A New Day in China

This morning we woke up at 5:45 from our very painful sleeping arrangements. The beds were long so as to fit about 6 people and very hard. The nice thing about them, however, was that they were heated by coal from outside the house. With the exception of some girls and guys who were too tired, we gathered together in the courtyard area to begin our hike. We even had to wait a while for our guide (80 year old chain smoker who knew these mountains better than any of us) to get better shoes on; this made some of us worry about what we were about to climb.

Apparently we were at the highest point of the Great Wall which makes for a spectacular view of the sunrise. It was about an hour long hike and at times it got very steep. The steepness in combination with two inches of snow and layers of leaves on the ground provided a great recipe for a lot of people to slip on the way up and down. Words nor pictures can express the beauty of the huge, red moon as it set behind the mountains at our back. About three-quarters of the way up it was really bright so I was under the assumption we had missed the sunrise.

Fortunately, there was a tall range of mountains the sun had to get above before we could see it. From the tower we were at there was a great view of the Wall as it Wound across mountain ridges and down into the valley behind us. We got a lot of pictures and enjoyed the sunrise, then went down. Some people preferred the ski method, others slid down on their butts. Once we arrived back at the village a wonderful breakfast of plain steam buns, noodles, and egg-rice awaited us. Our crew hit the hike back to the buses shortly after the eating finished. Since the top of the peak that morning to when we finally got to the bus, I have never felt so much pain in my toes. I wore running shoes and thought my toes were frozen solid. Turns out they weren't but I don't want a repeat of that.

The bus ride was long and quiet. We stopped at a rest station to use the bathrooms. I had to go #2 over a squatting toilet (I'm still amazed that they manufacture these anymore) so it took me longer than the others to get back on the bus. So, when I did walk back outside, the buses were pulling away. The first thought to go through my head was "oh no do I have my cell phone," then "I hope someone sees me waving." Fortunately, Dillon saw me and the bus stopped. The rest of the bus ride was sleeping time for everyone else and I read and journaled.

Once we got back I went home then showered and did laundry. They only had a washer so I am hang drying my stuff in the closet. A bunch of us went to the back after that to exchange money. The exchange rate is about 6.25 元 for every US$1. We got our cash then walked around for a while. I didn't have too much time before I had to be home for dinner so I got an apple from a stand and walked back.

At dinner, we had this pretty good (probably too salty) noodle dish. They offered me the shrimp we ate 4 days ago and had been sitting out on the table since; I courteously declined. They taught me a bunch of vocab, which I began to write down in my journal for future reference. They also taught me a few "changyus," or sayings with 4 characters. An example is "ru4 xiong3 sui2 su2" meaning "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Mama said she would be leaving early tomorrow morning on a 4 day business trip. That leaves Baba and I to hang out, and tomorrow we're going to the jingju - Beijing Opera - in a really sweet building that apparently Mama's company designed.

It was a long day, so I started to nod off as I wrote in my journal. That means was time for bed.