Everyone looks like me!

I managed to pack my life into the suitcase by Thursday morning and hopped into a funky smelling cab for Dulles airport. A blink of an eye later, I was in China.

Beijing welcomed me with monsoon-like weather, which is probably better than if it were blistering hot. The city has settled from the adrenaline of the Olympics and is now preparing for the Paralympics that will begin on Sept. 6. One of the first things I noticed about Beijing was the improved air quality; the city has planted trees and flowers all over and there are significantly fewer vehicles on the roads. For the duration of the Olympics and Paralympics, the city implemented even/odd number driving. If your license plate ends with an odd number, you can drive every other day starting the 1st of the month, and same goes for even numbers beginning the 2nd. This excludes government vehicles, taxis, and public buses. Approximately 3,300,000 vehicles are on the road in Beijing daily, this rule reduces that number by nearly 1,600,000...pretty smart.

In China, due to the large population, people in their 40s and 50s are forced to retire to make room in the workforce. So, a large percentage of the population is just "hanging out" and must find activities to occupy their time. It is common to see these "senior citizens" practice Tai Chi, exercise, congregate to gossip, and dance in the neighborhood. My aunt dances twice a day and loves it! There are approximately 400,000 people in the neighborhood where my family lives so the dancing community is pretty massive. As you know, China is 12 hours ahead of DC, and by 6pm local time, my body was desperate to sleep. In attempt to stay awake till actual bedtime, my aunt took me dancing. I stuck out like sore thumb in my tank top, jeans, and flip-flops, as the other women wore heels and long and flowing skirts. They take this dancing thing pretty seriously. I three-stepped with my aunt to a few Chinese folk songs, "Edelweiss," and "Where is Thumbkin." Yes, you read correctly...Where is Thumbkin. I did well; my flip flops only fell off once. I went home to catch some much needed Z's around 8:30 and my aunt stayed out till 10...what a wild party animal!