Ghost Street and Temple of Heaven

After a long twelve hour day of training, Max, Matt, David and I went to Ghost Street, an area of Beijing that has cheap late-night Chinese food. We ordered a lot of food to share.....a large bowl of Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup, spicy cucumbers, hot buns, steamed rice, egg rolls, sweet and sour pork, Cashew Chicken, and some large beers. The food of course was delicious and we were stuffed afterwards.This morning we had to be up for a huge staff photo at the Temple of Heaven. We have a staff of 900 local and international workers. The picture turned out really well. Our uniforms are either bright red or baby blue and we were lined up on the steps of the temple. I will post some pics when I get the chance.

 Today, was the first day since I have been ere that we saw clear blue skies. The temperature was also wonderful, mid 80's fahrenheit. We milled around the Temple for a while and then boarded buses back to work. It was great to get out of the office for at least a morning.The temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism. On this Saturday morning, because it was the weekend and also a beautiful day, the park was filled with local chinese who were dancing, playing games and socializing.

At this point I have been in Beijing for nearly two weeks. I thought at first I would get a little homesick, but I have had bonded with several friends. Since I have been here I have made so many great people. Matt, and Dean are from St. Louis, David is from Chicago, Trevor, John, Julia and Leslie are from Vancouver, David and Sam are from Utah, and Max is from New Jersey but has lived here for almost a year. I am loving the international flavor and having the chance to meet people from all over the globe.
6 DAYS UNTIL THE OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONIES.....the excitement is building.