Air-pocalypse is over!

Whew sorry it's been so long! A lot has happened-


The air quality improved! No more not being able to see buildings!

 These are from my first smog free run!

If you look closely, you can the hump building in the distance.
It probably has a name, but I call it the camel building.

As a cultural activity we learned how to stuff dumplings in different ways, then we were judged on the beauty of our dumplings. We then boiled them, but unfortunately mixed up the veggie and meat ones, so eating them required a bit of cautionary excavation.

Dumpling making! We won the most beautiful dumpling prize! 

Filling for our dumplings!

Yummy street food! I'm such a rebel, it was spicy and cheap and good. Also featured, some delicious dragon fruit- which I was going to peel (bc that's how my host family had eaten it) but my roommate gave me the most incredulous look when I announced it- she recommended cutting it in half and scooping it out. Which in retrospect makes a lot of sense, as that's what I do with kiwis, and these really resemble kiwis. 

We made sandwiches!  As close to BLTs as we could do in China, and we made a lot of smoke but didn't burn anything. 高琳 says it was good, I hope it actually was, I had PB&J, which she said was not enough for me to eat, so she wanted to make me my favorite dish, eggs and tomatoes. I, of course, agreed to eat it if she made it. So we got out our eggs...

Only to discover they had frozen! 怎么办? 

Place them in hot water? It worked enough to make some delicious food!

Yum. Plus other classmates had made rice, and they insisted I eat some, because there was no way I was full yet. So we had an American-Chinese dinner! I love Chinese people and their encouragement of me eating food. 

Below is more street food, also delicious. Yum.

My super cheap cup with chrysanthemum tea! A regular afternoon event. Relish the sight of this Chinese beverage, those of you still in America :) 

We went to the national library! It's the biggest library in Asia (?), and I now have a "readers card"! There are a lot of people sleeping in this library. Sorta like American libraries.

Ahhh I love this. 

Free drinking water! The cups are made of paper. 

In front of 高琳's college! We blocked the first and most important character, of course.

There is no hot water in her dorm (so for showers they have to walk to another building) so students like to keep their hot water outside after they pick it up, so they don't have to haul it up stairs to their room, then back down, and then up to class). Usually there are alot more than this, but it's almost break so there aren't many students around.

At a more typical cafeteria (I've been to 2/6 now!) 

And let the endearing food items begin!

Apple Cider Vinegar drink, in different flavors!

Oreos in different flavors!

That's how I like my goats milk.

I like my flavor crispy crispy

Off to the cake shop/高琳's University's district, which has lots of other universities, and thus lots of students and delicious and cheap food items.

Cake shop! All for me. 

Well, not quite, there were three of us! Elsa, 高琳，me

Mine is blackcurrant cake! So good.

We ate on the top floor of the cake shop, which was built for short people like us. Zach and Frank would have been crippled by this ceiling height.

This is Korean, but still has some good almost English. In case you can't see, "Date & Fate, bring us fate n make us date" 

Also with story panels! 

Tomorrow we venture to the great wall! Should be an adventure, I've been told to wear as many layers as possible by my roommate, she also gave me a heating pouch. I'll let you all know how it goes.