Our ten days in China were very interesting. Jere and I visited our daughter and listened to her rattle off in Chinese to the cab drivers and sales clerks. She has become very Chinese in her thinking and bargains with the best of them. We visited SIAS University and the surrounding city and park.
We enjoyed seeing the historic sites in Beijing and walking on the Great Wall of China. The Summer Palace is a peaceful place located on a huge lake with many willow trees surrounding it. I enjoyed the architecture of the Temple of Heaven. The emperor believed there were 3 levels - earth depicted by clouds, the atmosphere depicted by a dragon and heaven depicted by a phoenix who could both swim and fly. They also had animal sacrifices - very close to Jewish beliefs. We had to visit Starbucks in the Forbidden City - the very old with the modern.
We had a good trip and expanded our horizons. The rides in taxi cabs where definite times of prayer. Watching the dance between the pedestrians (who do not have the right of way) and the vehicles was difficult at first. Extreme caution is needed when crossing the street. Didn't see anyone injured while we were there.
