Amazing times

 Hello!

  I hope you enjoyed the photos on my last blog post. When I get home on Saturday I will add lots more photos and hopefully some video footage as well. 

 Just after my last talky blog post - which I believe was last Wednesday - I went out with a small group for a massage. The massage parlour we went to is not far from campus and the massages are done by blind masseurs. 

 I was a bit put out when I found out that everyone intended to have full body massages; I had been expecting just head and neck. I had never before had a full body massage, and was more than a little apprehensive, yet it turned out to be quite a pleasant experience. Certainly it was a new experience, and I'm glad I went through with it in the end. Thank you to Hai and Abi for being very kind and reassuring to me.

 After this there is not a lot to report for a few days as I was ill - as was a large proportion of the group - with some kind of flu-like virus. I was laid up from Friday to Sunday, but on Monday I was beginning to feel a bit better. In class on Monday we had our first taste of the HSK exam, which is the Mandarin Chinese exam we have been working towards during our language classes here. 

 We did a practice paper and I got something like 67%, 60% being a pass. We have done two papers since and I got 85% on both, which I am quite pleased with.

 Anyway, back to Monday - New Year's Eve. After lessons we went to Laker's and ate together, then some people went clubbing, and those of us who were ill, had been ill or just fancied a quiet night in gathered in Ziggy's room, which was converted into the best cinema in Beijing, and we watched the DVD of Miss Congeniality. I had never seen this film and I really enjoyed it. Thank you, Ziggy! It was a lovely night.

 New Year's Day saw us scaling the Great Wall of China, or part of it anyway. I only made it part-way up the bit we were climbing, but some people got right to the very top. To say it was freezing cold is an understatement. But it was worth the cold to see the beautiful views we got from up in the mountains.

There were lots of souvenir stalls and I bought something I'd been hoping to buy for a long time - a cloth wall-hanging thing of the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals. I will post a photo as soon as I can. It is lovely.

 A group of us then went to a restaurant which was really cool because you had a little barbecue stove in the middle of your table, and you would select raw meat, seafood and vegetables from a buffet and cook them on the hob in front of you. Obviously you have to be a good judge of when things are cooked properly. As I am not an experienced food-y chef (baking is more my thing than meat and stuff) I relied on Hai to be the judge, and she did a great job of picking out nice pieces of meat for me, so thank you, Hai ♥ I also found out she is a Pisces like me!  ><))))> <((((><  <- Supposed to look like two fish.

 Then it was yesterday, the second of January, and after lessons and an economics lecture I jumped upon a group who were going to the Bird's Nest Stadium, as this was the one place I was absolutely determined not to miss at any cost. We got a cab there, and when I first saw the stadium it was the most amazing moment. 

 I had thought it would be all grey, but it is lit from the inside in the most glorious ruby and amber colours. It is a truly beautiful and spectacular sight. I think of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics as the great TV event of my lifetime so far, and seeing the place where all of that happened was a really special moment for me. 

 The Olympic Park as a whole seemed very beautiful and a nice, peaceful place to spend some time. What I liked was that you can see the mountains in the distance, between the buildings - the natural beauty of China is always there if you know where to look.

 When we got back from Olympic Park I joined a group who were going to the Legend of Kung-Fu, which promised to be, "More energetic than River Dance." (according to the Deputy Irish Ambassador to China). It is in the highly impressive-looking Red Theatre, which was what felt like quite a long taxi ride away from our accommodation, but it was so worth it. 

 The show was amazing. It is the story of Chun Yi, as he grows from a little boy first learning kung-fu, to the Abbot of his monastery. I have a phobia of loud bangs and was afraid loud pyrotechnics may be used, but thankfully for me it soon became pretty obvious there wasn't going to be any of that kind of thing, so I could relax and enjoy the show. All the effects were created using lights, dry ice ( a LOT of dry ice) and on one occasion, bubbles. It was a real spectacle.

 I really liked when Chun Yi and the beautiful fairy were dancing together in the bubbles; however there was so much dry ice being blown into our faces at this point I could barely see some parts of this beautiful scene, which was a shame. 

 Another scene I loved was when Chun Yi, having fallen from grace, is sitting in remorse and the old master comes up to him and wraps his cloak around his shoulders and passes him one of the small bells that all the monks play. He begins to gently strike the bell, and the other monks appear, all dressed in white like angels, and they perform a very simple but extremely beautiful and emotional chant, as Chun Yi realises he is forgiven and is in good hands, among friends. As a scene it is so simple yet so effective.

 Today, those of us who are studying the economics module did our presentations - my group's presentation was about inequality in China with regards to wealth and income. I then went with some others to a fish restaurant, where we shared fish stuffed with vegetables, noodles and tofu. It was a lovely evening, so thank you to Abi for inviting me!

 Tomorrow we have our final lessons and then the closing ceremony, where each of the three Mandarin classes will do a performance - my group are singing Beijing Huanying Ni. I can't wait to see all of the performances!

 Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you are enjoying it.

 Liz x

PS the moon here is amazing!