First few days in China!!!

Well here I am in Beijing, China, and I can't say its all that I expected. There was definitely a shock for a few days, but I think I am finally adjusting. Wednesday, June 9th. the day of my arrival I got to experience downtown Beijing, China and some traditional Chinese food. On Thursday, June 10th. I traveled to The Great Wall of China which was AMAZING and in the afternoon to an organic farm. The farms in China are very different (in some ways) from American farms. The actual farming practices are similar but the way they are run are different. I had originally assumed the farm was run by an individual or a family, after getting laughed at I realized that is not very easy to find a family farm in China. Most farms are run by the government and farmers/farm workers are hired by the government. This specific farm has contracts with local markets as well as markets in Hong Kong. Because this farm is an organic farm we discussed several different ways they keep the pests off their plants, such as bug zappers and sticky paper. The guy joked, “we are creating a bug that eats all the bad bugs.” The farm was very interesting but not quite as advanced as American farms. Of course being an American I stick out like a soar thumb, I have had many people (especially at the Great Wall) try to sneak pictures of them standing by me, a few even asked to take a picture with me. :) Today Friday, June 11th. I will be visiting the Forbidden City, and also seeking out some more familiar food for my stomach!!