Today was amazing! We got a feel of what life is like in China! The day began with a wonderful breakfast at our hotel (Novatel) followed by meeting the other couple we will be on this adoption journey with, Tim and Kerry Norris. Together we met our guide, Linda, who took us to the Great Wall. It was amazing! It was a bit of a foggy day, so we weren't able to see it to its fullest, but it was still stunning! Nate and I began our hike right away but we only had an hour and a half until we were scheduled to meet our guide again, so we had to hurry:) As we neared the fifth tower, I my asthma was kicking in and I did not think I would be able to go much further. I was soooo happy when I found that the top was very near! We Made It!!!!! It was such a good feeling to have hiked to the top! We were pretty proud of ourselves and snapped a couple of pictures before beginning our hike back down (that was almost more of a challenge than going up!).
After meeting the rest of our group and our guide, we drove to a vase making buiding where we got to see how many of the vases there are made. It was very interesting and we left with a beautiful yellow and blue vase that we purchased to display when we return home.
After grabbing a bite to eat, our guide took us to witness "traditional Chinese living". We were given a rickshaw ride throughout the village and then visited a home of one of the residents. Everything here is so much more simple than what we have in the U.S. The houses are very small and our guide, Linda, said that usually many families will share one common bathroom (like 15 families to one bathroom). The kitchens were so tiny (only enough room to turn around in) and there was very limited furniture within the whole home. Driving is a nightmare! Vehicles, bicycles, mopeds, and buses were everywhere! They all swerve amongst one another to get to where they are going. It was a bit frightning, but here it is a way of life and not a big deal. I must say though, that I am so glad we were not asked to drive ourselves around! We most certainly would have been in an accident!
Nate and I decided to explore the city later this evening and it was quite interesting. We bought a few paintings (that we later found out were probably fakes), and some small things for the kids (braclets, etc.). Around 5:00 we were very hungry and went in search of a place to eat. We found KFC and McDonalds, but decided we should try to find something a bit more adventureous - we were in China! That was a mistake! As we walked around, we found ourselves in an area where there were many food vendors. As we got a little closer we were horrified to see "what" they were serving. "Scorpions on a stick!" one said as he held a scewer with five "live" scorpions squirming around. Another called, "Dog", "Cat", "Sheep intestines!" Oh, Wow! Our nostrils were then filled with smells we had never smelled before and we hurried to find our way away from all of that:) All that to say, Nate and I went to bed empty stomached that night but that was o.k. because our appetites completely disappeared after that:)
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