First day on our own!!

This morning we started with class from 8:00- noon. We had the afternoon as free time. Today I realized I am in another country where English is not the main language and Spanish does not help!! Ordering lunch was a challenge. I understand why people lose weight when the come to China... because they cannot order!! I tried to order Vegetable Noodles... and below is a picture of my meal
This is a picture of beef noodles. They ended up being very delicious. Let's just say- it was a big challenge ordering food!! After lunch we went to the Wu Mart to stock up on drinks. Bottle water is a necessity. We also got some other interesting drinks. So far I have had one that taste like a flower :-)

After lunch, Wes and I decided to venture out on our own. Beijing city map in our hand and walking shoes on our feet!! We ended up walking about 9ish miles searching for the Summer Palace. After asking several people for directions and probably looking helpless a "black taxi" stopped and told us he would take us to our location for a small fee... since we didn't know where we were going and he wouldn't take no for an answer... we hopped in! The Summer Palace was beautiful! Amazing architecture. Here are some pictures from day one exploration.