Beijing.

       I flew from Hong Kong to Beijing and was greeted by our tour guide, Tommy, waving his blue China Guide flag. Brace yourself. What I am about to share with you is one of the most amazing experiences of the trip and possibly of my life. Every Fall and Spring semester of SAS, students sign up for the China Guide tour. It’s an extremely popular independent tour, not affiliated with SAS. The tour I signed up for along with about 150 other students involved a day in Beijing seeing the sights of Tiananman Square and the Forbidden city, shopping at the silk and pearl markets, sitting down to a traditional peking duck lunch (sooo delicious!), watching an insane acrobat show of unbelievable contortions, motorcycle cages and hoop diving aaaannnnndddd drumroll please……… SLEEPING ON THE FREAKING GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!! Yep I did it and it was so utterly unreal. There I was in subzero degree Celsius temperatures layered up in the North Face jacket I bought in Vietnam, a panda bear hat, some gloves I somehow managed to bargain down to $3 and zipped into a sleeping bag staring up at the Big Dipper and the frequent shooting stars. I actually couldn’t believe I was doing what I was doing. I’ve never been colder in my life and my exposed face was frozen into a permanent expression by morning but it was worth every last numb toe and finger. We woke up bright and early to the sun rising over the wall. We had just spent the night on the Great Wall but we hadn’t gotten to see the beast until right then. It stretched for miles in both directions, up and over hills, towers cresting every peak. It was insane. We had a two and half hour hike ahead of us. Let me tell you it was quite the hike. Some of those inclines were near vertical and the stones to get up them were crumbling and loose. The downhill stretches were definitely the most frightening.
        Along the way, I met a woman named Shushi from Mongolia. Of course she was there to try and sell us the typical touristy post-cards and t-shirts. I usually don’t pay much mind to the hockers but she was so sweet and genuine. I feel badly even calling her a hocker. A two-hour hike to the Great Wall from her small village in Mongolia, then hours of hiking on the treacherous Great Wall EVERY SINGLE DAY to fund her two children’s education. My heart melted and I let her show me her postcards, t-shirts and hand-painted fans and then even pinky-promised her that when we made it to our buses, I would spend 50 Yuen on something. Her English was broken and conversation was a little challenging but I hiked alongside her for a little over an hour and a half. She told me as much as she could about her children and her small village, some facts about the wall, how many steps it was to the next tower, where the best views are. She was great company and I had no problem following through on my promise. I bought the fold-up hand-painted fan she had fanned me with at one point on the hike when the last 150-step incline had practically did me in. I wish there was a way to keep in touch with her but she doesn’t have phone or internet access.
        It was an amazing experience and honestly the best one thus far on the trip. I still can’t believe it was real. Beijing was good to me.