The Great Wall

I have been thinking about this story lately, it seems appropriate to how I often feel in PA school.

It was the day before Christmas Eve when we departed San Antonio at 1:20 pm and arrived in LAX at 5 pm. We didn't leave LA until 1 am (3 am our time) and began the 13 hour flight to Beijing. We had been traveling for over 24 hours when we arrived at the Beijing airport. We located our tour group, stepped out into the freezing cold air and hopped onto our bus, time 5:30 AM, temperature 11 degrees. The bus began navigating through the pristine streets of Beijing and what we could only assume was our tour guide, was speaking Mandarin at the front of the bus. This continued for over an hour and Taylor and I looked at each other and said "What were we thinking?!" We were the only Caucasian people and we could only assume we were the only people that spoke English (remember we were deliriously tired). We could not help but wonder, what were we thinking when we decided a month ago to go to China? What are we going to do for the next two weeks? I had tried to learn some Mandarin before we left but that was an epic fail.

Eventually, we pulled up to a restaurant and some fellow passengers explained to us that our tour guide had missed her flight and would be catching up with us later on in the day. About a third of our group's primary language was Mandarin, a third Cantonese and a third English so we usually had three translators everywhere we went. I also have to mention what a great group of people we were with. There were about 20 of us and the rest of the group were all first and second generation immigrants living in California. Once we heard the Chinese version of historical events, our Vietnamese friends would give us their side of the story. We learned so much and got to hear so many amazing stories. We also made some great friends that we managed to keep in touch with.

After breakfast, probably the best meal Taylor or I has ever had, we began the winding drive up the mountains to the Great Wall. Just when I thought it couldn't get any colder, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. We began hiking up the wall. What is unique and treacherous about the Great Wall is all the steps are different heights. Some steps are just a few inches and other steps can reach over two feet. We climbed and climbed until we couldn't feel our legs and had difficulty breathing. Keep in mind, there were 100 year old, tiny Chinese women blowing past us, but we did our best. We went up as high as we could and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Suddenly the last 24 plus hours were all worth it, a small price to pay. We were standing on the Great Wall! A wall over 2000 years old, a wall you can see from space! It was a very special moment and a crazy start to an incredible journey.

I can't even count how many times I have said to myself "What were you thinking?!" since PA school started. I had no idea the effort, stamina, strength and sheer willpower it would require. What was I thinking wasting three years of my life? (I know it's not a complete waste, but I feel I am not making any difference in the world) My mom said she felt the same way about dental school, and my sister felt the same way about law school, if you had any idea at what you were getting yourself into, you never would have agreed to it. But I really hope one day, when I reach the top of this wall, I will be able to look back and say it was all worth it, a small price to pay.

Cold isn't even the right word to describe the temperature. Cold is a colossal understatement.

 

This lady wanted to take a picture with me. It's pretty rare to see a white person in China so you are kind of an automatic celebrity. Especially when your walking around with a blond husband two feet taller than anyone else on the continent. It didn't take long to get used to the staring and finger pointing.

Pure joy.

My scarf froze.

This was the amazing restaurant we had breakfast at. Our first meal in China.

Letters in the Mail

I have always loved reading. When I was young, I read all the Little House on the Prairie books, the Boxcar Children series, Narnia.  Book order days were my favorite in elementary school. Then when I was about 12, I got into the classics, Great Expectations, Moby Dick, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In boarding school, I spent most of my days reading. In college, I used Literature classes to fill as many of my course requirements as I could. It was in these English classes that I learned to write. Before then, I had always considered myself a terrible writer. And through this past year, I have really developed a love and appreciation of writing.

I do want to be a writer one day. It's why I started this blog and it's part of the reason I read so much. Being in PA school means I spend the majority of my time studying medicine. (I want to be a PA too) But in my spare time I do everything I can to further my literary education.

My sister told me about this subscription from The Rumpus called Letters in the Mail. You pay five dollars a month and you get a letter every week from an author. The author also includes a return address if you want to respond. For the past few months, my sister has been passing a lot of her letters onto me to read but I finally signed up for my own subscription. Letters are a completely unique style of writing. They are unbelievably personal and who doesn't look forward to getting a letter in the mail? Letters are truly a lost art and they are great for people like me who communicate better through writing. If you are interested you can sign up here.

There is such a thrill from getting a real letter in the mail. I have had pen pals almost all my life starting at age seven when my best friend moved to Germany.  I remember staying up in the middle of the night to write her letters. In my closet, I have boxes full of letters from when I was in boarding school. Maybe I wasn't such a bad writer growing up. Maybe I just didn't enjoy what they required you to write about in school. I need a new pen pal but in the meantime I am looking forward to receiving these letters.

Loved the illustrations in this letter.

"For it would seem - her case proved it - that we write, not with the fingers, but with the whole person. The nerve which controls the pen winds itself about every fiber of our being, threads the heart, pierces the liver." -Virginia Woolf 

Everything's Bigger in Texas

The State Fair of Texas is here!!! October in Dallas, Texas is the best month of the whole year. I cannot even put into words the experience that is the state fair. Taylor told me I turn into a little kid running from place to place so excited for everything. It is truly magical. We spent all afternoon and night there and still have so much more to do and see. But I got a season pass, so there will be plenty more to come.

 

The fair has all the fried food you can eat. I saw fried cactus, fried alligator, fried cotton candy, fried beer, fried butter, fried cupcakes, fried jambalaya, pretty much anything you can imagine. But my favorite is always the chocolate strawberry waffle ball.

The Birds of the World show is one of my favorites.

This bird flew off and they eventually found him sitting on Big Tex.

We watched two birds dive from the top of the Ferris wheel. You can see the bird right over the Ferris wheel in this pic.

Got our picture with a bald eagle.

Marine Drum & Bugle Corp. Another one of my favorites.

Starlight Parade

 

 

 

Petting Zoo

Whatever this brown shaggy animal is, I want one. I also like that the sign says "Is your child bull-headed?"

Very funny camel.

I will do my best to stop making this face.

Big Tex

I want one of these.

One last order of waffle balls.

Remaining To-Do List:

Chinese Lantern Festival

State Fair Auto Show 

Farmer Mike: Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers

Eat a fried bacon cinnamon roll

Pig Races

The Amazing Dobermans

Mapapa African Acrobats

BMX Bike Show