour to keep learning more. For dinner, we went to local restaurant for dim sum. We tried a lot of steamed dumplings and a dish called braised pork and they were delicious. So, we had to order twice to get more of our favorite things. Now, we are in the hotel, everyone is tired and we’re off to bed straight away. It was a good day!

March 23, 2017

We at breakfast at the hotel cafeteria. There was a variety of Chinese foods such as fried rice, vegetables and soup noodles. Then we walked to Bamboo Bicycle Beijing to learn about their efforts to encourage low impact transportation methods. We made lamps and speakers from bamboos. We then ate at a Chinese restaurant where there was dumplings and a lot of other different Chinese foods. We then went to the drum tower, where we had to walk on a very steep staircase, and saw a drum  concert. We then met Lars, for a walking tour in the Hutongs, which I thought was very interesting. Finally, we went to eat hotpot, which I thought was very delicious and kept me warm.

– David

March 24, 2017

Today was a really fun and exciting day where our group was able to experience China we had not yet seen. First thing in the morning, we traveled to a hotel and spa where we enjoyed hand made noodles and were able to shape our own. After a quick tour of the grounds, we headed over to the Great Wall. After an hour of walking, we decided to take the slippery route down. With the cold biting our heels, it was a much faster walk. Then, we went to the market to buy souvenirs, where we experienced haggling for prices for the first time. It was really funny watching shop owners yelling at us and eventually give up the prices we wanted. Lastly, we went to a restaurant in a village where we ate delicious cold meats, salads, and soups. I thought the best part of the day was going down the Great Wall because while it wasn’t as difficult as climbing up, we were still able to see the same beautiful landscape.

– Isaac

Today was a fun day.  Everyone went to go eat breakfast, then following that we departed to go to the Great Wall. Before that we stopped at a hotel and spa where we learned how to, and ate noodles. After, we got the chance to walk around the hotel and see some of the amenities. Following this, we went on the bus to the Great Wall. I had a really fun time walking up and down and found it to be probably the most fun experience in this trip so much. After this we went souvenir shopping where we learn the skill of price negotiation. Once we finished doing this, we went to eat dinner in a village that had a very unique and tasty flavor. Once this was done we took the bus back to the hotel  in  which many people fell asleep on. Overall today was a really fun day that was a lot of hard work but was also very rewarding!

– John

After eating today we took a bus to a hotel called Brickyard where we had noodles we made ourselves and some tea. The noodles weren’t the best but it was enough to keep me full and warm enough to travel. From the hotel we took another bus ride to the Great Wall. The ride gave me some sleep as well which I enjoyed. When we got to the Great Wall, it was mostly steep and a little hard to breathe because of how high in the air it was. The stairs seemed to be never ending but didn’t seem to bother me since the it was good exercise and had a good view. The actual wall itself felt a lot different from anything I’ve really traveled on so I really enjoyed the journey.  After we traveled in the wall we went downwards to get some food and got ice cream before we traveled down again. Isaac, John, Lisha, and I walked down the stairs while everyone else took a cable car. The walk down wasn’t nearly as bad as walking up and the walk down was more peaceful, especially since I don’t like heights. When we got down we had a chance to buy souvenirs which was fun because we had to negotiate prices and had to make sure we weren’t getting scammed. It was fun until I was ripped off 110 Yuan for two ski masks and David got his for 25! Regardless it was still fun and made me test out the little mandarin skills I have. Lastly we had dinner in a village that gave us tasty fried bread and some pork that was similar to the one we had yesterday. After we ate we took a long bus ride back to the hotel which made me really tired. Overall I feel this activity today was probably my favorite because of the journey we went on and the people that we interacted with on the way. Even though the Great Wall was a lot of work to travel through, the journey makes me want to comeback again in the future, (Hopefully in a better weather condition).

– Dweh

Today was a really tiring, yet fun day where we got to travel to a different part of China.  The first thing we did was travel to Brickyard, a small hotel where the group got to watch a demonstration and then attempt noodle making, and then getting to try three different types of noodles with toppings. Afterwards, we were given a quick tour then headed to the Great Wall. The wall up the stairs was very tiring and not what I had expected at all. Once we got up there though, the view was beautiful and definitely worth the climb. After the climb, we took lots of pictures before most of us headed down in a cable car.
– Samoi