Tienneman Square & The Forbidden City

Yesterday Phil and I went to Beijing for a day of tourist activities. We visited Tiennemen (sp?) Square and the Forbidden City. Apparently Tienneman Square is a large empty square surrounded by government buildings. One of them supposedly has Mao perserved under glass. However, it wasn't open yesterday.
The Forbidden City is HUGE! We could spend a week there enjoying everything. The detailed painting on the outside of the buildings is amazing to me. None of the insides of the buildings are on display. Phil got a shot of me doing a yoga pose where I put my feet to my head in one of the tiny pagodas in the complex. I was a bit worried I'd get yelled at, but instead, I became a huge Chinese tourist attraction with many random people coming up to take my picture. Keep in mind that a lot of Chinese parents make their children pose with Westerners because it's unusual and exotic for them.
The subway was an experience all of its own. I'll write more on that later. Just think SARDINES. Yikes!
The best part of the trip was when Phil and I were in the taxi back to the retreat and he taught me the Chinese direction words for: straight ahead, left, and right. I was able to direct our cab up the twisting and turning and unmarked lanes back to the retreat. I felt very successful!
Based on my limited experiences trying to learn German and Chinese, I realize how much easier it is to learn a new language that that I am familiar with my learning style. It's made a huge different for me. I can't believe such information is neglected in official language learning schools and programs. (Sorry, personal soapbox there.)
Anyway, I'm going to try to go somewhere on each of my days off so that I am forced to speak and practice my tiny amount of Chinese. Very cool!