p.t.p.o.p. playground.

Thankfully, I have nursed myself back to full health and yesterday I was functioning as the able-bodied youth that I am. All of the well-wishes helped!

And how would you celebrate getting healthy while in China? Why, the Forbidden City of course! Five of the girls took the subway (this time, it was exactly how you picture a Beijing subway...packed to the gills with people...kiss your personal space goodbye) to Tiananmen Square and entered the Forbidden City. It was a "high smog index" day so pictures didn't turn out very clear, and all of us were winded just walking up the stairs. But still, it was amazing. Built in the early 1400s, it is amazing that it has survived all that it has, and I love that in a city of 16 million people there is still this HUGE space set aside dedicated to the history of China. Seriously, there are just giant open courtyards inside... easily could be filled with skyscrapers to house thousands... but they remain untouched.



All of the buildings have beautifully ornate decoration on them. Some have been restored, others, even with peeling paint, were remarkable. The Imperial Garden was magnificent too... giant, old trees nestled between pagodas and temples...lotus flowers next to golden statues... mosaic river-rock walkways... it was worth inhaling all of that smog to get to.

Without a tour guide, we did our best to understand the buildings and what they were used for, but really, it was just an overwhelming place. So much history was within those walls... so much history that means so much to the People of China. When your country has been ruled by dynasties for 4000 years, its powerful stuff.

Additionally, if you have a fascination with the phenomenon I like to call "People Taking Pictures of People," a historic landmark in China is a GREAT place to be. I was bouncing with glee by how many PTPOP there were. (If you are unfamiliar with my concept of PTPOP, it is where one person, with camera, backs away from his/her friends/family/colleagues...aims, says something like "cheese" or "smile," takes the picture, and then returns to the group with the camera. This is an elaborate choreography of culture and technology... people fumbling with unfamiliar cameras, groups of people lining up digital cameras for one person to take repeated pictures of the group, different ways of posing in front of whatever it is the people are being photographed in front of... I just love it. I can't even explain it! Do you know what I mean? If not, next time you go anywhere where people have cameras, watch the way they take pictures of each other. It will change your world.)

Later that day we got to bonding with the QUT and Emerson students on the 10th floor roof terrace we commandeered. Had the air not been so thick with heat, sweat and smog, we could have seen the beautiful lights. Instead we had about 200 meter visibility. But for a summer night, you can't ask for much more than sitting outside with good company and some bevs. That's one thing we can all understand.

FTB:24.