8:24 PM - Hello
from Beijing, China! A little under the weather but nothing that being around
amazing people in a foreign country can’t fix. It’s amazing how different two
places can feel from one another. The school that we are staying at (BCCSC) is
located in the outskirts of the city, however we have a driver who takes us
into the core on the weekends. We had an awesome first weekend in Beijing and
in comparison to the more humble look and feel of Shenzhen, Beijing is a city
on steroids, so rich in infrastructure and history – roads are literally 12
lanes wide, masses of large complexes and cultural grounds. We first went to Tiananmen Square and we were completely blown away at the sheer size and
history of the grounds. The Forbidden City can be accessed from Tiananmen Square, and again, another breathtaking sight to behold. The Forbidden City is…
My
ultimate favourite part of the day was attending CCSC’s graduation ceremony at
the ultra private Great Hall of the People. Great Hall of the People is a
stunning government building that is closed to the public and is used by the
Chinese government and Congress. So the fact that it is opened for a high
school graduation, you can imagine how prestigious these schools are. Scratch
that, this was not a graduation. It felt and looked like some extravagant
private gala for freaking royalty or something along those lines, not a couple
hundred 18 year olds. The building was probably one of the most magnificent
interiors I have ever seen in my entire life. Every detail was oozing luxury
and prestige – from the grand steps leading up to the building, the security
screening and body scans to get into the
building, the grand red carpet staircase to the second floor, the marble
floors, the gold walls, men in tuxedos – every moment was a photo op ;). Some
of the greatest memories of the night started literally 20 minutes in – we were
told to take our spots in the 2nd freaking row of the graduating
class of 2013’s class composite photo, alongside ridiculously wealthy,
legitimate leaders and teachers… funny thing is, we have nothing to do with the
graduating class, so we all have this theory that they just wanted a bunch of
white people shoved in the photo (background: we read an article that some
people in China hire white people as
fillers because standing next to a white person exudes power and status LOL). After
our fabulous photo shoot, we went into the banquet hall for a (not so exciting)
ceremony but every time I felt bored, I just reminded myself where I am right
now and all is well. After the ceremony, we headed over to a lush, nearby hotel
for a dinner party. Food and drinks were sent from heaven. 12 course meals are
the norm, obviously and shots on shots on shots of the most disgusting Chinese
liquor in the world.
Ended
the night off with the world’s sketchiest trip to some random karaoke bar. Just
picture it – a group of obnoxiously obvious looking tourists, in some random
venue where no one really speaks English. Looking back, as amazing as that
night was, it was probably a slew of bad
life decisions but am not regretting any of them J
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