The Wall


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Asia » China » Beijing » Great Wall of China
September 17th 2012
Published: November 27th 2012
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The Wall:

Oh, how I’ve missed my 2nd home- Beijing: (My 2nd home because of the amazing Liu family, my 2010 host family).

So, I’m biased…a little…but I just absolutely love Beijing. Not only because of my host family but because of the rich culture and history that you can find on every street corner…well for the most part…every corner…

The Great Wall hike and overnight stay that the BRIC group did this semester was worth every painful- almost life-ending step that we took on the empty wall path. I have been on the Wall 3 times now, and this last time was the most memorable and breathtaking because it was the longest hike and the best least used path I have been on. Even if it was exhausting, to have a family who was just truly welcoming as we entered their home for the night, was extremely home-like.

The first time that I was on the wall was when I was 6 years old? Maybe? During a family vacation in China for 2 months, I want to say- it was in the summer heat and I remember that I could barely climb the steps. And there was just SOO many people, everywhere.

The second time that I “climbed” the wall I went up the trolley machine….and went down on the slide….thing…that they built. So I was only on the wall for a bit and it was the nicely kept steps in the more touristy area- even though there was still not many people in the Spring day that we were there, it was still well kept compared to what I experienced this Fall.

So this Last time that I went, it was definitely a new experience- I have been fortunate enough to experience different parts of the wall each time that I’ave been and at different seasons, I would recommend to go during the Fall- it was the perfect weather- you got extremely gross and sweaty because of the hike but it’s not too hot to endure like the Summer, or even the Spring.

I even decided to balance my footing on the side of the wall…where the ropes from the beginning scene in Mulan attaches to…the grooves between the bricks I suppose…to get to a landing point, just to take a picture. I even scaled a couple of walls to fit myself just on the side of the Wall…where, when I think back, if I lost my footing even in the slightest movement…down the wall and hills I’d go…

Now, the next time that I go to the Wall, I would like to be on a camping adventure with a couple of my best friends – the lovely ladies who experienced the Wall with my during the Spring in 2010, I think that’d be a lot of fun…so let’s see if I’ll be able to get them to go and hike/camp at the Great Wall for a couple of days.

And as the Sunset lowered behind the wall when we descended down the steps, it was just breath-taking. Even if this overnight limited me the time to see my friends and 2nd family in the city of Beijing, I was still able to see everyone, and it was worth the two day trip to the Great Wall. And in regards to the BRIC experience- it was a great bonding trip for us because at least all of the girls had to share one room, one wooden base as a bed, so we had to get physically close even if we weren’t that close beforehand. This set up brought us back to the middle school years of camp…when the boys in the cabin next door would prank us, girls, and we had conversations until late into the early morning. It was fun and I would not give that experience for anything in the world.

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