Catching Up

Alright so I am now well into the “second semester” of my program and I have much that I haven’t shared. I’ll start with my trip to the Great Wall.

So several Saturday’s ago we all woke up at 7am and got on buses to go to the Great Wall. The Wall is about 2 hours outside the city, and along the way you get to see some areas of China that are very different from inside Beijing. Upon arriving at the Wall, the first thing that happens is that a dozen Chinese people start shouting at you to buy straw hats and t-shirts and sunglasses. The second thing that happens is that you realize that you really haven’t arrived at the Wall at all, but instead you are at the foot of a small mountain, on top of which the Great Wall twists and turns. I remember looking up and thinking that there must be some second part of the journey, perhaps an elevator or small bus, that brought you up to the wall. This was not the case. The walk up to the wall takes about 30 minutes of often steep stairs and roads. Once you reach the Wall, your journey has really only just begun. You need to “climb the Wall”. In other words, you walk up stairs for an hour and a half until you reach the highest point in that part of the Wall. The whole experience is exhausting. What’s really messed up is that the Chinese people selling you stuff at the bottom of Wall know what you’re in for but still try to rip you off and sell you things that you then have to carry all the way up. The Wall itself is spectacular – you can see for miles and miles in all directions and much of it is still in very good condition. Upon reaching the top, you take a few pictures, look around, and then begin the descent. Back at the foot of the wall, students trickle down in 2s and 3s, soaked in sweat, and sit down at a restaurant to eat. Overall I would say that climbing the Great Wall is the kind of thing that I’m really happy that I did, but that I’m not sure I would be able to do again. The final word: 4 dumplings.

The next day I woke up aching from head to toe. My Chinese family and I had plans that day so I again had an early morning. One of the things I’ve found is that on weekends, you rarely get the rest you think you’re going to get, either because you’re going out late with friends or because you just don’t have the heart to decline every single invitation your overeager Chinese family extends to you. We went to Beihai Gongyuan, a beautiful park. The downside was that we had to walk all over the place all morning, which my legs were not prepared for. Afterwards, at lunch, I mentioned that I had never been to the Forbidden City, which was a huge mistake. My family said that I needed a full day to appreciate it, but that we could go to another park that had a great view of the city. So after lunch we headed to Jingshan Gongyuan (the other park), and walked around some more. This park is an absolutely hilarious place. It is not as pretty as Beihai, but what it lacks in aesthetic value it more than makes up for in character. This park is almost entirely frequented by retired Chinese people who, after working for their whole lives, now only want to sing with other old Chinese people. Every few hundred feet there is a cluster of 10-40 retired Chinese people singing traditional Chinese songs, often being directed by another old Chinese person. They are everywhere. And in between these singing groups, the old people play Chinese’s take on hackeysack. Instead of a ball, they kick, knee, and head butt something that looks like a shuttlecock with feathers between themselves. They are ridiculously good at this, and can keep this up for long periods of time. The whole affair is entirely hilarious, because these old people really move quickly and with uncanny agility juggle this feathery thing. In order to see the Forbidden City, we had to ascend a series of hills. From the highest peak you can look down directly onto the Forbidden City. After this my family brought me to dinner, and would have brought me back to their home if I didn’t plead with them to bring me home so I could study my characters for the next day.

I have a lot more to post, and I will get around to it in the next few days. After being at HBA for this long, the amount of time it takes me to do homework and memorize characters is significantly less than before, so I have more free time now. I only have two weeks left, and I feel like I am starting the final push. It’s amazing how fast it’s gone by, but also how much I’ve learned and seen. Also, from the schoolwork to the weather, I’m really getting used to living here. I will admit I’m a little tired of Chinese food.

MS