Hi Guys!
So, I am currently sitting in a local little cafe shop, “Tomorrow’s Party Cafe” pretty sure it is called “Beautiful Time Cafe” but we have coined our own name for it, hahaha classic americans. For those of you who are the coffee shop kind of studier, this local little nook is a gem. Just a heads up, coffee here is expensive compared to everything else- but…. SO WORTH IT. I tried to give it up because I knew it was something that would put a dent in my wallet, but quickly succumbed to my cravings! However, a more cheap option is the bubble tea, not as much caffeine, but also super freakin’ good. There are COCO shops all around, which are chain bubble tea shops that offer so many different flavors and tapioca options. For anyone who has had bubble tea in the states, multiply your experience and love for the drink by 100, and that is how satisfied you will be with COCO, trust me. (see photo below) 🙂 
The nearest CoCo to where we live is in Wudaokou, a very hip and fun bar/restaurant scene that has many foreigners. Wudaokou is reliable for some good western food: with restaurants like LUSH- (pancakes and fries are bangin’ there), and Beijing Yixin (good sushi!!). It also has a great night life where you can watch some sports games and grab burgers. On that note, I highly recommend getting a subway card for Beijing. It has allowed me to really check out so many different hutongs (villages) and fun restaurants easily. The subway system here is super easy because it has tons of english and there is an app “Beijing Metro” which lets you search which stop you need to get off at and what transfers you need to make. I go on the subway at least once a day as it is super cheap and convenient because there is a stop literally 200 meters away from our campus!
There are tons of different parks that are beautiful to explore and visit too. My favorite have been Beihai Park and Houhai. Both have fun village streets near by that you can shop (make sure to bargain) and eat some local street food. Be careful with the street food, often times my body likes to reject any cold dishes… not fun, haha. Houhai has a lot of jazz bands that come to play around 8 PM if you go and grab dinner there. It is really fun to listen and sit by the lake or take a stroll. All the restaurants and shacks have lights so it’s really cool to take a walk after dinner and burn some calories from your super inexpensive yet amazing dinner. Below is the first dish I ordered on my own…. I was stoked it was the right thing when I tried it. 
Speaking of this food, I am getting hungry. I think tonight I will head to Korean BBQ! 🙂
I hope this has helped you guys!
Jules