Live to be Inspired : The Long Wall of 10,000 Li（里）

The Great Wall of China

So the adventure begins again. After some initial hassle at the airport, Beijing has not been bad at all, albeit the amount of daily Chinese characters that I must learn is one too many. I'm somehow learning to manage partly because I have realized quickly enough that one more mistake on the daily quiz or 听写 (Ting1xie3) is not the end of my life.

Or is that just a convenient excuse to tune into more Winnie the Pooh in Chinese at night instead of furiously writing Chinese characters like some of my friends. I don't know. But Winnie the Pooh sure is 100 times funnier in Chinese.

My first "real" adventure outside of Beijing took place at perhaps the most famous historical site in China: the Great Wall. About two and half hour drive from Beijing, my ACC program 同学们(tong2xue2men:classmates) and I arrived at Jinshanling(金山领) part of the Great Wall.

Climbing the Great Wall was of course legendary (and lots of quadricep pain), but my favorite part of the climb was the discovering American fastfood invasion to the long wall of 10,000 Li（里）.

The invasion was ubiquitous.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves......

Scene 1: Chinese students enjoying some real lunch

Scene 2: Mickey D triumphs at the cracks of the Great Wall

Scene 3: Oh Chicken, can't forget thy taste

I came to the Great Wall thinking that I will be breathing cleaner air, ponder about the potential, future foreign invasions in China, and haggle with the lady at the top for a can of soda. Never did I expect that I will also be finding an immediate connection back to the States here.