Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, and a Restaurant Too Fancy for my Tastebuds

Saturday, March 6, 2015:

I cannot believe that I climbed the Great Wall.  I now understand why so many people died trying to build it, because I can barely believe humans built such a structure.  I have to admit that I was terrified of falling since there were moments when the stairs were so steep or broken.  I left our mark on the wall!! The wall was built to keep out the Manchus, and I am honestly surprised it didn't work like they planned. Before the stairs were built, how did anyone get up to the wall? I wish the smog was less bad, because after talking to a lady from Georgia who had visited multiple times, she explained how you could see for miles when the sky was clear.  My favorite part was initially getting to the top and looking around and then also tobogganing down the hill.  We passed people selling shirts and souvenirs and it was the group’s first exposure to haggling.  I don’t think some of us did too well, but the amazing lunch made up for that.  Also, I saw my first cat in China today!!!

The Temple of Heaven had the same structural effect on me that the Great Wall did—I was seriously impressed.  I noticed people dancing in the parks or doing Thai Chi, and the buildings in general were very colorful.  Even on the way to the Temple I was impressed with all the skyscrapers and their architectures.  I am never bored looking out the window here.  One scary observance, however, was how crazy people drive.  I thought driving in the US was scary but I cannot imagine what it would be like to drive here—people are swerving in between lanes, not stopping for pedestrians, constantly cutting others off, and even parking on sidewalks.

For dinner we went to the Peking Duck and listened to a speaker about his success.  It made me excited for the entire trip and afterwards how to use what I am going to learn.  I did not really like the food, though—it was too fancy for me and I was not feeling well to begin with.  The duck was good without the sauce!  There were these purple flower things that looked like mashed potatoes but weren't and they were on Pringles....it was funny.  Also, Sijia and company totally made fun of how us Mei Guo Ren's (Americans) struggle with Chinese. Alex and Nhir made a great impression with their introductions!! Yay Israel! :)