Trip to Beijing 3

I got up late morning today. Maybe it was at 9:00 a.m.? So we drank a cup of corn soup which I brought from Japan as a breakfast. I dressed up, and first we went to the bank to exchange the Japanese money to Chinese money. There was a guard standing in front of the bank. We went into there and received a ticket as we do in Japan and waited a few minutes. It was a difference which I found between a Japanese bank and a Chinese bank that the front desk was glassed in. It had a small hole which we could receive the money from. I was just looking him exchanging. It seemed to be bother because it was needed to write something.

After that we went back to dormitory. It would be noon soon, so we went to eat lunch at a restaurant, which had Thailand’s dishes. We ordered fried potato, which formed round and was like a ball, and stir-fry, meat dumpling, pineapple juice which had some pineapple pulp into it, and so on. I felt the rice was a little dry than Japanese rice. Of course these dishes were delicious!!

Then we went to the Beijing zoo today! As soon as we went into the zoo, we found the Giant Panda’s place and watched them. It was a first time to watch Giant Panda except TV program. It was much prettier than I watched on TV!! The giant panda didn’t move first, but it began to move a little! It turned again and again with its body lay. It was so cute!! It seemed to be like a father resting on his holiday. Next, we watched many kinds of animals, for example monkey, rhinoceros, hawk, bear, tiger and so on. I felt the Beijing zoo was much broader than the zoo in Kumamoto. Each animal place was far from another that place. When we watched bear, the bear moved little. We thought the bear had fallen asleep because it was winter. The bear was so cute too. Then, we watched hawk and took a picture of it. There were some little holes which a hand could be in. The persons who were taking pictures of hawk said, “Take pictures from the hole and you can take good pictures!” It was a good chance to take pictures because a hawk was near us and the hole. I could take good one! Then, we found a lion’s monument which was being made. It was so big!!! In the zoo, there was the aquarium too. We didn’t go there, but I thought we could watch every animal in the Beijing zoo! We took pictures in front of the fountain, whose water froze a little because of cold weather. At a shop, I found a unique design tie, which was Giant Panda and so cute. So I bought it for my father as a present! We enjoyed there.

After that, we went to go shopping to downtown in Beijing by subway. There were many shop buildings and a wide and long street! First we enjoyed shopping at the street shops. It was a Chinese atmosphere and very exciting! I found some odd foods there!! Scorpion, starfish, caterpillar, these were grilled and stuck on a skewer!! I couldn’t believe that people ate these. I didn’t try to eat. On the other hand, there were some foods seemed to be delicious. I ate strawberries wrapped melted candy and picked on a skewer, which was like Ichigoame in Japan. It was sweet and delicious! Also I tried to eat a grilled lamb on a skewer. He said it had a peculiar smell before I ate, but it was no smell and good taste. In the street, some clerks talked to me in Japanese, “Why don’t you see my shop and buy something?” They spoke Japanese a little and talked to visitors. It seemed to be invitation of club in university. haha Then, we walked the big street and entered another store. I bought souvenirs there for my friends and family and grandparents. For my grandparents, I chose tea. When we bought it, we could drink a cup of tea. The scent was very good!! I liked and took it. For my family and friends, I bought candies and snacks. I hope its tastes are good. After shopping, we enjoyed taking pictures of the view of the downtown with walking. There were still a few Christmas decollations. In Beijing, it was still Christmas!

At the night, we went to eat dinner at a restaurant near the dormitory. It had a lot of kinds of okayu and these were cheep. Do you know Coriander? It is sometimes called Chinese parsley. It is often used into okayu in China. But I don’t like its taste! Yesterday, I heard from the senior that Coriander smelled like stinkbug and she didn’t like it. I agreed it! We could order okayu without it. But he wanted me to eat it once! I never want to eat it again. Of course okayu was delicious if it didn’t have Coriander.

On the way to go the restaurant, we walked a street, and there were some people selling things on the street. At nights, there were often these people, so we could enjoy shopping. I thought we didn’t find such a little shop in Japan.

After dinner, on the way to go back to the dormitory, he bought a fruit at a shop on the street. It was his recommend fruit and cheep than we bought it in Japan. We ate it as a dessert. It was good!

We got back to home early today, and we spent in the room and relaxed with watching TV. I was tired to enjoy sightseeing, so I was very sleepy. I went to bed early tonight. [973 words]