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.
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