Our last night

 Ni hao!

 Our last night in Beijing was always going to be very special and rather emotional as we didn't know when we'd next be together. Therefore, we wanted it to be as wonderful as possible and to make the most out of each others' company.

 A large group of us chose to spend our evening at Lakers - it had proved to be very popular during our time in Beijing. I ordered chips and some hot chocolate.

 It was lovely - so much so that I drank about three cups of it! Some people played table football, some of us just sat and chatted, but when Gangnam Style came on, we all just had to get up and dance! 

 Here are some photos of Lakers:

Glasses hanging from the ceiling!

 After Lakers some people decided to go out clubbing but as I had to get up early the next day to catch my flight I went back to our student accommodation for my last night's sleep in Beijing.

 As April and I wandered back through the moonlit BNU campus, I reflected on how amazing this experience had been, and I felt sad that it was coming to an end. 

 Mainly, however, I felt very grateful and happy that I had been given this opportunity to travel to the other side of the world and see, hear, taste, experience in every way possible this fascinating country and culture.

 It was a lovely last night of a life-changing three weeks.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Friends and cake

 Hello!

 Between my last post (Boxing Day) and New Year's Eve, I don't have many photos because I was ill for a few days with a flu-like virus.

 There are a couple of things that happened before I got ill that I don't have many pictures of but which were nice - I had a massage, and I went out for lunch at the Friendship Restaurant with friends. Both were lovely.

 This is Beijing Normal University campus at night; I took these photos on the way back from the massage.

 And this is the Friendship Restaurant.

 On New Year's Eve, I was feeling better and I went out for lunch at a coffee shop/café called Sculpting in Time with Kasia, Dinesh, Rick and Steven. We ordered four slices of different cheesecakes between us which we all shared. They were delicious.

Cool mug

 It was so nice... being with friends and eating cake; what better way to spend time?

 We then had an economics lecture, after which we went to Laker's for a bit, then a group of us - Marvi, Keisha, Ziggy, Jenny, Abi and I - watched Miss Congeniality in Ziggy's room, which had been transformed into Beijing's best cinema. 

 It was a brilliant day and night with great friends; I couldn't think of a better way to welcome in the new year.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Our first Friday - sunset and restaurant

 Hello!

 I want to share with you some photos I took on our first Friday in Beijing - the Winter Solstice. Some photos are of the Beijing sunset from our apartment terrace, and the rest are of the paper-burner dish that we enjoyed at a restaurant; a paper-burner dish was was something I had never seen before.

 Firstly, the sunset - it was truly beautiful and I love the view of the mountains beyond the city.

 That evening Abi, Scott, Sally and I had a lovely meal at a restaurant to celebrate the Winter Solstice, which is an important festival in China. It was a gorgeous evening and it so nice chatting with the others and getting to know them better ♥

 We ordered fish balls and noodles in a "paper-burner," and I was intrigued as to what this would be. We were given the food in a paper dish with a little stove burning under it - it was really amazing and something I'd never seen in a restaurant before. And the fish balls and noodles were delicious.

With flame

Without flame

The restaurant

 In the background of these pictures you can see the big glass of mango drink that we shared; we drank it out of little dishes - see left side of third photo. The drink was delicious; it was somewhere between a juice and a smoothie and was unlike anything I'd ever had before - as is the case with many things I experienced in China.

 I loved the Winter Solstice and am so glad I got to spend it in China with such amazing friends.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x