I awoke the next morning on my stiff Chinese bed surprisingly well rested. My fellow travelers and I were disappointed to learn that Facebook is censored by the Chinese government. This is my first exposure to the effects of communism. Censorship is definitely not an accepted practice in the United States so having that freedom taken away is definitely a culture shock.
The first thing planned on this full day in China is a lecture. The lecture is offered in one of the nearby buildings of the hotel in a comfortably warm conference room. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our lecturer is a young Chinese woman named Claudia who speaks excellent English and is very passionate about Chinese culture and history. The lecture today detailed different places that we will tour over the course of this trip. I am most excited for the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I genuinely enjoyed learning the history behind these sites as well.
Looking back on my education in high school and earlier, I can honestly say that I have never covered anything that deals with Asia in great detail. I think that this is something which is very lacking in American education. Asia has a rich, ancient history which I found very interesting and should be an important aspect of educational breadth. And speaking of education, we also had our tour of Tsinghua University today. The University is primarily an engineering school which has turned out numerous members of Chinese politics. The campus is gorgeous with large buildings and far reaching grounds which include a lake and traditional Chinese style pagoda. I could definitely see myself earning an engineering degree from this school especially when the tuition is so cheap in comparison to American schools. If only I spoke Chinese!
We also had our welcome lunch this afternoon which was very delicious. I enjoyed the duck and vegetables the most. And for dinner we went to a restaurant in the U-Center. I ordered Mango Juice which, like the Almond Juice, was served warm to my dismay. It seems as though warm beverages are much preferred in China, which I believe is the opposite of America. And one last note, Beijing is no longer intimidating to me.