Last weekend, Mom and I took a taxi by ourselves to the Wuxi airport and got ourselves to Beijing. Taking that taxi was slightly frightening and I lost one yuan because the driver didn't think I could count. I decided that it wasn't worth fighting over less than 20 cents.
It was most certainly worth those 20cents to go to Beijing in spite of the fact that every single person I talked to said that two days wasn't enough time. They shook their heads sadly just thinking about me trying to see anything of the capital. This is one time I'm glad I didn't listen.
We saw the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and Tian An Men Square. If I had to choose, I'd say that the Wall was my very favorite. There is some history behind my choice.
Way back in the beginning of September I began to picture what it would be like to be in China (I should have known to get my visa then). The picture was always my view from the Great Wall.
I missed a few things when I was visualizing, though. Actually being there was much colder than in my imagination. It was sunny but about 40 degrees Fahrenheit with a chilling wind that liked to slice through my jacket.
It was also steeper than I'd thought. I'd heard people talk about 'climbing' the Great Wall. I thought they were talking about climbing stairs or something to get to the walkway on top. Not so. They were talking about the fact that it wanders around really steep Eastern Washington-like hills and just being on the walkway puts you at an angle. In addition to the hills under the wall, the walkway itself is askew so that the water will run off and not leave rivers running along the wall.
The stones underfoot are slick. When they are dry. I kept picturing those soldiers trying to defend China by shooting arrows through those holes along the northern side. And they probably had other nasty things like ice. And rain. And arrows flying toward them. I'm sure it's not a job that I would have wanted.
Since I had none of those things to worry about, though, I could just relax and enjoy the feeling of being in the China of my imagination. It hasn't always been easy here. And I still have many pieces to put together before I leave in 3 days. It hasn't been easy on those I left behind either (they tell me all the time). But I'll always have That Wall.
(And, yes, I do have pictures, but, no, my computer will not allow you to see them. I'll have to try to trick it into letting you see them later. I'm getting tired and tomorrow's another big day.)
It was most certainly worth those 20cents to go to Beijing in spite of the fact that every single person I talked to said that two days wasn't enough time. They shook their heads sadly just thinking about me trying to see anything of the capital. This is one time I'm glad I didn't listen.
We saw the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and Tian An Men Square. If I had to choose, I'd say that the Wall was my very favorite. There is some history behind my choice.
Way back in the beginning of September I began to picture what it would be like to be in China (I should have known to get my visa then). The picture was always my view from the Great Wall.
I missed a few things when I was visualizing, though. Actually being there was much colder than in my imagination. It was sunny but about 40 degrees Fahrenheit with a chilling wind that liked to slice through my jacket.
It was also steeper than I'd thought. I'd heard people talk about 'climbing' the Great Wall. I thought they were talking about climbing stairs or something to get to the walkway on top. Not so. They were talking about the fact that it wanders around really steep Eastern Washington-like hills and just being on the walkway puts you at an angle. In addition to the hills under the wall, the walkway itself is askew so that the water will run off and not leave rivers running along the wall.
The stones underfoot are slick. When they are dry. I kept picturing those soldiers trying to defend China by shooting arrows through those holes along the northern side. And they probably had other nasty things like ice. And rain. And arrows flying toward them. I'm sure it's not a job that I would have wanted.
Since I had none of those things to worry about, though, I could just relax and enjoy the feeling of being in the China of my imagination. It hasn't always been easy here. And I still have many pieces to put together before I leave in 3 days. It hasn't been easy on those I left behind either (they tell me all the time). But I'll always have That Wall.
(And, yes, I do have pictures, but, no, my computer will not allow you to see them. I'll have to try to trick it into letting you see them later. I'm getting tired and tomorrow's another big day.)
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