Weekend!

This was such a fun weekend!!! Saturday was pretty much a chill day around Beijing because a lot of us went out Friday night and we were all really exhausted. Later that evening we all layed around and watched movies-we wanted to save our energy for Sunday. We had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning on Sunday because a few of us planned a trip to go to this park where they have bungee jumping, canoeing, and other fun stuff. It took us a while to get there because we had to continuously transfer from bus to bus and we were all exhausted because we made the stupid decision to stay up all night in anticipation for Sunday but in the end it was so worth it. The first thing we did when we got there was go bungee jumping-I was soo scared it was ridiculous, but so much fun. Before I went I wanted to chicken out so bad but I forced myself to do it and it was without a doubt worth it. The best part was it was not expensive at all. We went bungee jumping, sky walking, and canoeing for 250 RMB, which is really cheap compared to how much you would have to pay for it in America. It was also cool that we got to leave Beijing for a little bit and see more of the other surrounding areas around the city. Where we were was definitely not a big city like we were all used to. The area looked a lot more like the country and people definitely liked looking at us a lot more because we were foreigners-which is not so common in Beijing because there are soo many foreigners in Beijing. The day, however, was really long but so worth it. Going there and back was a pain because the seats on the bus are small but being at the park was great and I definitely recommend that anyone that comes to Beijing sets a day aside to go visit this area.

Other than having one of the best weekends ever I have started to realize that it is officially crunch time. We have our poster session coming up in two weeks and we need to have our abstracts and posters done by then so I really need to get working on those. Working in the lab here has been really great and I have learned a lot, now I have to get working on the poster. It is still hard to believe we have been in China this long, even though it is not long enough for good solid results, I have had a blast and have learned so much from working in the lab. I have learned a lot about the projects the lab does and more science but the best part I think is that the grad students taught me so many new things about working in a lab that will be very helpful when I go back to working in my lab in Ann Arbor. This past week was amazing-now I need to get back to work, I am determined to finish this abstract and poster this week!