Tomorrow they’re gonna hurt.
My legs, that is.
No one told me the Great Wall was that steep. My, oh my!
We began this morning with what was supposed to be an hour ride to the
Bodaling (sp?) section of the Great Wall. Happy told us that during
weekdays they’ve continued a system developed during the Olympics in which
car license plates ending in certain #s are only allowed to use the road
on certain days. But on the weekend, it’s a free-for-all. Everyone drives.
We certainly saw that today during our 2.5 hour trip to the Great Wall.
Apparently, all those people were headed to the same section of the Great
Wall. It was CROWDED. As we began our climb, we had a choice. Left or
right. Happy said that the right side was an easier climb but much more
crowded. One glance revealed that it was pretty much shoulder to shoulder
all the way up. I was thinking that if you just wedged yourself into the
crowd, the momentum alone might get you to the top. So we took the less
populated, steep side. “Less populated” might be overrated. “Steep” was a
huge understatement.
In several sections of our climb, we were ascending at about a 45 degree
angle. And then a few sections must have come close to 60 degrees…bend
halfway over at the waist, climb step that is as high as your shin, and
wonder how in the world your 44” child is RUNNING up the stairs. Well,
maybe not that section of stairs. But many sections. If you ask the
Chinese who they saw on the Great Wall today, they’d be able to identify
us by the woman bent over, huffing and puffing, and yelling to the kids,
“Wait for MOMMY!”
We went significantly further than anyone else in our group. Took us
almost 2 hours. When we got down, we bought “I Climbed the Great Wall”
tshirts. We deserved it!
About halfway up the wall, we ended up next to a group of young men from,
I assume, the U.S. They pointed at the ground in front of them, at the
feet of a woman. She was wearing SPIKED HEELS. I saw a couple of women in
spikes. Also saw a woman removed her spikes to climb. Saw a surprising
number of retired folks, both Chinese and foreigners, climbing. As
difficult as it was for me, I can’t imagine how hard it would have been
for them.
We had family style Chinese food for lunch. It was fine, though not nearly
as tasty as yesterday.
Speaking of family, we’ve now been joined by four other Holt families. The
one family that I mentioned earlier already has their daughter. The three
other families just arrived and are all awaiting their first child.
Interestingly enough, most of the folks are about our age—a few slightly
older, a few slightly younger. They informed me that I missed some rather
interesting emails from Holt that went out soon after we left. Apparently,
Holt has told those that are holding T.A.s (travel approvals) who don’t
already have confirmed travel (and I assume appointments) that they are
NOT traveling now. This is new and very different from what I heard on
Monday. So I guess things are changing quickly. Another email said that
folks who are traveling are required to wear masks at all official
meetings. Again, this all came out since we left, so they were trying to
fill me in.
One family said that they DID have someone on their flight with a fever.
Surreal experience. Medical personnel in full bio garb (right down to eye
goggles) came in to take away the feverish man. Then the 18 or so folks
around him were taken aside to be individually checked. They noted that
these people were later released as they saw them in the airport before
departing. I’m not sure which airport although I think Beijing. Another
family flew in through Hong Kong and were very surprised to not be
individually checked. They walked through the big heat sensing monitors
which, as I understand, have been in place ever since SARS. So no special
treatment there. As someone who’s been on the ground now for several days,
I find it odd that they are stopping adoption appointments as the whole
flu thing doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal on the street. But it is
in the adoption world. The family that already received their daughter
this week in Beijing said that in their meeting with officials, everyone
in the room wore masks and the officials wanted them out of there as
quickly as possible. I continue to wonder if we’ll be able to meet the
foster family as a result of flu scare.
Anyway, back to the day… After lunch we took another long ride back to
Beijing where we went to Hutong for a tour. Hutong is an old section of
the city with narrow alleys containing homes and businesses. We rode on
rickshaw-like bicycles and visited one woman’s home. The four room home
(bedroom, living area, kitchen, courtyard) was originally owned by her
grandparents. Homes are passed through the generations this way. The homes
have no bathrooms; the community shares one. LilDude enjoyed watching the
woman’s two little dogs that she calls “her daughters.” Happy explained
that the woman was retired and that Chinese women retire at 50; men at 55.
The homeowner’s niece invited us into the bedroom where she was at work
handpainting the insides of snuff bottles. Gorgeous artwork. We bought one
small bottle for 100 yuan (about $15.) She sells the bottles to hotels and
other tourist stops.
Tomorrow we begin the day with a Holt meeting in which we’ll receive new
photos and information about our child. Looking forward to it. And in the
afternoon we’ll tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Happy said
in the Forbidden City we’ll finally be able to learn how many concubines
the emperor had. Dying to know, aren’t you?
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