The Great Wall

I think Todd posted something about the Great Wall, I was so tired after the day that I came home and went straight to bed.  Now it's 6AM and I can't sleep because I just woke up thinking about the fact that we are just 2 days from becoming parents!  I hope Jun Jun isn't too scared right now, I'm sure he also knows he will become our son in just 2 days...
 
Yesterday was amazing!  Seeing the Great Wall was all that you would want it to be, it was beautiful, overwhelming, and even difficult to climb.  We were not ready for the heat and humidity, I thought living in Baltimore for 5 years would prepare me a bit for the heat of Beijing, but I told Todd all day long that I have never felt so hot... we were dripping in sweat.  Anyway, according to Chairman Mao, we became heroes when we touched The Wall.  When we climbed to the top of the Wall we became "a hero in a hero"  not sure what that means, but that's what our tour guide told us and he seemed quite impressed that we made it to the top.  I knew that the section of the Wall we climbed was steep and fairly difficult to climb, but I wasn't prepared for the crowds and the heat.  The lower section was wall to wall people.  We were in a line of people from all over the world and of all ages and we just slowly climbed the longest set of stairs I've ever climbed.  The views around us were mountainous and very green, but difficult to really see too much of because it is so hazy.  There were 3 towers along the way and at each tower more and more people turned around so by the time we reached the top there were not many people with us.  Going back down was easier, but a little scary in some spots due to the steepness of the stairs.  I was actually sort of afraid of the heights even though my feet were on the ground. 
 
Our tour guide is feeding us a lot of food!  I'm not sure if it's because we are Americans or because we are his clients, but I finally had to just not eat dinner last night.  I felt bad because we had a table full of food and it was all fabulous, but I just couldn't eat anymore.  I'm kind of surprised by the food.  What we have eaten is really not too much different than the Chinese food we get at home, we just have to eat it with chopsticks instead of forks :) 
 
Anyway, today we're off to the Temple of Heaven and then tomorrow we leave for Hohhot! 
 

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