The Great Wall of China Part 1: Photos

 I have big long story about what happened the day I went to visit the Great Wall of China. The whole day was more or less a disaster, but the Great Wall part was amazing! SO! Photos first!

Smog! No LIES!

B&W Dragoning Wall

Beijing Air: My Favorite Shade of Blue

Monday-- Look at those mountains!

 I feel silly for complaining about the weather in my previous post because after the rain storm on Saturday, the weather has been gorgeous.  The air quality these past few days is noticeably better: soft, cool, and smells good. Enjoy these photos from my sunroom. I promise more excited smog in the future!

Sunday Evening

Sunday Evening

Sunday Evening

Sunday Night

Sunday Night

Monday Morning

Monday Morning

Monday Morning! Mountains!!

Monday Evening

Monday Evening

Monday Evening

Beijing Air: Yesterday and Today

Yesterday

The first thing I noticed about Beijing was the smog. The smog is thick, heavy, and all consuming. I live on the 28th floor of an apartment building in Beijing and most days the smog is too thick to really enjoy a view. When I arrived the gray misty smog lasted for three days straight. The sky is one color here.

Unlike the gorgeous steel mill sunsets of Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the smog is so intense that it's impossible to mistake it for anything other than what it is: serious pollution. The air quality is a hot topic in Beijing, and most parents will keep their kids inside on a day with a particularly high air index. Unfortunately, most days are terrible, so there is no use battling the inevitable. I would rather be out in the bad air than home doing nothing.

I want to keep track of what the skies are like here in Beijing. Chicago was such a beautiful city and I fell in love with the sunsets and blue skies of the summertime. I want to document the Beijing skyline from my 28th floor apartment, in hopes to truly enjoy the days where I can see a glimpse of my favorite shade of blue. This post has photos of yesterday, a particularly terrible day for air and smog, and photos from today, a day with beautiful blue skies, a far reaching view from my window of mountains surrounding the city, and a pink cloud sunset.

Yesterday

Yesterday

Today

Today

Today

Today

Today

Today

The Present Is Best: Disorganized Midwest Photo Stream

Having been to Thailand just a few months ago, preparing for China is completely surreal. I have procrastinated everything to leave me just these next five weeks to get my visa, get rid of all of my stuff, and enjoy all I have in the US. I intend to update this blog more frequently as Beijing will be an experience worth documenting.

Thailand update: Though it's been a while, I want to share with the world (really, what, 5 of you who read this?) that I received my CELTA certification with honors. I did well. I am certified to teach ESL anywhere on this boring planet and I couldn't be more confident in my choice of lifestyle. I am no artist, no musician, hardly a writer, and an amateur photographer at best. I can, though, communicate and indeed teach people how to learn English. Yay! Professional communicator.