Today was a very busy day. We got to celebrate Merritt's 32nd birthday by visiting Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. We also had famous Peking Duck. How many birthdays do you get to celebrate like that! It is still so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we are half way around the world and in China. It is just such a surreal feeling.

I find Chinese history so intriguing. As one of the oldest civilizations in the world it is full of such a rich history. And what is really amazing is how many of the beliefs and traditions have survived. I wish I could have really captured in photos what we saw today but I just couldn't do it justice. I had no idea the Forbidden City was so large. It was really a "palace" but it was so large it was called a city. I wish we could have made it farther up the Great Wall but it was such a hard climb and we didn't have very long there (maybe if we were in better shape we could have gone faster but holy shmoly it was hard). It was truly incredible to see.

The food we had for lunch today was so good and we tried it all (and there was a lot) from Peking duck to Kung Pao Chicken to fried eggplant. Definitely not the same as the Chinese food we get at home! I was also initiated today with the use of my first "squatty potty". Quite the experience. I'm really wishing I had done some squats and lunges before this trip!

I'm actually surprised we weren't more tired but the jet lag doesn't seem to have been too bad. Okay, we are exhausted tonight and were ready to fall into bed by 6:00, but I think that was more from all the walking, being out in the cold all day, and mostly from the climb up the Great Wall more than the effects of jet lag. Tomorrow we have to be up at 4:00 a.m. to catch our flight to Changsha, Hunan.

Only 2 more sleeps before we get Maggie!