The Great Wall

We had a great first day in China! We got up bright and early and made it to breakfast in time to eat a quick bite and meet Jerry in the lobby at 9:30 am. We then went to see an old Chinese community set in the middle of Beijing called a "Hutong", which means "side street". There we took a Rickshaw ride and got to visit a Chinese family's home to see how they lived. The conditions of the house was clean, but very modest and very small. Jerry says that even though the conditions are not the greatest, the families are very fortunate because the houses are passed down from generation to generation and most young Chinese people have a very hard time affording a house. Most cannot buy. We met the mother in the house, and also her father-in-law. Her husband teaches Kung Fu, and was in the academy with Jet Lee. Her son lives in Houston and is teaching Kung Fu there. The grandfather, who is 94, was teaching Jason some moves and poses with the family's collection of traditional weapons.



Next we went to a Jade factory. Jade is valued by the Chinese people. They say it is the heart of the Chinese people. The saying is "Gold is pricey, but Jade is priceless". We purchased a "Happy Family Ball" that is carved out of Jade, which we saw a craftsman making the same. It is several balls inside other ball--each moves freely but you cannot remove. In the very center is a dragon, which means good luck. It means that the family cannot be separated. We are told because of all the detail it takes at least two weeks to make each one. Once we were done shopping, we went upstairs to the restaurant and had an amazing Chinese meal.

Once we were done eating it was a 30 minute drive to the Great Wall. It was absolutely breathtaking--and treacherous. The steps were very steep, and all of them were of various heights. While there we saw some Vietnamese monks visiting and climbing the wall also. The newest section of the Great Wall is 500 years old---and it stretches 4000 miles long. We took lots of pictures while there. I kept getting stopped by local people who wanted their picture taken with me because of my curly hair, lol. It was kind of a weird experience!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the 2008 Beijing Olympic stadiums! We were able to get some pictures of the bird's nest and the water cube! Jerry was actually a volunteer during the Olympics and got to see many games, including the USA basketball team (which apparently is very popular in China), and Michael Phelps.


After a nap at the hotel, Jason and I set off on our own and walked a couple of block to McDonald's! Along the way we saw the Beijing street food vendors that we saw on a Bizarre Foods episode with Andrew Zimmerman. Lets just say there were definitely some strange smells along the way!


Tomorrow we have orientation with Holt and then we go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We are excited to be getting closer to Kinley every day! Love and miss you all,


Heather

xoxoxoxoxo