China Trip: Day 3

Today was absolutely splendiferous! I don't even know what that word means but I am running out of adjectives. it was a really good day though, probably one of the most memorable. We went to see the Great Wall today- absolutely amazing. As we walked on the path to the wall, you could see the mountains and jungles surrounding you, shrouded in mist. The first hundred steps or so up the Wall, the whole group was just running up the steps, and soon everyone was out of breath. It was really strenuous work, and so at the first tower everyone took about 5-10 minutes just to catch their breath. Once we learned to pace ourselves, going up all those uneven steps turned out to be easy. Shelby, Claudia and I took a bunch of pictures at each tower, exploring the little hallways and areas. In one of the towers we found this tiny secret tunnel that went to the other side of the tower. It was pretty cool, and so was learning that the Great Wall was made with sticky rice! A sad fact about the wall was that as workers died from building conditions, the other workers couldn't do anything but throw the bodies into the wall and continue building. If coming up seemed hard, going down was a breeze. Someone told me later that I practically flew down those steps- faster than almost anyone else! Getting my heart rate up had left me in a great mood, and what really made my day was when this Italian guy came up to me saying "Bella, take a photo with me!" And I thought that only Chinese people wanted photos with blondies! My overall experience in the capital of China has been unique, and something I hope I never forget. After the wall, we ate dinner and went to the Ming tombs. My hands were still shaking, but I assumed it was because of the great Wall adventure. The really cool thing about the tombs was that the buildings were made out of wooden pieces fitted together- no nails, no glue. Then we went to the Pearl Market, a place to buy knockoff designer brands at insanely low prices. I was still getting the hang of haggling, and I really wasn't feeling great, so I got an ok deal on a purse for my sister. The room started spinning, so I drank some water and the teachers had me eat a power bar. I got over it, but I was really afraid that I would get sick in China because that was one of my worst fears.
I think that the people of China have preserved their history well. Considering that they have a whole city preserved to celebrate their history, I would also agree that they are proud of their ancestry. This is something that you don't really see in America, where tradition is thrown out the window after each generation. We may keep some traditions that our parents or grandparents did, but not what our ancestors from 1000 years ago celebrated! This may be because we are a newer country, but the fact still holds true that ancestry and culture is held in higher respects here than in America. My most memorable food in Beijing was probably the sweetheart fruit that I had on my very first night here. It was so different from any other fruit I had ever tasted- I'm still trying to find some more somewhere! I have too many memorable funny moments to choose my favorite, but one that I haven't told yet was on our first night here. We were walking in Wangfujing street in one of the alleys completely lined with kiosks. We saw this American trying to get away from a shopkeeper, who was trying to make him buy something at her store. Eventually he took her hand and shook it vigorously, saying "Ni Hao! Ni hao! I love you to but I have to go ! Bye!" it was such a weird outburst, and left us laughing at the whole situation. Another funny moment I haven't told yet was also on that first night in the street. This guy was at his kiosk playing with a puppet and trying to get my attention, trying to sell me the puppet. I walked by without even looking and I heard him say as I walked away; "Aww, come on!!" Maybe it was just the strange way he said it, but that made everyone in my group crack up. Then again, today on the bus we were singing karaoke on the bus, even me! You would put you iPod earphone on the tour guide's microphone at the front of the bus, and would just sing along. It is just too hard to choose the funniest moment in Beijing, but I know exactly what my favorite piece of history was. In the Forbidden city, David told us a story about one of the Emperor's concubines. She was beautiful, but poor and couldn't bribe the painter who painted her portrait for the emperor. The painter painted two moles on her face where there were none, but despite those flaws, the emperor still made her one of the lowest concubines, one her never saw. A important official saw her and asked the emperor for her hand. Thinking she was flawed, the emperor gave her away. When her saw her with his own eyes, he realized his mistake but stuck to his word. The woman was married to the official and lived happily, while the painter was killed by the emperor. This was a true story, and really jumped out at me. Maybe it stood out because it sounded like a fairytale come true or maybe because the story was just absolutely adorable the way our tour guide told it, but I really loved that story.