Study Tour: Beijing

 DAY EIGHT

         Today we met up with Larry again at Tiananmen Square. It was strange being in a place with so much history. There is such power in the events that have transpired here. A very special experience.

         Unfortunately, my least favorite moment of all of China, as well as my proudest moment, occurred here. Mao’s mausoleum is in Tiananmen Square and thousands of people go through it everyday. But think about it. It’s basically like going to the tomb of Hitler, except a hundred times worse.

         I’ve never felt so physically and emotionally uncomfortable. It was such a horrible place to be. And thousands of people go there! People bring flowers and place them on a statue. Others will pray to him, which was so sad to watch. These people adore this monster. I wanted to get out of there as soon as I stepped inside. But I did do one thing that I decided to later put on my bucket list so I could cross it off. While we walked through the room with his “body” in it…I might have spit on the ground. A moment of triumph for America.

         After that train wreck, we went to the Temple of Heaven. This is the building they built in Epcot to represent China. It was gorgeous! It was fun going there because all around the grounds there were brides and grooms taking wedding pictures. It was cool seeing their Western style dresses, Chinese dresses, and then awkward scantily clad prom dresses. But adorable nonetheless.

         Then we went shopping. We went to the Silk Market, which is one of the huge fake markets in Beijing. Bartering is probably one of my favorite things to do, but shopping is not. So really I only go there so I can argue with people.