"THE GREAT WALL" and then some...

How about updating at least every other day? Haha...

Thank you once again for checking in and seeing what kind of mischief we are up to in this great country! Loving every moment and getting to do some awesome things with our time here.

PEOPLE! Listen...I can finally say that I have been! I have seen! I have walked, touched, ran, smiled and played in the rain! On the "Great Wall of China." It was an experience that I will never, never, NEVER forget! (Capitalization is my way of emphasizing!) It was such a cool day! It started out rough, but of course as with everything so far here. It keeps getting better!

I woke up 10 minutes before I had to meet with my group to leave...ahh, rush! We had to take the subway to where the buses are that take us to the wall. When we get there, I die a little inside. This line is about as long as the wall it seems...it never ends! So after a depressing walk to the back of the line, you can't help but wonder if you will ever see it. But...long morning story, we got there and we got on the bus...TO THE WALL!

We get there and the weather is beautiful. It is not that hot and a little overcast. Seems to be perfect weather for wall viewing. Well, we get our tickets and grab some lunch. As we are heading towards the entrance...it pours down! I mean thunder and rain, rain, rain. People are running into buildings, water is flowing down the street, I have no umbrella and a cheap poncho that doesn't fit me. What a mess! Once again I died a little, because I'm thinking that I will not be able to get on the wall today (sad face).

It clears! After about 15 minutes, it stops and we are good to go once again! We finally made it. And you would think...seriously. How big is the wall? It averages 25 feet tall and a total length of 50,000 kilometers, meaning lots of room! The wall was packed with people from the moment we got in there and was full of people till we left. It was crazy. I thought there would be plenty of room for everyone, but still...people all around.

The beauty and pure "Awesomeness!" (As KungFu Panda says) of the wall is simply breathe taking. The structure is truly a piece of art constructed by an extremely intelligent society. Looking at structures like the wall and then thinking about other wonders of the world really make you appreciate the people that lived before us and how they made things work without the technologies that we get to have today. WOW!

It was fun. We met a lot of neat people also passing through and enjoying China. I think that seeing the wall in the rain is the best because you get some great scenery. The fog that rolls in before the rain comes. The thunder that booms through the sky before the down pour...soo cool and through all that, very peaceful. We had a ton of fun.

The rest of the day was spent drenched and cold. A small price to pay for such a memorable trip! That night we went to a Dumpling dinner and had a huge appetite from being on the wall and traveling. Dumplings has to be one of my favorite dishes here in China. Other than that, we hung out in the apartment and stayed dry for the rest of the evening! What a day...

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Today was trip #2 to the Lama Temple. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go since I already went once with Jing and Lin. I am glad that I did because when we got there the monks were in the main temple having their studying sessions. I'm not sure what the proper word for it is, but is was a real treat to be able to watch them meditate and chant. The chimes and drums were really cool to hear and I'm really glad that I got that experience this time around.

Volunteering? Nope, not today...because I went to Olympic Boxing again! An opportunity was presented and I ran with it! Today was a lot busier than the first time. We are still in the preliminary rounds, but we did get to watch China fight. Always a treat whenever China is competing because venues erupt! Afterwards I came home and took a long nap...

This evening we reunited with a bunch of former Wolves now graduated and moving on to the next phases of there lives. I'm so glad that I have been a Resident Assistant because if not, I would have never met any of these awesome ladies! I don't want to mess up names and get them wrong...so here is pic. See if you can remember any of them!

We hung out at a KTV which is where they do karaoke here in China. The U.S. needs to take some notes and get some of these. It's like you walk into a 5 star hotel, really nice inside. You rent a room for however long you want and then you have a buffet and all the karaoke your heart desires. It was so much fun and a blast hearing everyone sing. Even though it was for a short moment, it was nice to see all of them and hear their stories about what the next chapter will bring in their lives and I wish them all the best! Love you ladies and thank you for a great time here in Beijing!

Time is running short for our 14 day volunteers (cough...Jordan and Raquel) and will soon lose about a third of our participants. There is still so much to do and many more memories still need to be made. I hope that you are all enjoying my blog and please feel free to leave your comments and questions...goodnight.