I’m almost halfway done with the program, and I cannot believe how fast time flew! The first day I arrived in Beijing, the smog was unbelievable, I couldn’t even see the tops of buildings. To my surprise though, the next day and every day after has been mostly blue skies or just cloudy and rainy , but no smog which was a huge relief. But as we have learned in class, it is still a huge problem that impacts people’s long term health.
One of my biggest goals next to expanding my knowledge of China’s healthcare system is exploring all of the food options available here. I strive to try something new everyday, and I feel like I haven’t made it to even half of the local restaurants. I have yet to try anything that I didn’t like which is surprising because I’m usually a picky eater. The food is very very cheap compared to the U.S. so it is not difficult to make your way around and try as many places as you can.
The best meal I’ve has thus far is the Peking duck. I was lucky enough to be able to go to a 5 star restaurant with the best quality Peking duck you can find and I think I may be ruined for all other ducks now. I definitely recommend trying it! My next favorite meal is the dumpling place right down the street from our dorm. I have yet to find better tasting dumpling than these. There are my go to when I don’t want to hike to one of the dinning halls for dinner.
This is a picture of the chef cutting the Peking duck for us to eat. I recommend looking at videos on how to eat it properly!
